Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Provides Telling Update On Shohei Ohtani’s Behavior Since Former Interpreter Was Fired

(Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
Shohei Ohtani will experience significant changes in his daily life without his longtime interpreter and companion, Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired by the team amid gambling and theft allegations.

Dodgers fans who are desperately searching for a silver lining to Shohei Ohtani’s ongoing gambling scandal got one from manager Dave Roberts on Tuesday in Anaheim.

Roberts believes the dismissal of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter might wind up being a good thing for him going forward.
“Actually, I would argue that it’s going to help relations internally,” manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday before the Dodgers’ final exhibition game, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “Because there’s no longer a buffer. I think that I’ve already seen it the last couple of days. I think Shohei has been even more engaging with his teammates, and I think there’s only upside with that.”

Over the course of the preceding six years, Shohei Ohtani spent hundreds of hours at Angel Stadium with Mizuhara, who assisted him in communicating with the Angels’ coaches and players about anything from video game trash talk to strategic counsel and recuperation plans.

After Ohtani was signed, Roberts and the Dodgers brought in Mizuhara. Roberts admitted on Tuesday that it was occasionally “difficult” to speak with Ohtani since everything had to go via Mizuhara.

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This week, the Angels welcomed back Ohtani with a tribute video before he batted for the Dodgers in the first inning.

The overall scandal may be affecting his bat as Shohei struck out twice on Tuesday and finished 0 for 6 with two walks and three Ks in the Dodgers’ three consecutive exhibition games against his former teammates with the Angels.

Shohei Ohtani Says Interpreter Stole Money From His Account

Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, is at the center of a theft and sports gambling scandal.

After Ippei Mizuhara was fired last week, Ohtani expressed disappointment with his former interpreter, blaming him for a controversy that includes allegations Mizuhara stole money from him to place bets with a bookie.

“Ippei has been stealing money from my account and has told lies,” Ohtani said in Japanese.

He also made it clear that he did not bet on any sports, did not ask anyone to do it for him, and said he “never went through a bookmaker to bet on sports.”