Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, are expecting their first child, the player announced Saturday.
Ohtani, who set an MLB record this year before winning his first World Series titlemade the announcement in a post on Instagram with the caption, “I can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!”
Earlier this year, he became the first Major League Baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, cementing his place in baseball history when the record-breaking ball later sold for $4.4 million. That was just over a month before the Los Angeles Dodgers were set to face the New York Yankees in the Fall Classic.
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LA’s win in the series, complete with records set by Freddie Freeman and a historic comeback in the last match was celebrated with the city’s first Dodgers parade since 1988. It was a whirlwind ending to Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers, which started with a $700 million contract announced in December 2023 – the most lucrative signing of an MLB player in the league’s history.
Tanaka, a professional basketball player, appeared next to Ohtani in a social media post earlier this year after the player revealed just weeks earlier that he is married. He did not say who his wife was at the time, but wrote lovingly about her.
“Not only have I started a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers, but I have also started a new life with someone from my native Japan who is very special to me and I wanted everyone to know that I am now married. ‘ he posted on Instagram.
