So, I was watching some baseball the other day, and it got me thinking about Shohei Ohtani. This guy’s a beast on the field, right? But it made me wonder, can he actually speak English? I mean, he’s from Japan, and I’ve seen him use an interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, a lot.
Diving into Ohtani’s English Skills
First, I started digging around to see what I could find out about Ohtani’s English. I figured there had to be some interviews or something where he spoke at least a little English. I checked out some articles. Turns out, his interpreter, Mizuhara, he’s not just some random dude. He’s pretty important. Born in Japan but grew up in Southern California and even went to college at the University of California, Riverside. And he makes between $300,000 to $500,000 every year from Ohtani! That’s good.
Then, I watched a bunch of videos of Ohtani. Most of the time, yeah, Mizuhara was there doing the talking. But then I stumbled upon this one clip where Ohtani was getting some award. And guess what? He spoke in English! It was just a short speech, saying stuff like “this is such a special moment for me. I’m so honored to be here and be part of this team. Congratulations, Los Angeles. Thank you guys.” He sounded pretty good, honestly. A little hesitant, maybe, but definitely understandable.
Putting the Pieces Together
So, after watching that, I realized Ohtani probably understands more English than he lets on. I mean, he’s been playing in the US for a while now, right? He’s gotta be picking up the language just from being around his teammates and all that.
I started to think maybe he just prefers to use an interpreter for official stuff because it’s easier. You know, to make sure he’s getting his message across perfectly. Or maybe he’s just a bit shy about his English skills. Who knows?
My Takeaway
From what I’ve gathered, it seems like Ohtani can definitely speak some English. He might not be fluent, but he can get by. And honestly, that’s pretty cool. It just shows how much effort he’s putting in, both on and off the field.
At the end of the day, whether he’s speaking English or Japanese, Ohtani’s an amazing player. And I’m just glad I got to learn a little bit more about him through this whole process. It’s always interesting to see the person behind the athlete, you know?
