Shohei Ohtani was surrounded by plenty of familiar faces when he was announced as the unanimous winner of the 2024 National League MVP Award.
Clayton Kershaw, a former NL MVP winner himself, was part of the MLB Network broadcast to break the news to his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate. Meanwhile, Ohtani was surrounded by his wife Mamiko, their dog Decoy, and agent Nez Balelo, among others.
Ohtani’s acceptance of the NL MVP Award also included Matt Hidaka working as an interpreter between the two-way superstar and MLB Network broadcast.
It’s not yet clear if Hidaka has assumed the role of Ohtani’s new interpreter. Will Ireton, who took over after Ippei Mizuhara was fired during the Seoul Series, reportedly was alongside Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman for a scouting trip in Japan when the MVP winners were announced.
History of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreters
Matt Hidaka (2017)
Matt Hidaka interpreted for Ohtani during his introductory news conference with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017. He also worked as an interpreter for Kosuke Fukudome in 2007, among others.
Ippei Mizuhara (2018-2024)
When Ohtani reported for his first MLB Spring Training in 2018, it was with Ippei Mizuhara as his interpreter. The two went on to form a close friendship that was well documented and added to the shock when Mizuhara was found to have stolen nearly $17 million from Ohtani in order to pay off illegal sports gambling debts.
Mizuhara’s betting activity surfaced during the Seoul Series at the beginning of the 2024 season, and led to immediately being fired by the Dodgers.
Mizuhara is facing federal charges and recently had his sentencing delayed into January 2025.
Will Ireton (2024-TBD)
The Dodgers looked internally in order to replace Mizuhara and tasked Will Ireton with becoming Ohtani’s new interpreter.
Ireton previously worked as a Dodgers interpreter for Kenta Maeda from 2016-2019 and remained with the team when the right-hander was traded to the Minnesota Twins.
With Maeda no longer on the Dodgers roster, Ireton shifted into player development and baseball operations, holding various roles such as coordinator of performance and his current position of manager of performance operations. He also spent one season on the Triple-A Oklahoma City coaching staff.
Along with serving as an interpreter for Ohtani, Ireton handled in-game translating and communication for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It previously was another of Mizuhara’s responsibilities as well because MLB rules only permit teams to have one interpreter in the dugout during games.
Yoshihiro Sonoda remains Yamamoto’s interpreter for media interviews.
It’s plausible Ireton is going to continue interpreting for Ohtani moving forward, but it’s also possible the Dodgers fill the role with a new hire, whether Hidaka or another candidate.
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