There are many unanswered questions surrounding the betting scandal involving Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. What we do know, though, is Mizuhara wasn’t just an interpreter. He was Ohtani’s right-hand man, his catch partner, his liaison for on –and off– the field matters because the most successful interpreter-player relationships are built on one thing: unrelenting trust.
“It’s such a big part (of the job),” Mizuhara told The Athletic last summer of establishing a close connection. “We are together pretty much every day, longer than I’m with my wife, so it’s going to be tough if you don’t get along on a personal level.”
The Mizuhara-Ohtani relationship — the pair worked out together on Christmas – was perhaps extreme, but the role of interpreters in baseball has evolved significantly over the years. Interpreters are in dugouts, team meetings and have carte blanche into the life of a professional baseball team. It’s not impossible to imagine a scenario where Mizuhara had access to Ohtani’s finances, as interpreters are often tasked with off-the-field errands like picking up food or dry cleaning.
So what exactly do interpreters in Major League Baseball do on a daily basis? And how do you get the gig?…
