Almost a year later abruptly announcing his marriage on InstagramShohei 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 on the due date or the next child, but his post featured another cute photo of his dog Dekopin.
The announcement makes Ohtani about a year old. If we go back to last December, he signed a $700 million contract with the Dodgers, announced his marriage, revealed to be the victim of multi-million dollar embezzlement by his close friend Ippei Mizuhara, was the subject of federal and MLB investigations for said scandal, bought a house, become the first 50-50 player in MLB, won a world series, won a third MVP award and, now, announced a pregnancy. He also underwent elbow surgery late last season and spent all of 2024 rehabbing his elbow while playing as a full-time DH.
For most other players, that’s enough drama and achievement to last a career. For Ohtani, it’s only been one year in his life as MLB’s most talented, highest-paid and most internationally popular player.
Ohtani is known to be private about his personal life, to the point that his relationship with Tanaka, a former professional basketball player in Japan, was not known until the month after announcing their marriage. So you can probably expect details about their child to be limited for a considerable period of time.
Still, between Ohtani’s unprecedented combination of size, speed and skill and Mamiko’s athletic background, this kid likely won’t be lacking in athleticism. The rest of MLB should also hope that the usual increase in a father’s strength does not apply to this father.
