Shohei Ohtani and his wife are expecting their first child, the Los Angeles Dodgers star has announced.
He took to Instagram to announce the news on Saturday, posting a picture of the baby scan alongside his dog, Decoy.
‘Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!’ Ohtani captioned the post.
The Japanese star preparing to become a dad for the first time means he ends a whirlwind year on the highest of highs; having officially joined the Dodgers after signing a record 10-year, $700million contract, tied the knot with wife Mamiko Tanaka, been rocked by a gambling scandal involving his former interpreter and helped his new team clinch the World Series in his debut season.
Ohtani and Tanaka got married in a secret ceremony earlier in 2024. It took the baseball sensation, who is extremely private, a few weeks to reveal exactly who she was after first announcing that he had wed a mystery woman in February.
‘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,’ he said on social media.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife are expecting their first child, the Dodgers star has announced
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Tanaka is a 28-year-old former Japanese basketball player who played in the country’s top women’s league.
The couple were recently pictured together watching the Los Angeles Lakers play the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA in early December.
It marks an astonishing end to a dramatic year for Ohtani. Not long after signing for the Dodgers, he was embroiled in a scandal where his interpreter stole millions from him to fund a spiraling gambling habit.
Ippei Mizuhara, who was also a close confidant of the baseball star’s, has issued a guilty plea and the FBI has said that Ohtani was nothing more than a victim.
Mizuhara is due to be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return, crimes that carry a potential sentence of more than 30 years in federal prison.
Before that bombshell emerged, Ohtani also underwent Tommy John surgery towards the end of 2023 after damaging elbow ligaments during his final few months for the Angels.
That op ruled him out of pitching for the entirety of 2024, meaning the Dodgers were unable to benefit from both of the two-way phenom’s remarkable skillsets. But that didn’t stop them from going all the way and capturing the World Series this year.
Ohtani was named MVP for the National League after batting a career-high .310 while easily surpassing his previous career highs in home runs and stolen bases.
In September, he reached the previously unheard of 50/50 mark in a performance for the ages against the Miami Marlins. Ohtani went 6 for 6 with three homers, 10 RBIs, two stolen bases and 17 total bases.
Ohtani has had quite the year after officially joining the Dodgers on a record $700m contract
The two-way phenom helped the team clinch the World Series during his first season in 2024
Earlier this year Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (left) was found to have stolen millions from him to fund a spiraling gambling habit
He married wife Mamiko Tanaka in secret before revealing her identity later in 2024
The 30-year-old carried the Dodgers offensively during the regular season, and he stayed healthy until Game 2 of the World Series before injuring his left shoulder trying to steal second base against the New York Yankees and finishing the Series playing hurt.
He underwent surgery a few days after the Dodgers celebrated their championship in early November.
‘I don’t have full range of motion yet, but it feels a lot better,’ he said. ‘There’s no pain. There´s obviously still a little bit of tightness, but slowly but surely it’s getting better.’
Ohtani recently received an updated rehab schedule, and he’s focused on the near-term as he prepares to return to pitching in 2025.
‘It’s the small steps that I think are very important to get me to the ultimate goal, which is to just get back healthy,’ he said.
Ohtani is also throwing in the 70 mph range, which is typical for pitchers early in the offseason. ‘I´m going to continue to ramp up slowly,’ he said.