Former Los Angeles Angels manager Joe Maddon described Shohei Ohtani's friendship with his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, as similar to "peanut butter and jelly."
The Los Angeles Dodgers star is now distancing himself from the man who has been by his side for more than a decade because of a gambling scandal.
Ippei was recently caught in a massive sports betting issue, in which Ohtani's name appeared in wire transfers amounting to $4.5 million to a bookmaker.
The transfers were initially reported as the 2023 American League MVP's way of helping Ippei with his gambling debt. Sports gambling is illegal in California.
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The interpreter eventually denied that Ohtani was involved. The player's camp made a similar statement, stating that he was the victim.
"I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting," Mizuhara says during the interview, according to ESPN.
"I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again."
The peanut butter and jelly does not taste good anymore.
When did Shohei Ohtani, interpreter first meet?
Shohei Ohtani and Ippei built a decade-long relationship that made them comfortable making public jokes.
"Yeah, we are not friends or anything. We're just business partners," Ohtani told reporters back in February when he attended his first Dodgers Fest.
Ippei, 39, was born in Japan, but his family moved to the United States when he was six years old, as his father worked as a chef in Los Angeles.
He graduated from the University of California in 2007 and was hired in 2013 as an interpreter for American players in the Nippon Baseball League's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Ohtani's first team.
He and Ohtani first crossed paths in 2013, and he has been his designated interpreter since then.
They formed a friendship that endeared to fans from America and Japan.
Ippei even comes in as a catch partner for Ohtani.
When the MLB lockout occurred in 2021, Ippei was barred from talking to Ohtani under the league regulations since he was an Angels employee. He quit his post to be able to continue his friendship with the two-way superstar.
They retained their business relationship when the lockout ended, and Ippei was again by Ohtani's side.
The Seoul, South Korea games were the first time that Ohtani did not have Ippei by his side to interpret for him.
Ohtani without Ippei
Right now, the Dodgers see Ippei's departure from Ohtani's side as a blessing in disguise.
The interpreter was previously seen as a buffer between Ohtani and his teammates, but now, there is no more "gatekeeping" of the star pitcher.
Manager Dave Roberts thought it would bring something great as far as team dynamics are concerned.
"I would argue that it's gonna help relations internally," Roberts said after Ohtani's statement on his interpreter's gambling scandal last week.
"I've already seen it. You know, the last couple of days, I think Shohei has been even more engaging with his teammates. And I think there's only upside with that."
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