Will Ireton: What to know about Shohei Ohtani’s new translator
By Bryan Ke
Will Ireton, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ resident hype man and former translator, is now officially serving as Shohei Ohtani’s new translator.
Key points:
- Will Ireton first appeared alongside Ohtani, 29, when the latter first addressed his former translator Ippei Mizuhara’s illegal betting scandal on March 25.
Catching up:
- Mizuhara, 39, was fired after being accused of stealing money from Ohtani’s bank account, amounting to $4.5 million.
The details:
- Born in Tokyo, Ireton moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, at 15 to study at the Mid-Pacific Institute. He later played baseball for Occidental College and Menlo College in California.
- Ireton, whose mother is Filipino, represented the Philippines in the World Baseball Classic in 2012.
- Ireton interned for the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees. He served as the translator for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda after joining the organization in 2016.
- Ireton moved to the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the Los Angeles team’s Triple-A affiliate after Maeda left in 2020 to join the Minnesota Twins.
- While he started as an interpreter at the Dodgers, Ireton became the organization’s performance operations manager in 2021, as per his LinkedIn page. He is also known for hyping up the team to motivate them during their games, earning him the moniker “Will the Thrill.”
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