The Secret World of Baseball Interpreters - and Shohei Ohtani | PTFO

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  • Опубліковано 10 лип 2024
  • Before his best friend got him mixed up in the biggest story in baseball, Shohei Ohtani was a kind of child star caught in a state of arrested development. Enter the Japanese interpreter: part live-in nanny, part spouse in a trans-Pacific shotgun marriage. Correspondent Tim Rohan takes us inside an intimate profession that's closing ranks, post-scandal. Turns out, actual translating isn't the half of it.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 53

  • @krhimself
    @krhimself 19 днів тому +44

    This topic hits really close to home for me: my mom wound up serving as a translator/liaison during the 2010s for a Japanese wrestler who had just been signed under the WWE's umbrella. The wrestler had basically nothing in way of a support system when he arrived, and she was apparently the only person at Full Sail (which handled production for the WWE shows he performed in) who spoke fluent Japanese - and that was enough for WWE to source her and link her up with the wrestler. She helped him set up a bank account, set up bill payments, took him to the DMV, pretty much anything that wasn't directly related to wrestling (though she did get front row seats to shows, and meet active and former wrestlers as part of the gig).
    The pod did an amazing job portraying this, but people really would be shocked at how small the support systems (if they even exist) can be for even legit superstars like Shohei, let alone for Japanese ballplayers and athletes who aren't nearly as famous as he is... and also how informal the process can be for finding someone to run that tiny little system.

    • @BurritoKingdom
      @BurritoKingdom 19 днів тому +4

      It's crazy that MLB teams would have so little support considering they've been importing Japanese players since 94. It's been 30 years!

    • @DanielOrteez
      @DanielOrteez 19 днів тому +7

      You're telling me that your mom could've stood up and said "No. Don't change KENTA's name to Hideo Itami. That's stupid." but did nothing?!

    • @belhariry
      @belhariry 17 днів тому +2

      @@DanielOrteez Or stop CM Punk from stealing the GTS!

    • @Bman32x
      @Bman32x 16 днів тому +1

      @@DanielOrteez😂😂😂 like the least important detail of this whole thing but it did make me laugh thank you

  • @FatherMarty
    @FatherMarty 19 днів тому +21

    I find it completely plausable that Ohtani knew nothing. Didn't he defer the largest part of the contract he signed? They guy, as long as he can play major league baseball, just appears to not be interested in the wealth involved.

  • @Floboyzlad17
    @Floboyzlad17 19 днів тому +30

    This is a fantastic episode and makes me feel really bad for shohei, dude just needs some good friends to hang out with

  • @billharris7235
    @billharris7235 15 днів тому +4

    If I was Shohei, I'd sue CAA for malpractice to the tune of $16 million.

  • @Fp919-y8y
    @Fp919-y8y 19 днів тому +29

    This whole incident makes it brutally clear that most Americans who marvel at Shohei Ohtani's talents these past 6 years don't truly know who he is as a person. They mistake that just because someone doesn't speak English in interviews, means he hasn't been telling you who he is through his actions and in his own native language half of his life that's lived under the glare of the spotlights for almost TWO DECADES. If you are blessed to actually know in depth about Shohei Ohtani's admirable & loveable high character or if you want to learn by doing simple research into old interviews and articles of him from teammates, coaches, and his parents. Don't worry if some are in Japanese because Google translate and UA-cam translate will translate MOST of those interviews. You will learn that Shohei is so beloved because he is someone who through his consistent actions since childhood, values being someone of high character just as much as he values being the best baseball player in the world. It's even part of his goal setting since a teenager to get good karma by putting out good karma into the world by picking up trash, treating people well.
    Almost two decades worth of information on him has been chronicled & he has behaved consistently since childhood to adulthood, as someone who values doing things the right way to make his family and his country proud. As quoted in the in depth GQ article on him written in 2022, "Shohei was from his earliest age what's known in Japan as a yakyu shonen-a kid who eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball." He has no interest nor time between sleeping to recover his body from the amount of demands he puts on it to be the best in the world at TWO very specialized HOF level sports CAREERS to do anything else. Anyone who is a the top of any field will tell you the amount of discipline and time it takes to be great, much less the greatest in history at one career much less two. That is why he is so clueless about other non baseball life things the rest of us take for granted. He's the sports equivalent of the absent minded professor. He deserves sympathy and empathy for being a victim, not the willful racism masking as conspiracy theories & theorists who want to ignore overwhelming EVIDENCE & FACTS collected by the IRS, US Attorneys Office, Homeland Securities and other government agencies ON TOP of almost two DECADES of film footages, interviews by those who know him, grew up with him, worked with him.
    We need to hold accountable the willfully ignorant haters on the internet who illegally defame him by claiming "conspiracy" from nothing but their OPINIONS in the face of almost TWO DECADES of news stories, articles, and now government FACTS and EVIDENCE. Please upvote, like and subscribe to videos & content creators like this & of those who try to get the truth out about Shohei based on facts & also report, downvotes the lies & racisms aimed at Shohei. At this point what they are doing is illegally spreading lies because it's no longer an opinion that he's innocent, but there is overwhelming evidence and facts that he is. They are committing libel and defamation at best and racist hate disguised at conspiracy mongering at worst. Shohei's worked his butt off and dedicated his entire life to being the greatest baseball player as well as person, and bringing so much joy entertaining millions around the world. The least us fans owe him is to not let the jealous racists dirty his stellar and beloved reputation that he's worked so hard to earn with their willfully ignorant lies. At least don't reward them by giving them clicks & views, but downvote & report them because though UA-cam, Reddit, Instagram, X, and others may not show the downvotes, enough votes & reports hate, abuse & harassment will affect their ratings & eventually get them banned for spreading hate & lies. Sadly a lie allowed to go unchallenged eventually become the truth for the ignorants. Don’t respond directly to the liars & their lies or even make any references about them, but report them and post separately the facts & truths so they aren’t rewarded with attention & money and social media is flooded with 100x if not thousands more truths to drown out each lie. Thank you for helping to spread this message and protecting Shohei - as well as attending my Ted Talk.

