Shohei Ohtani Leaves South Korea Quietly with His Wife

Shohei Ohtani has left Korea after completing his Major League Baseball (MLB) Seoul Series schedule.

Many fans flocked to Incheon International Airport in the early morning of the 22nd to see Ohtani departing with his wife, Mamiko Tanaka. Despite his popularity, Ohtani calmly waved his hand and proceeded through the departure process.

Ohtani seemed cautious on his last day in Korea, possibly due to the shocking fact that his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired for stealing and illegally gambling with Ohtani’s money. He refrained as much as possible from contacting the media and kept his mouth shut.

All eyes were on Ohtani during the Seoul Series. After wrapping up last season, he earned a free agent (FA) qualification. He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers after receiving the highest treatment in North American professional sports history with a contract term of 10 years and a total of $700 million. The Seoul Series, the first regular season game of the Major League in Korea, was also Ohtani’s official debut stage.

In addition, Ohtani heated the press coverage towards him by announcing his surprise marriage and revealing his wife, Tanaka. Journalists from Korea, the United States, and Japan flocked to the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul like birds.

Only after the first game of the Seoul Series on the 20th did Ohtani avoid the attention towards him. Ohtani, who visited Korea for the first time in 12 years since the 2012 World Youth Championship, showed his excitement, saying, “Korea is one of the countries I like” and “I’m happy to be back in Korea.” After the game, he also sincerely answered the questions from the press in the clubhouse.

However, it was different on the 21st, when he spent the last schedule of the Seoul Series. This seems to have been influenced by foreign press reports that Interpreter Mizuhira recently gambled illegally and stole Ohtani’s funds.

The Dodgers immediately dealt with it by firing Mizuhira, and Manager Dave Roberts consistently didn’t respond to related questions, trying to protect Ohtani and the players.

Ohtani also hid himself until the game started. In the first game of the Seoul Series, he came out to the ground and warmed up with his colleagues, but he completely omitted it in the second game. During the pre-game training, the clubhouse was open for 50 minutes, but Ohtani did not attend.

Ohtani, who trained in a separate indoor space, appeared in the last game of the Seoul Series as usual. When introducing himself just before the game, he also smiled faintly.

He recorded five at-bats, one hit, 1 RBI, and one run as the second designated hitter. He hit the ball near the fence twice, but opposing outfielders caught both. In the 8th inning, which was 11-12, he had the last hit in a tied opportunity with two outs and two bases, but it ended in a pop fly.

After the game, Ohtani fell silent again. Two Dodgers officials blocked the press’s questions in front of his locker in the clubhouse. Ohtani, who had finished packing his luggage, got on the team bus. It starkly contrasted with the friendly conversation with the press the day before.

Due to the “interpreter incident,” Ohtani left without expressing his feelings after finishing the Seoul Series.