Shohei Ohtani's Inner Circle | Foul Territory

[@tempusnon2157]

This proves how pure Shohei’s vision is; this man is liberated from finances and just excels at the craft he loves.

[@manciti4709]

it was never about the money with ohtani...it's more about principle...this is a man of honor

[@Koindewk]

Hey guys, this is what one of his teammates said about Shohei from Nippon Ham “He has exceptional individual abilities, but he thinks about the team more than anyone else. Also, he's not attached to money. Saying he isn't attached might be misleading, but he hardly spent any of it during his time with the Nippon-Ham Fighters. In professional baseball, it's common for players who suddenly come into a lot of money to splurge on luxury brand clothes, shoes, and necklaces. But Shohei showed no interest in that. He doesn't drink or gamble, and he rarely attended social gatherings. The women often asked, "Isn't Ohtani coming?" but even when invited, he never showed up, so eventually, his seniors stopped asking him.”

[@Koindewk]

His senpais(seniors) eventually stopped asking him out to social gathering 😅

[@Koindewk]

Another person from NPB states "Not every player likes going to parties with women. However, there was a time when it was hard to say no if a senior asked you to join. There were plenty of seniors who would get angry and lecture you if you declined. What's amazing about Ohtani is that he can say 'no' to places he doesn't want to go. To perform at his best on the field, he avoids things that cause stress and don't contribute positively. Some might have thought he wasn't social, but he didn't stand out negatively within the team because he consistently delivered results as a unique two-way player. His ability to treat everyone equally is another reason why he's well-liked."

[@Koindewk]

Another comment from insider “During an international tournament overseas, while most of the players went out for dinner at places like yakiniku restaurants, Shohei ate alone at the hotel restaurant. It wasn't that he wasn't invited; he chose not to go out. I thought, "This guy is incredible." Baseball is always at the center of his life, and he doesn't compromise at all. His ideals are different from other players, and I think he'll achieve even greater success with the Dodgers.”

[@Koindewk]

Some of his teammates called him AI and stuff like that back in Japan cause he was so regimented

[@Adrian-zw6sc]

How to prevent this in the future- teams need to hire a 2nd independent translator, not to be present full time, but just to be on hand in certain business or contractual matters to verify that said player's personal translator continues to be on the up-and-up within his duties and team rapport.

[@Zinerun]

This is it. Have a 3rd party in the room who speaks the language. Doesn’t need to be full-time staff. They could be a private contractor that only comes in for weekly meetings.

[@gsmarcom]

yes definitely need a 2nd interpreter or someone who speaks Japanese to be present on and off, to act as kind of check and balance so that the 1st interpreter cannot control the narrative as he wants. And that seems to me to be the agency's responsibility, Ippei was brought in by Ohtani, his agency respects that, fine, but it should at least have a Japanese speaking staff in the team to keep an eye on things instead of completely relying on 1 person

[@devn266]

@@gsmarcom ohtani speaks passable english tho. prolly tried hard to learn since then

[@calvinchesler5735]

@@devn266 The only thing that I would add to this, is that the guy should not look like he could speak the language. Sounds a little awful but really its a spy in the room.

[@koningklootzak7788]

No. This will create miscommunication. Each team need to monitor their employees better. It's Angeles who didn't find out about ippei's wrong doing for a long time. Dodgers caught him really quick. Make a written contract with all do's and don'ts. If anybody breaks it, he gets fired and sued.

[@seekthao]

Gambling is a terrible terrible addiction. It’s not that he was mismanaged or that it was wrong to let Ippei have so much power because that probably wouldn’t have changed. Instead, Ippei got himself a gambling addiction. Until you’ve dealt with a compulsive gambler, you don’t even know the amount of destruction a gambler causes.

[@PeterLau23]

Have two interrupters present at all time. It can act as a check and balance system.

[@naxos41]

I am a Japanese living in the U.S. and this is my two cents. Ken’s point is that the relationship between Ohtani and Mizuhara was so tight nobody else could have gotten between them. Under this specific circumstance, the theft would have happened no matter what. However, now there is this precedence, the team and/or agent should insist on having the second line of communication that does not go through the primary interpreter. In Ohtani case, when the initial inquiry came from ESPN, both the Dodgers and the crisis manager sent by Balelo were lied to by Mizuhara, who single-handedly controlled the information flow in and out of Ohtani. This added to the confusion. From now on, the player needs to be made to agree to have the second line of communication that will go through the another interpreter hired by the team or agent.

[@SuperReviews4you]

If Ohtani is making 100M from endorsements BEFORE being a Dodger then that number is going to be insane once he starts having memorable postseason highlights.

