Can Shohei Ohtani Speak English Fluently?

Shohei Ohtani is undoubtedly one of the best baseball players in MLB in modern times. Born on July 5, 1994, in Oshu, Japan, he is fondly referred to by his teammates as ‘Shotime’ and ‘The Unicorn.’ Drafted into the Nippon Professional Baseball, Shohei moved on to play in the Major League Baseball in 2018 for the Los Angeles Angels. After spending six years with the team, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2024 season.

He is a five-time NPB All-Star, two-time Pacific League Pitcher Best Nine, and Japanese Series Champion in 2016. In MLB, he was the AL MVP in 2021, 2023, and 2024. He is a five-time All-Star as of October 2025. Shohei Ohtani also became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the hitting and pitching leaderboards in one season, reaching the thresholds of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning pitched per game with 586 at-bats and 166 innings pitched in 2022.

Does Shohei Ohtani speak English?

Shohei Ohtani, one of the most popular baseball players in MLB, can speak English. However, he prefers to use an interpreter to translate his comments from Japanese to English and vice versa. Notably, Will Ireton, a long-time employee of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has become Ohtani's new interpreter, following the accusations of illegal betting and theft against his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.

​When did Shohei Ohtani move to the United States of America?

Shohei Ohtani agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2017 and moved to the United States of America a few days later. Despite being in the MLB and the country for roughly five years now, Shohei hasn't yet managed to converse well in English despite his growing popularity. He only speaks English in his interviews through a translator.

Has Shohei Ohtani studied English?

Shohei Ohtani conceded that he learned English in Japan as a part of the mandatory curriculum, but pointed out that he learned just about enough to meet a certain standard and not to become a fluent speaker.

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Can Teammates Communicate with Shohei Ohtani?

Shohei can interact well with his teammates and coaches, even though his phrases are not always fluent. His teammate Max Muncy said this about Ohtani's communication skills: "He understands baseball," Muncy said as per reports. "There are guys that I've never faced that he's faced, guys that I've faced that he's never faced, just being in two different leagues the last several years. And you've seen it with everybody. He's trying to interact. He's trying to just see what the pitch feels like, what the action feels like. And I give credit to him because he's trying not to use a translator. He's trying to just interact. There might be a language barrier, but this is baseball, so it's just easier for him to communicate."

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