Interpreter at short: Brazil's Vitor Ito is also the Hanshin Tigers' translator

Vitor Ito speaks Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. Unfortunately, I only speak English. That meant that this time, the translator needed his own translator.

"I'm being careful not to talk too much, so it will be easier for the interpreter to translate," Ito said, laughing, his Portuguese being translated into English by Brazil's interpreter Izawa.

You see, Vitor Ito isn't just Brazil's lightning-quick shortstop: He's also a professional translator for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league. (Ito's not the only player with an off-the-field job, though: Utility player Osvaldo Carvalho is a construction worker by day.)

Because of that, Ito knows exactly what issues may spring up when a conversation must thread its way through multiple languages.

"I think my biggest challenge is to not overdue stuff, like when I'm trying so hard to help and I might end up like saying more than I should, or doing more than I should," Ito said. "Balance, that is my biggest challenge."

Ito was originally born in Maril¨ªa, one of the thriving baseball hubs in the state of Sao Paolo. Though soccer is the clearly the nation's most popular sport, baseball has pockets of fandom.

"In Brazil, most of the people there grow up playing soccer," Ito said. "But in my family, specifically, I already had parents that played baseball before me. It was easy for me to get into the sport."

As he grew older and his talents matured, Ito wanted to continue to improve. That meant it was time to move to Japan as a teenager, heading to high school with baseball being his top priority. Though he never played in the wildly popular Summer Koshien, he was good enough to play in Japan's industrial leagues -- similar to America's indy ball and home to many future NPB stars like Sosuke Genda -- after he graduated.

"Right after I retired, I got this offer from the Hanshin Tigers," Ito said. "So, right now I'm working as a interpreter there for that team."

The connection between Japan and Brazil isn't a new one. Baseball's popularity in the South American nation is thanks in large part to Japanese immigrants who came to the country in the 1920s and '30s, bringing the love of the game with them to the new communities they formed within Brazil. That connection still lives on today: Brazil's Baseball Training Center -- which MLB recently partnered with to provide 49 scholarships and new equipment -- was originally opened with support from Yakult, the Japanese company that owns the NPB's Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Many of Brazil's players have Japanese heritage, with manager Yuichi Matsumoto having previously played for the Yakult Swallows and starting pitcher Bo Takahashi now with the Seibu Lions.

Despite the longstanding connection, the style of play on the Brazilian national team is still fairly different from that in Japan.

"Growing up in Brazil and playing baseball there, I think the Latino influence is bigger than the Japanese influence," Ito said. "Once I went to Japan, I played 100% the Japanese style."

Perhaps you can see some of that in Ito's mechanics at the plate, or in this beautiful bunt single he laid down against Colombia, breaking up Julio Teheran's no-hitter in the sixth.

At the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, the team has also brought in players like Dante Bichette Jr. and Lucas Ramirez -- Manny's son -- who grew up in America but have Brazilian heritage.

"Brazilian baseball has always been a melting-pot kind of a thing, because we had this huge influence from Japan, and then we have Latino blood in our veins," Matsumoto said. "Recently, we've been in contact a lot with the United States, so we have this mix of styles and schools. I think this is great. It makes Brazilian baseball unique."

"I think it's a good mix," Ito added. "Because now we have a power hitter, we have more contact hitters. Overall, I think this is a very balanced and a good group."

With Brazil facing Germany in a winner-moves-on, loser-goes-home second-place final on Thursday night, Matsumoto will be relying on Ito to come up big, whether at the plate or in the field. A win would send Brazil back to the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2013.

"He's such a disciplined player in terms of following the game plan, and he's a very good defense as well," Matsumoto said. "I think we have a very close-knit group, and I think Vitor Ito is one of the key players for this group."