ANAHEIM, Calif. — These days, you’ll find Tomoya Shimura typing away in his home office in Irvine. Shimura has been covering Shohei Ohtani since before the baseball phenomenon made the move to Anaheim and literally wrote the book on the Japanese player.

“So these are all my articles,” he said, scrolling through a website.

What You Need To Know

  • Tomoya Shimura covered Ohtani for the Orange County Register for years and in that time he says he can’t remember a moment off the field that Ippei Mizuhara wasn’t by the player’s side
  • That's why, he says, if Ohtani’s version of the story is true, Ippei’s alleged actions would be a betrayal of epic proportions
  • “I think this is one of the biggest stories in Japan,” said Kohei Kosaka, who works for Nippon TV in Tokyo and has covered more Ohtani stories than he can count
  • Ohtani was given a hero’s welcome as he stepped up to the plate Tuesday in Anaheim with a video tribute to his time with his former team playing in the jumbotrons

As a journalist who writes in English and Japanese, these past few days have been nonstop. There are things, he says, that American fans may not understand, like how entrenched interpreters are in the life of Japanese players.

“Most Japanese players have very little English skills,” Shimura said. “So they need help… talking to pretty much anyone in the clubhouse and outside of the stadium, you know? They need interpreters to take care of their personal lives. For example, opening bank accounts.”

Shimura covered Ohtani for the Orange County Register for years and in that time he says he can’t remember a moment off the field that Ippei Mizuhara wasn’t by the player’s side.

“He used to drive Ohtani to the stadium and then he bought food for Ohtani,” he said. “He took care of groceries and probably helped with financial matters, too, when he needed help. So it’s not hard to imagine if Ippei had a lot of access to Ohtani life, and Ohtani trusted Ippei for everything.”

Which is why, he says, if Ohtani’s version of the story is true, Ippei’s alleged actions would be a betrayal of epic proportions. And right now a majority of fans in Japan believe their hero. 

“I think this is one of the biggest stories in Japan,” said Kohei Kosaka, who works for Nippon TV in Tokyo and has covered more Ohtani stories than he can count.

He travelled to LA to cover the exhibition games between the Angels and the Dodgers plus Dodgers Opening Day — not knowing he’d be walking into the story that is dominating the conversation on news stations and on the street. He says when the news broke, friends in Tokyo were immediately texting him, wanting to know what was going on. It’s a story that hits home hard, worse he says because Ohtani and Mizuhara are known as “buddies.”

The Japanese public is very invested in this story, both journalists say, and not just because Ohtani is a famous ballplayer. For Japan, Shimura says, he represents far more than an athlete.

“Ohtani is someone who is considered a national hero. There’s no one you can compare to here for Americans,” Shimura said. “He’s just one of a kind. He’s like almost like a God figure, I have to say. He’s national pride and people want to believe that he’s innocent. And they still want to cheer for him.”

Which they certainly did at the exhibition game Tuesday night in Anaheim. Ohtani was given a hero’s welcome as he stepped up to the plate, a video tribute to his time with his former team playing in the jumbotrons. However, he struck out swinging in that first at bat and ultimately ended the game without a hit. Shimura says he wouldn’t be surprised if Ohtani’s overall performance suffers in the next few weeks.

“Ohtani is known within the circle as someone who wants to focus just on baseball… and relied on [Ippei] for everything other than baseball,” he said. “He wants to avoid distraction.”

But with an ongoing investigation, this is one distraction he won’t be able to avoid.