Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani Announced a Surprise Marriage
Shohei Ohtani's announcement that he was now married apparently even took the Dodgers by surprise.
Mar. 1 2024, Published 12:30 p.m. ET
Few players in all of Major League Baseball are more closely watched than Shohei Ohtani. Shohei is widely considered to be one of the best players in the sport today, and until recently, he was also one of the more high-profile single athletes in the country. Following a recent announcement that that is no longer the case, though, many were eager to learn more.
Indeed, Shohei announced just days after officially joining the Los Angeles Dodgers that he was now married. Naturally, many people wanted to learn more about who Shohei's wife is. Here's everything we know about the woman who is now Mrs. Ohtani.
Who is Shohei Ohtani's wife?
In a post on Instagram on Feb. 29, Shohei broke the news of his marriage.
"I wanted everyone to know I am now married," he wrote. He said that his wife is "very special" to him, but did not disclose her identity.
"Two people (plus one dog), we'll grow together," he added in the post.
Shohei was also asked about the news during a press conference following his post, but he didn't really offer any more details.
"She is Japanese. I don't think I need to announce the date we got married. She is a typical, ordinary person," he explained.
At the moment, then, all we really know is that Shohei's wife is Japanese, and that he believes her to be a regular person, whatever that might mean.
He added that there wasn't a "particular reason" he decided to get married now. "When I'm with her, I have fun. So I'm able to envision a future with her," he explained.
Shohei added that his relationship with her didn't have any impact on where he had decided to play baseball. "She said she will go wherever I go. So my decision was based on where I want to play baseball," he added.
Following his announcement on social media, plenty of fans congratulated him, even as some were also depressed by the news that he was officially off the market.
Shohei is one of the highest paid athletes in all of sports.
The last time Shohei was making headlines, it was for his record-setting deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which he agreed to play for the team for the next 10 years for $700 million. Shohei commands such a high salary in large because he is gifted as both a hitter and a pitcher, two skills which are rarely found in the same player.
"When you have a baseball game and a wedding to get to on the same day. Congratulations to Shohei Ohtani on his new marriage," the Dodgers wrote in a post congratulating him on the news.
While details about Shohei's new wife may still be scarce, it's safe to say that her husband will be able to pay for pretty much anything she wants, whether she continues working or not. Shohei is no longer on the market, but he remains one of the highest-paid athletes in sports.