What To Know About Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter & Dodgers Employee Will Ireton

The Los Angeles Dodgers dealt with some controversy early in the season when they fired Ippei Mizuhara as Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter after he was accused of stealing $4.5 million from the two-way superstar in order to pay off his gambling debt.

That led to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announcing that Will Ireton was replacing Mizuhara as Ohtani’s new interpreter for the time being.

Ireton previously worked as a Dodgers interpreter for Kenta Maeda from 2016-2019 and remained with the team when the right-hander was traded to the Minnesota Twins.

The 35-year-old then shifted into player development and baseball operations, holding various roles such as coordinator of performance and his current position of manager of performance operations. He also spent one season on the Triple-A Oklahoma City coaching staff.

Along with serving as an interpreter for Ohtani, Ireton handles in-game translating and communication for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It previously was the responsibility of Mizuhara because MLB rules only permit teams to have one interpreter in the dugout during games.

Yoshihiro Sonoda remains Yamamoto’s interpreter for media interviews.

Who is Will Ireton?

Ireton was born in Tokyo, Japan, and moved to Hawaii as a teenager. He played college baseball at Occidental College in Los Angeles and was the valedictorian of his class at Menlo College in 2012.

Ireton played for the Philippines national team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers, which led to a tryout with a Texas Rangers Minor League affiliate. He did not make the team but received an internship with the organization that allowed him to stay in baseball.

Ireton went on to work as an intern for the New York Yankees before joining the Dodgers as Maeda’s interpreter in 2016.

Ireton is well-respected within the Dodgers organization and developed the nickname, “Will The Thrill,” for his high energy dance moves in the dugout.