They were one of the best-known duos in baseball. Wherever star pitcher and slugger Shohei Ohtani went — to practice, to the gym, to Japanese restaurants in Orange County — his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara was never far behind.
His Beatles-like haircut, self-deprecating attitude and rapport with the new face of baseball made Mizuhara, a 39-year-old from Southern California, a celebrity in his own right. But over the last week, the world learned how little was truly known about Ohtani’s former right-hand man, who was fired by the Dodgers after being accused of stealing more than $4.