[@aoh4905]

I think it was around $60 million a year. Could be around $100 million now though in LA.

[@PMorinaga]

shohei does understand english more than he speaks But Nez's mistake was he never talked directly with Shohei. plus who whould think someone you thought was a great friend and confidant was a lying worst enemy. Shohei should also should change agents. So glad he has Mamiko!!

[@pineapplelife507]

I’m so sad for ohtani, thinking the angels never invited him to anything

[@asianbaseballers]

The interpreter/secretary relationship to the player was a system that worked. Interpreters were trusted in financial matters. Katsunori Kojima, an interpreter for several teams, has stated he did financial transactions of his players. Ippei had Ohtani's trust, and he used that trust as an opportunity, including impersonating Shohei on the phone to get transactions done, hid notifications, and transfering cash to his own bank account. How to prevent it in the future? Make translating jobs contractual. An interpreter should be changed after every 3 to 6 months. The relationship to the player should only be on a professional level. Not saying to not hire them. If the MLB provides all translators or oversees them, they can help transfer translators to a different team every 6 months. They will still work; however, they will just work with a different team every 6 months.

[@viviammurillo8216]

How to prevent this: The player's agent must have an independent translator to talk directly to the player in all business and financial matters. The team's or personal translator could also be present but will not be the only way of communication.

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

The team can hire their own interpreter from outside 3rd party and talk to Ohtani directly on the semi regular basis. The idea that there are no checks and balances is absurd It’s really not hard. Trust but verify

[@jsa790]

I don't think there's a single team in mlb that audits their interpreters.

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

@@jsa790 but you can … audits is normal for anything related to financials They can use the same reasoning for making sure all financial related matters needs to be audited.

[@demi7733]

Ohtani was basically groomed by Ippei simple explanation. Started from his nippon ham days. He was interpreter for the foreigner players made the connection with ohtani. Gained his trust and said take me with you when you go to MLB. Ohtani is all baseball. He won 2 MVPs and championships in Japan. But all those years he personally decided to live on the player dormitory’s . That is a tiny room( 15 -18sq feet) his only making millions of dollars from endorsements!! Washed his own clothes lives on 700-800 dollars a months for all the years in Japan. All his money he sent to his family. Used clothes from his endorsements. Basically a monk in baseball.

[@brendanvillines3715]

The Dodgers should have their own personal translator for different languages that have the teams best interest. If he isn’t personally paid by the player then he would be honest with both sides.

[@makeplaysmedia]

fascinating article from KR

[@hpnssn773]

Great conversation..

[@makeplays]

great work by Kenny ballgame

[@denningfamily2145]

FYI, Google Translate is not reliable at all.

[@timw8646]

Have the team get their own "japanese interpreter" when the conversation is about money. He or she can just sit there and not say anything but to make sure other interpreter interprets accurately.

[@krystell84]

What article are they referring to? I'd like to read.

[@thienvu8120]

The Angels never tried using Google translate? Come on. Concern for doing the right thing by someone and authentic does not need any cultural sensitivity. People know when you are sincere and care no translation needed.

[@3773dc]

Google Translate directly with the player

[@ODZC53]

Google translate is not 100% accurate. There’s for example slang in Spanish, it’s actual Spanish words but doesn’t translate well to English.

[@devn266]

how about investing in them speaking english. give them language sessions so you can communicate without interpreters outside of them doing media. ik shohei has passable english but uses the interpreter for media now.

[@mirikaku5811]

It’s tiring to deal with training in something nobody else have even attempted to do at this level. It’s not physical the mental is even more! Why insisting on him to have to speak English? Just let him have it his way so he can focus on what he is paid to do because nobody else can do it! People who insist he should learn to speak English are usually who only can speak English..

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

@@devn266 who cares if he speaks English. Vlad jr can’t speak English and you didn’t cry about it 😂😂😂 Racist much

[@rayfonseca6292]

Don mattingly isn’t in the hof because reporters said he never wanted to speak to them daily. Ohtani insists on never speaking to reporters like ever or at all. No matter what. Yet they glaze over him. Far as I’m concerned you’re the forced face of baseball you’re the biggest paid ever all time and talking to press is part of that deal. It’s part of the game itself !!! This dude is playing mlb and they just let him do whatever he wants.

[@alwilsonwastheman]

I could care less if he speaks. I just wanna see him hit lasers all over the field and throw 100 next year when he can pitch.