    • @derrick_ahsam
      @derrick_ahsam 19 днів тому +4

      👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

  • @mish422
    @mish422 19 днів тому +6

    Movie making material. Fascinating but a traumatic experience for Ohtani.
    Good thing he is married now.

  • @henrixii1614
    @henrixii1614 18 днів тому +3

    This episode deserves to be shown on all mainstream media across the world.

  • @j0sh707
    @j0sh707 19 днів тому +9

    Fascinating reporting as always.

  • @noahblanc8105
    @noahblanc8105 19 днів тому +7

    I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE

  • @TheDrawGaming
    @TheDrawGaming 19 днів тому +13

    Another fantastic episode. Makes everything that happened make way more sense. Feel bad for Shohei, and I was one like many that couldn’t believe he didn’t know.

    • @stevest8675
      @stevest8675 19 днів тому +5

      Same. But after reading the 37 page affidavit I feel Ippei stole ohtani money and gamble with it.

  • @sheri_LA_native
    @sheri_LA_native 19 днів тому +6

    Shohei needed Mariko

  • @kevinyam2
    @kevinyam2 15 днів тому +3

    The last part where he claims Mizuhara “falling on a sword” for Ohtani is equally plausible isn’t plausible at all lol
    They would have then had to dupe the Justice Department, IRS criminal investigation unit, and Department of Homeland security. That would include tens of thousands of texts between all parties involved, forensically scrubbing all evidence of Ohtani’s involvement, etc.
    The IRS doesn’t miss lol They took down Al Capone. They aren’t gonna be duped by a baseball player and his friend lol

  • @Mrjmt14
    @Mrjmt14 19 днів тому +3

    How are these episodes always SO GOOD! Great storytelling as always, and please don’t burn out

  • @christopherlopez6971
    @christopherlopez6971 19 днів тому +6

    Another great episode 🎉

  • @drewprotzman5957
    @drewprotzman5957 18 днів тому +1

    Pablo these episodes are so well done and so good. Thank you for giving us something fresh & new, especially for topics I never would've thought to look into

  • @broman74dude95
    @broman74dude95 19 днів тому +3

    I’m still shocked there has been no public statement from agent/CAAA after Ippei plead guilty and no word from his agent on this matter. Unbelievable. If I were Ohtani, I would FIRE CAA and his agent immediately - no matter if Ohtani was financial ignorant or not. SMH 😮

  • @winterking9799
    @winterking9799 19 днів тому +2

    this is awesome and informative thx

  • @AnAfricanShah
    @AnAfricanShah 19 днів тому +1

    Cortez is f***ing up those sleeves by pulling them up like that

  • @ballisstrife
    @ballisstrife 13 днів тому +1

    Point of clarification: The name of the team Shohei played for in Japan is the Nippon-Ham "Fighters" not the Nippon "Ham Fighters." The way it's enunciated throughout this episode is like if you called the Yankees the New "York Yankees"

  • @krhimself
    @krhimself 19 днів тому +2

    Apropos of nothing: Shota Imanaga's interpreter is from, or at least has ties to, the same part of Japan (Kitakyushu) that Imanaga is from. He seems to be pretty good at what he does from the clips I've seen of him, but those hometown ties might have made it a lot easier for him to get hired for that gig.

