Shohei Ohtani shared significant personal news at the end of February by revealing he was married to a woman from Japan. Like when he signed a record-setting contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani made the announcement on his Instagram account.
Ohtani wrote in the caption of the post, “To all my friends and fans throughout, I have an announcement to make: Not only have I began a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers but I also have began a new life with someone from my Native country of Japan who is very special to me and I wanted everyone to know I am now married. I am excited for what is come and thank you for your support.”
The photo was a message from Ohtani in Japanese and included Dekopin (English name Decoy), who has become one of the most famous dogs in the world recently.
Outside of that, little was known of who Ohtani’s wife is. On Thursday, he appeared to share a photo of her along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and interpreters Ippei Mizuhara and Yoshihiro Sonoda as they get set to board the Dodgers’ flight to South Korea for the Seoul Series.
Shohei Ohtani appears to have posted a photo with his wife as the #Dodgers get ready to leave for the #SeoulSeries pic.twitter.com/7luek8yIA2
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) March 14, 2024
Ohtani, Yamamoto and the Dodgers are poised for a big week in South Korea that’s going to include two exhibition games prior to starting the regular season by facing the San Diego Padres in the highly-anticipated Seoul Series.
Who did Shohei Ohtani marry?
Ohtani’s breaking news caught the Dodgers organization and teammates by surprise. There was early speculation Ohtani married a basketball player in Japan, but his comments seemed to suggest otherwise.
“She is a Japanese woman, and I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married, the exact date and stuff,” Ohtani said through Mizuhara. “But she’s a normal Japanese woman.”
However, in the first public picture of Ohtani and his wife, her identity is revealed to be Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka.
Ohtani had made it known his wife was with him in Arizona for Spring Training and their marriage did not impact free agency.
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