Shohei Ohtani's life has improved more than expected without Ippei Mizuhara

Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers career did not begin the way anyone could've possibly imagined. His longtime interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers after it was revealed that he had stolen a substantial amount of money from the two-time MVP winner to cover his mounting gambling debt.

You'd think having this kind of distraction revolving around Ohtani who is now playing with expectations to win for the first time in his MLB career would impact him, but it's done anything but. Ohtani might not be pitching but he's having arguably the best hitting season of his career thus far, slashing .317/.388/.608 with 20 home runs and 52 RBI entering Thursday's action.

If the season ended today, Ohtani would be squarely in the NL MVP discussion even without pitching. He's been that good.

Not only are things going well on the field for Ohtani without Mizuhara, but he's flourishing off of it as well.

Shohei Ohtani is flourishing on and off the field without Ippei Mizuhara

Here's what Hannah Keyser wrote up in Tyler Glasnow's GQ profile:

"'He’s a dude, he’s just like a friend. He’s just a normal baseball-playing person, who’s clearly amazing.' Even the language barrier has proven eminently surmountable. 'It’s really good,'Glasnow says about Ohtani’s English. 'He can have any conversation.' In fact, multiple people around the Dodgers indicate that Ohtani has become much more accessible in the absence of his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, who was fired from the Dodgers early this season amid reports that he had stolen millions of dollars from Ohtani to cover gambling debts."

Glasnow praised Ohtani's ability to speak English at a high level and said that the superstar has been more accessible now that Mizuhara is out of the picture. Ohtani's new translator Will Ireton appears to be giving him space, and Ohtani is thriving off the field with his new teammates as a result.

There isn't much for Ohtani to complain about nowadays. He's locked in with the Dodgers for the next decade, has incredible teammates surrounding him, and doesn't have a thief looking over his shoulder.