Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has finally revealed the identity of his wife, weeks after announcing his marriage.
Ohtani, who plays for Los Angeles Dodgers, shared a photograph in Instagram of himself and Mamiko Tanaka in front of an airplane on Thursday. The plane was bound for South Korea as the Dodgers take part in the Major League Baseball World Tour.
When Ohtani announced his marriage last month, it came as a major shock to many. But at the time, he didn’t reveal the identity of his bride, only that she was from Japan and was someone “who is very special to me.”
Since then, there has been constant speculation on social media as to her identity, with many names mentioned, including Tanaka. But now it has been revealed officially that Ohtani has married Tanaka, a former basketball player. The 27-year-old played in the Women’s Japanese Basketball League for four years, latterly for the Fujitsu Red Wave, before retiring in 2023.
The LA Dodgers also posted a picture of Ohtani and Tanaka, alongside teammate Mookie Betts and his wife.
The LA Dodgers are travelling to South Korea to play the San Diego Padres as they open their 2024 MLB season – the first time a regular season match has been played in the country. There will be two games played in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on March 20 and 21, with each team serving as the ‘home team’ once. The rest of the MLB start their season a week later.
Ohtani shot to global fame at the end of last year, when he signed a record-breaking $700 million contract with the LA Dodgers that makes him one of the best paid athletes in the world. The player, nicknamed ‘Shotime’, is thought of as one of the best baseball players in the world currently, and is valued as a pitcher and batter.
