Nearly a year after abruptly announcing their marriage on Instagram, Shohei Ohtani announced Saturday that he and his wife Mamiko Tanaka are expecting their first child, abruptly on Instagram.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar didn’t provide any details about her due date or any details about her upcoming child, but her post did include another cute photo of her dog Dekopin.
The announcement completes a good year for Ohtani. Going back to last December, he signed a $700 million contract with the Dodgers, announced his marriage, it was revealed that he was the victim of multi-million dollar embezzlement by his close friend Ippei Mizuhara, he faced federal and MLB investigations for said scandal. , bought a house, became MLB’s first 50-50 player, won a World Series, won a third MVP award, and now, announced a pregnancy. He also underwent elbow surgery at the end of last season and spent all of 2024 rehabbing it while playing full-time designated hitter.
For most other players, that’s enough drama and achievement for an entire career. For Ohtani, it’s just one year in the life of being MLB’s most talented, highest-paid and most internationally popular player.
Ohtani is famously secretive about his personal life, to the point that his relationship with Tanaka, a former professional basketball player in Japan, was not revealed until a month after he announced his marriage. Therefore, you can probably expect details about your child to be limited for a significant period of time.
Still, between Ohtani’s unprecedented combination of size, speed and skills and Mamiko’s own athletic experience, this kid probably won’t lack athleticism. The rest of the MLB should also hope that a parent’s usual strength increase does not apply to this parent.