Now on his own? Appearing without an interpreter, Otani's English and U.S. local ratings were

Is this the start of his solo career?

Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared on the air without an interpreter. Ohtani appeared on the pregame program ahead of the Dodgers' game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Friday (July 15).

The game was delayed due to rain, and ESPN took the opportunity to introduce the players' spikes one by one. "White and Dodger blue," Ohtani said of the colors of his spikes, then showed the floor and said, "The sole is so flat, you know. This is confotable," in professional English. Otani had been using an interpreter for TV broadcasts and interviews, but on this day, he communicated directly in English.

The local broadcasters were impressed by what they heard. "Your English is pretty good," the broadcaster said after hearing him speak.

Ohtani has had Ippei Mizuhara as his interpreter since he entered the major leagues in 2018. Mizuhara, who served as Ohtani's "mouthpiece" during his time with the Los Angeles Angels, followed him to the Dodgers. However, gambling allegations surfaced while he was in Korea for the Seoul Series last month, and he was promptly released by the Dodgers. An investigation shocked the organization when it was revealed that Mizuhara had misused Ohtani's account to pay off his own gambling debts. In the U.S., Otani's involvement was also suspected. However, Mizuhara was cleared of any wrongdoing when the investigation revealed that he had been meticulously organizing the misappropriation of Otani's account from the time he broke into the big leagues and that Otani was unaware of it.