[@rayfonseca6292]

@@alwilsonwastheman I hear that sure!! Just saying if he’s gonna make double what everyone else gets to make at very least he should be held to same standard cause I’m willing to be most stats don’t really wanna answer to the media after a tough loss but it’s part of the deal itself. Part of the game itself. So if he wants to get paid twice as much as the guy that’s gotta answer to the media and by extension to the fans ? He’s got time to speak to the press . Ichiro did it ! Matsui did it , Nomo did it , tanaka did it , matsuzaka did it etc. can’t be the face of baseball and only speak to anyone when it suits you. And especially when there’s a gambling ring story surrounding directly you. That’s part of what all that cash is for! Ichiro not only learned English he also learned fluent Spanish just to talk shit to guys. Ohtani ain’t special in this regard . All the greatest players before him dealt with the media win lose or draw. He has to as well! Period

[@mirikaku5811]

That’s your limited thinking. World is full of people who dosent have to do that. He is a special talent and to be able to maintain that is much more important than pleasing people like you who think he must “please” you by speaking English. You Don’t understand what kind of pressure he has to memorize so many things in his sports, deal with so many people, representing sport (by playing, not by talking) the kind of crazy demand he has from thousands of people being so unique and still maintain focus to pull through this talent is something you couldn’t fathom. So kindly stop bully this guy and force him to do more. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch him nor comment on him. MLB is full of other players watch them!

[@BenDover-vs7ih]

​@@alwilsonwastheman Exactly!!!

[@rayfonseca6292]

@@mirikaku5811 my limited thinking is focused on ohtani having two tj surgeries in less than seven seasons. Fact that he’s never thrown over 160 innings in his career. Fact that he’s never been the leagues best pitcher or hitter. And yes if you wanna make 700 million dollars over ten years yeah you’re supposed to speak up after games and be a leader and the face of the sport but he runs and hides like a pampered child . Goat? Gtfoh lmao he’s not even the best player on his team that’s Mookie Betts lol. He’s a diva who could be a legend but will still end up a diva

[@BrianJones-cu2sx]

Are we sure we aren’t just being fed this narrative about Ohtani because of his stature and what the league has to gain from his talents? I mean not only is he probably the most popular player in the continental U.S., but he brings an entire other country in Japan with him and their fanfare is unmatched. Whole thing is still very fishy

[@1two3four5sixer]

FBI, Homeland Security, and the IRS made it very clear what happened.give me one reason why any of these government agencies would protect Shohei, who is a foreigner. They’d LOVE to take him down if he was actually doing something fishy.

[@mirikaku5811]

What exactly is fishy? Can you present proof of that fishy thing? We want to know. Please present your own evidence! If not it would only be a case of defamation.

[@solophlong1]

Salty? Someone that doesn't look like you is better than you at your own creation...get over it Racist!

[@BrianJones-cu2sx]

@@1two3four5sixer What exactly has the FBI, DHS and IRS done to instill the confidence and trust of we the people over the last 30 years lol. They’ve proven to be crooked especially when it comes to high profile individuals

[@BrianJones-cu2sx]

@@mirikaku5811 well, I’ve read the charges and the reports. I’m still not convinced. This has the makings for the perfect fall guy. I like Ohtani, I just think the MLB would have had to shelf him like they did Pete Rose or they would be hypocrites. There’s too much money with these players now and with projected revenue, it creates the perfect incentive structure to have a fall guy.

[@slundgr]

Who gives someone access to their bank account if it’s not a joint account? His relationship with the interpreter is fishy because it was so secret and Ohtani went along with it.

[@tml365tml7]

Ohtani did NOT give his interpreter the access to any of his accounts. Time for you to read the federal complaint and you will have your answer.

[@slundgr]

@@tml365tml7 Ohtani had him set up his bank accounts. If you believe Ohtani is clean in all of this, go back to the first interview the interview did. They found out he could be in jeopardy for wiring money to an illegal bookmaker and the story changed on a dime. Why? Ohtani's handlers set up the first interview.

[@thecathouse]

can this guy just learn english and take control of his own life?

[@PMorinaga]

he knows English enough to communicate for basball purposes. he also speaks some Spanish. the reason he was swindled is because his thought of 'friend confidant ' betrayed him! what a sleaze. So glad he has Mamiko😊

[@shutthefupdonny]

If you came to Japan it would take you 50 years to learn the language lol

[@cityandlocal]

FREE THE FALL GUY!

[@yomama383]

Ippei is that you?

[@cityandlocal]

@@yomama383 yes. Free me!

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

@@cityandlocalI just freed your chastity belt 😂😂😂 You may satisfy yourself now … for many years to come little bruh

[@ghingisoverland6932]

There he is. The crazy ex that doesn’t know how to let it go

[@suika197]

Ippei is a true heinous criminal. He should live in prison for the rest of his life.