By Alfredo Echenique Lugo
May 28, 2024, 2:42 PM EDT
At the beginning of the 2024 Major League season, the new Dodgers player, Shohei Ohtani, was involved in a controversy over the theft of $16 million from his bank accounts by his former translator Ippei Mizuhara.
This situation was resolved very quickly, as Mizuhara confessed to the authorities that he had transferred said amount of money without the player’s permission to pay illegal betting debts.
Although Ohtani had nothing to do with this illegal practice, he recently broke his silence and confessed how this situation with his former translator affected him in his daily life.
“I think what affected me the most was being able to sleep well,” Ohtani revealed this Monday to SNY in the run-up to the start of the series against the New York Mets in Los Angeles.
And the Japanese man stated that the controversy with his former translator, with whom he had a very good relationship of trust, affected him in his daily life. Although in sports he was not reflected at all.
And while all this controversy was happening, Ohtani continued to have a performance worthy of an MVP on the field. Which shows the mental strength of the Japanese.
“I also realized that how I feel mentally off the field should not affect my abilities, and I have complete confidence in my own ability that I could continue playing without being affected by anything that happens off the field,” explained the talented batter.
Ohtani is currently hitting .336, being the leader in average in the National League. He also has 13 home runs, 35 RBIs and 71 hits in his first season of the 10-year, $700 million dollar mega contract he signed with the Dodgers.
Ohtani raises alarm bells for possible injury
Ohtani recently raised concerns in the final game of the series against the Cincinnati Reds after abruptly stopping his run and almost walking to third base.
Manager Dave Roberts explained after the game that Ohtani has been dealing with hamstring discomfort for several weeks.
In fact, on May 11 against the San Diego Padres, the Japanese left the game due to lower back stiffness, which caused him to miss the next game.
For now, this discomfort has not been serious enough to send the player to the injured list. However, Roberts himself assured that the medical team recommended that he be “intelligent” when playing so as not to aggravate the injury.
Keep reading:
· Shohei Ohtani has invested $7.85 million dollars in a California mansion
· Former interpreter of Shohei Ohtani pleads “not guilty” to the charges, but already has an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office
· Shohei Ohtani’s former Angels teammate would also be involved in illegal betting