<figure id="attachment_402360" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-402360" style="width: 616px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7fc20ff3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/f2b32d619e4d57b8e7c63e2b1490fd68.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-402360" class="wp-caption-text">Iaton nervously responds to photo requests from the assembled fans.</figcaption></figure>
<h2> MLB fans were waiting for &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<p> On November 29, the wife of Philadelphia Phillies mainstay Nick Castellanos (32), who signed a five-year, $100 million contract in &#8217;22, reported on social media that he was visiting Hakone with his family, creating a buzz. In the midst of all this, one team employee also attracted attention: &#8230;&#8230;.</p>
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<p> On a late November evening, the lobby of the Tokyo Dome Hotel adjacent to the Tokyo Dome (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) was crowded with baseball fans. In their hands were autographs. The fans all rushed up to the slim man who appeared there. He was Will Iaton, 35, an employee of the Los Angeles Dodgers and interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, 30.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> A few days earlier, Mr. Iaton was shown watching the WBSC Premier 12 game between the U.S. and Japan at Tokyo Dome on live TV, which became a big topic of conversation on social networking sites. Since the game was between the U.S. and Venezuela that day, fans were waiting for him to show up at the Dome Hotel,&#8221; said a sports newspaper reporter.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Mr. Iaton responding to fans&#39; requests despite his bewilderment."></div>
<h2>Two shots are also smiles. &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<p> Mr. Iaton is half American and half Filipino, born in Tokyo, Japan, and lived in Japan until the age of 15. As a baseball player, he was selected to represent the Philippines in the &#8217;13 World Baseball Classic qualifying round and signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers that same year.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> He joined the Dodgers in &#8217;16 as an interpreter for pitcher Kenta Maeda (now 36, with the Detroit Tigers). I was in charge of data coaching and performance operations.&#8217; Japanese fans took notice of him as Otani&#8217;s interpreter after the former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara&#8217;s misconduct, which was uncovered just after the start of the 24th season. He is a polite and serious person, and his nonchalant way of interpreting for Otani has made him very popular.</span></p>
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<p> Mr. Iaton, who himself, not Otani, was the one who was asked to sign autographs, was a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the fans, but he was smiling when we took two-shot photos with him. He was a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the fans, but he was smiling and willing to sign autographs for two-shot photos. In fluent Japanese, he politely declined to sign autographs, as an honest man he is.</p>
<p> He is sure to excite fans again next season, along with Otani.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Mr. Iaton smiles during a photo shoot with fans"></div>
<figure id="attachment_402361" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-402361" style="width: 616px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="188f5f44"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/2cfd8a4c1b889b804863ab276e9503dd.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-402361" class="wp-caption-text">Mr. Iaton smiles when asked to sign a ball, but politely declines.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_402362" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-402362" style="width: 437px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cc769f7c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/e80252740447cc52a229a3614e85a090.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-402362" class="wp-caption-text"> The &#8220;photo session&#8221; between Mr. Iaton and fans continued for a while.</figcaption></figure>
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 Will Iaton, who is well known in Japan as Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, was surrounded by baseball fans and asked to take pictures with them. He was puzzled and smiled, but when asked for an autograph...

I&#8217;m sorry, I don&#8217;t have your autograph. Shohei Ohtani&#8217;s interpreter, Will Iyaton, who came to Japan to sign autographs, was honest with a flood of fans.

I’m sorry, I don’t have your autograph. Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Will Iyaton, who came to Japan to sign autographs, was honest with a flood of fans.

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