  • @blackdaylight
    @blackdaylight 19 днів тому +1

    Good story... Plus it's funny that Tim Rohan looks like a character from The Hit Man😅

  • @yoonit78
    @yoonit78 19 днів тому +2

    Just based on personal anecdotal observation, but i've always been underwhelmed by the accuracy of Korean interpreters in MLB (assuming the stories and logistics are similar to Japanese players). Most recently, the interpreters provided for Jung-hoo Lee come to mind, both the ones provided by Scott Boras and his personal interpreter at the club. I also once got set up on a blind date with the non-club "translator" for a newly signed Korean big leaguer. Turns out she was the childhood best friend of the player's wife and had gone to school in Australia. She was basically the family's fixer. Finding and setting up living, cars, bank, school arrangements... setting up medical appts... driving...

    • @belhariry
      @belhariry 17 днів тому

      Like most jobs, its' who you know and not what you know, connections etc.

  • @Summer-pn1wm
    @Summer-pn1wm 3 дні тому

    It literally takes 5 minutes to scroll through the affidavit and Americans couldn't even do that

  • @noahblanc8105
    @noahblanc8105 19 днів тому +1

    Cardigan is in the outerwear/jacket category IMO. Doesn’t need washed often cause it doesn’t smell bad

  • @patrickmcgowan1252
    @patrickmcgowan1252 19 днів тому +3

    Who was Taro Tsujimoto's interpreter?

    • @FatherMarty
      @FatherMarty 19 днів тому +3

      Taro was and is, I'm told, fluent in français canadien.

  • @ResidentRomeo
    @ResidentRomeo 11 днів тому

    MLB should limit the use of the team interpreter to strictly interpreting during training/practice/games and post game etc...
    Anything outside of that realm needs to be for their non MLB affiliated Personality Assistant / interpreter.
    Setting those boundaries is key. You wouldn't expect the stadium grounds keeper to also be the personal landscaper of the players on the team.
    I wish that was also said in this episode.

  • @stevest8675
    @stevest8675 18 днів тому +2

    Ippei stole Ohtani money and gambled with it. A traitor

  • @christopherkelly4569
    @christopherkelly4569 16 днів тому

    leaning on Pablo heavy this week….

  • @harmo2502
    @harmo2502 19 днів тому

    Gotta skip through the intro since that cortez kid is on again :(

  • @bagbroch9339
    @bagbroch9339 16 днів тому

    god these shows rule

  • @tedmich
    @tedmich 19 днів тому

    Bruce Dickinson?

  • @c.a.taylor1321
    @c.a.taylor1321 19 днів тому +8

    Booo Cortez!!

    • @fexcab
      @fexcab 19 днів тому

      Boooooo….hissssss

  • @kennybegeske8824
    @kennybegeske8824 13 днів тому +1

    Here's Ohtani Plans For His Day Off Taking English Lessons 1st Baseman Tryouts

  • @kennybegeske8824
    @kennybegeske8824 13 днів тому +1

    Ohtani Owe His Formal Team Money

  • @TheThizzelle
    @TheThizzelle 19 днів тому +1

    I'm sorry but I just don't buy that Othani didn't know. His lawyer cooked up this story after the original story they told.

    • @TheDrawGaming
      @TheDrawGaming 19 днів тому +18

      So you didn’t watch the episode where at every turn it was perfectly explained?

    • @TheThizzelle
      @TheThizzelle 19 днів тому +1

      ​@@TheDrawGaming nah I watched it. But you act like that story can't be a lie. There's a billion dollar industry partially riding on the guy. A lot of people are invested in Ohtani not being banned or suspended. With how corrupt America is right now I'm surprised people just bought that story. I personally don't really care but I just don't buy that shit.

    • @stevest8675
      @stevest8675 19 днів тому +14

      @@TheThizzelleat the beginning I thought the same as you. But after reading the 37-page affidavit I am certain Ippei stole Ohtani money.

    • @TheThizzelle
      @TheThizzelle 19 днів тому

      ​@@stevest8675Pablo basically came to the same conclusion I just said at the end of this episode. Which is basically 🤷🏾‍♂️I dunno, something feels off and it's either he knew something or is naive on a level that's hard to believe.

    • @TheThizzelle
      @TheThizzelle 19 днів тому

      ​@@stevest8675to ever be certain about something you weren't a part of and have only consumed info from others who also weren't there DOJ, MLB or whoever is just crazy to me.