Ryuji Araki is the official interpreter for Cubs baseball player Kosuke Fukudome. He must stay at his side at all times while Fukudome goes through his daily routines at the ballpark in case the coach needs to talk to him, since Fukudome only speaks Japanese.

Araki draws the line at interpreting for fans of the ballplayer, including female admirers who may want to talk to Fukudome. Not only was knowledge of interpretation and translation necessary for the job, but Araki needed to know the game of baseball inside and out. Araki was a trainer with the Reds for six years prior to working with Fukudome.

However, unless Fukudome asks Araki to interpret when he is just "hanging out" in the clubhouse, he gives him ample space to be alone. Fukodome speaks one or two English words to teammates and when asked, Araki will tell him how to say something. The hardest part, according to Araki is, "maintaining the spirit of his answer while making sure it translates across languages."

04 August 2008