Shohei Ohtani and the Case of the Cursed Translator

Shohei, we hardly knew ye.  Actually, we didn’t know you at all. 

The United States first became aware of Shohei Ohtani in 2018, when he burst onto the scene with the Los Angeles Angels as a pitcher/designated hitter.  Folks in Japan had known about him much longer than that. Because there aren’t any modern good pitchers who can hit, or good hitters who can pitch, people immediately started comparing him to a slugger/hurler of legend: Babe Ruth.  If I really need to explain who Babe Ruth is to you, I’ll be honest: this isn’t a good article for you to read.  Unlike most hot takes, however, this comparison turned out to be apt.  Shohei has been elected MVP twice in the last three years (and really should have been elected three times), and he has a lifetime 3.01 ERA through the 86 games in which he has pitched.  He’s really, really good. 

He's also something of an enigma.  Part of that is the language barrier: Shohei always speaks through an interpreter with the media.  But a lot of it is just…Shohei.  What interviews he does give are rarely enlightening.  We didn’t find out until after the fact that he was married.  Even his teammates lack much to say of substance about him.  What’s his favorite color?  Does he like the sushi in Los Angeles?  Is he a Swifty?  I have no clue, because Ohtani prefers to keep his private life private.  Let’s be clear: he’s entitled to do this.  Being a celebrity doesn’t mean that every inch of Shohei’s life is an open book for us to read. 

But this privacy comes at a cost.  If a scandal or controversy breaks, we don’t know how to feel, because we have no context for this information.  It means we can’t form any sort of coherent picture of the disparate and incomplete facts that are flying at us.

When Shohei Ohtani’s translator, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired for illegal gambling, multiple conflicting storylines emerged.  Was Shohei Ohtani a good friend who discovered Mizuhara was in over his head and helped him out by wiring money to a bookie, as was originally claimed?  Or was it the story that was told later: that Shohei was an unwitting victim to Mizuhara’s scheme to steal millions of dollars from the All-Star?  Or could it be something more nefarious: that Shohei Ohtani is the gambler, and Mizuhara was the scapegoat who took the blame in order to protect the Seven Hundred Million Dollar Man?

Whichever story is the correct one (or some other theory, which I’m sure would somehow involve horse tranquilizers and a faked moon landing), there is one thing I am sure of:  we will never know for sure.  Yes, Major League Baseball has started an investigation, but they have absolutely no incentive to find evidence that Shohei is anything but a victim.  Ohtani is by far the most valuable product the MLB cash machine has going for it right now.  He is a legitimate superstar with international appeal.  Mike Trout may be thought of as one of the greatest players to ever hold a bat, but he has very little marketing pizzazz.  One of the ways advertisers rank celebrities is via Q Score, which is a measurement of a person’s recognizability and perceived likability.  Trout, despite being a certain Hall of Fame candidate, was unknown to about four out of five Americans.  Ohtani, by contrast, was the most recognized athlete in the world in 2022.  You can sell a lot of merch with a Q score like that.  MLB also can use that popularity to spread fandom beyond the current demographics to rival basketball as a truly international league.  Baseball really really doesn’t want to find out he’s less the next Babe Ruth and more the next Pete Rose.

For that reason, I am certain that after a few months the MLB will conclude its investigation, and clear Ohtani of any and all culpability.  This may be because he’s actually innocent.  This may also be because the crack gumshoes the MLB hire will ask Shohei “You didn’t gamble yourself, RIGHT?!?!?!” and flip their notebooks closed.  Either way, the result is the same:  Shohei Ohtani will be allowed to put his cloak of privacy back on and continue to be the most extraordinary baseball player any of us has ever seen.