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Baseball’s highest-paid player is no longer the sport’s most-eligible bachelor.
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani revealed on Feb. 29 that he got married during the offseason. The news comes a 2 1/2 months after Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract, the largest in major North American professional team sports history.
Ohtani announced the news on social media during the early morning hours in the United States but late afternoon in Japan. Ohtani has rarely provided any details of his personal life since coming to the United States in 2018 when he signed with the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent after starring in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for five seasons.
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The only part of Ohtani’s private life that had been public is that he has a dog named Dekopin, which is Japanese for the word decoy. Ohtani was seen holding the dog as he sat in his living room in Japan in November after winning the 2023 American League MVP award.
Much like Derek Jeter during his wildly popular 20-year stint with the New York Yankees that ended in 2014, Ohtani has avoided scandal and kept his name out of the tabloids.
Who is Mrs. Shohei Ohtani?
Ohtani gave no details about his wife beyond writing that she is “a Japanese woman.”
“I began a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers, but I also have started a new life with someone from my native country of Japan who is very special to me,” Ohtani wrote.
He said he would speak more on the subject details during a press conference at the Dodgers’ spring training facility in Glendale, Ariz. Ohtani, though, did not indicate when he will next talk to the media.
Ohtani also asked that the media refrain from conducting “unauthorized interviews.”
That might be easier said than done. Not only is Ohtani arguably the most popular baseball player in the United States, but he is a sensation in Japan.
Dozens of Japanese media members have covered Ohtani’s every move since he came to United States. The attention has only intensified since he signed with the Dodgers, the most popular MLB team in Japan.
Ohtani also made sure to include Dekopin in his post.
“We hope the two of us – and one animal – can work together,” Ohtani wrote.
Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers Debut Nears
Ohtani is expected to make his regular-season debut with the Dodgers on March 20. Los Angeles will play the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea in the opener of a two-game series.
After undergoing elbow surgery last September, Ohtani will not pitch this season. However, his elbow has healed enough that he is projected to be the Dodgers’ full-time designated hitter in 2024.
Ohtani has been playing in Cactus League games in recent days. He hit a home run in his third at-bat in a Dodgers uniform off the Chicago White Sox’s Dominic Leone.
Ohtani was the AL MVP last season for the second time in three years. He hit .304/.412/.654 with an MLB-best 44 in 135 games while posting a 10-5 record as a pitcher with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts.
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