Shohei Ohtani's interpreter pens emotional farewell message for Angels - "It has been a great pleasure being part of this family"
During Shohei Ohtani's seven years in MLB, Ippei Mizuhara has been an almost constant presence by his side. Known to be a close personal friend of Ohtani, Mizuhara has also served as his interpreter since he first came to the league in 2017.
On Dec. 9, the entire sports world watched with great interest as the Dodgers announced that they had come to terms with Ohtani on a 10-year, $700 million contract. The news put months of drama and speculation regarding the free agent's next destination to rest.
While Mizuhara will be joining Ohtani on his new team, the interpreter's seven years with the Angels made quite the impression on him. In a lengthy post on Instagram, Mizuhara paid tribute to Angels fans who made his first seven years in North America so special.
Addressing Los Angeles Angels fans, Mizuhara shared a heartfelt message that said that "it has been a great pleasure to be part of this family." While Ohtani and his associates were indeed much loved by Angels fans, the team's 10-year playoff drought led many fans to become disillusioned.
The long stretch without any playoff baseball was certainly a factor leading Shohei Ohtani to depart. In a highly significant move, Ohtani announced that he would be deferring some $680 million out of the Los Angeles Dodgers' $700 million commitment.
By saving about $24 million against the luxury tax per year, Ohtani's deferral has opened many doors for his new team from a financial standpoint.
"shohei ohtani throwing sunflower seeds at his interpreter ippei mizuhara, then glancing over to check if ippei noticed" - shohei doing things
Until the end of his free agency, some Angels fans remained hopeful that Ohtani would remain with the Halos. However, with the team already committed to paying outfielder Mike Trout nearly $300 million between now and 2030, the financial challenges of bringing Ohtani back proved to be inhibitive.
Ippei Mizuhara will be Shohei Ohtani's confidante for years to come
With Ohtani's stint with the Dodgers not set to wrap up until 2034, it's likely that Mizuhara is around for the long run.
Thankfully, the geographic closeness of the Dodgers to their old haunt in Anaheim will make the transition easy. However, it's likely that Mizuhara is readying himself to field more questions than ever before in 2024.