Ippei Mizuhara leaves the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, California, on February 6, 2025. Forbes Mets Launch Trade Deadline Shakeup With Wave Of Minor League ReleasesLos Angeles Dodgers’ Former Interpreter Ippei Mizuhara Idolized Team Among the details that have emerged from ESPN's reporting was that Mizuhara favored the Dodgers as a fan while growing up. “One recalled that Mizuhara loved the Dodgers because of Hideo Nomo but switched his allegiance to the Seattle Mariners when Ichiro Suzuki came to MLB.” MORE FOR YOU That baseball fandom makes the irony of his eventual role with the Dodgers even more striking. “Our university records do not show a student by the name of Ippei Mizuhara having attended UC Riverside,” a school spokesman told The Athletic’s Sam Blum .