Shohei Ohtani Says He’s Grateful to Be With Supportive Dodgers During Theft Scandal
It has been a little more than a month since the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and in that amount of time, Ohtani has become more approachable.
Mizuhara acted more like a gatekeeper than an interpreter from the time Ohtani arrived in MLB. When he turned himself in two weeks ago after federal authorities alleged he stole more than $16 million, Ohtani had to lean on his teammates in more ways than he expected.
As he sat in the visitors’ clubhouse on Wednesday before the Dodgers played the Nationals in Washington D.C., he reflected on how grateful he was to be a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“The investigation is currently still going on, so I can’t really say much about that,” Ohtani said through his interpreter Will Ireton before Wednesday’s game against the Nationals. “But it made me really realize how supportive the teammates, the organization, the staff have been towards me. It’s just allowed me to really reflect on how grateful I am to be surrounded by them.”
Ohtani has become more open since Mizuhara’s departure but he isn’t making everything in his life public. He doesn’t want everyone to know who he has confided in the most.
“I do want to avoid mentioning specific names,” said Ohtani. “Obviously, I don’t mind the team mentioning that. Obviously, right now, it’s the middle of the regular season. I don’t want to create some kind of distraction.”
Ohtani finished answering the series of questions by telling reporters that Ireton is “probably pretty good” and nothing else was said about Mizuhara or the gambling scandal.
Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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