Shohei Ohtani and Wife Mamiko Tanaka Welcome First Baby
UPDATED Saturday, April 19: Shohei Ohtani is now a dad.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar and his wife Mamiko Tanaka have welcomed their first baby, a girl.
"Welcome to the Ohtani Family!" the 30-year-old baseball player wrote on his Instagram April 19, alongside a pic of himself and Mamiko touching their daughter's tiny feet. "I am so grateful to my loving wife who gave birth to our healthy beautiful daughter."
Shohei and Mamiko, 28, have not revealed their baby's name. The MLB player did, however, including a personal message for her.
"To my daughter," he wrote, "thank you for making us very nervous yet super anxious parents."
He added, "I would also like to thank the Dodgers organization, my teammates, and the fans for their constant support and kind words of encouragement. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the medical professionals and everyone who dedicated their support to us, up until this wonderful day."
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Shohei Ohtani just scored a home run with this announcement.
The Dodgers pitcher shared Dec. 27 that he is set to become a dad.
Alongside a pic of his dog Decoy lying beside a pale pink, ruffled baby onesie, a pair of baby sneakers and a sonogram covered by a baby face emoji, the baseball star wrote on Instagram, "Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!"
The 30-year-old, who is married to former pro basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, offered no further details.
Ohtani, who many baseball fans consider to be among the most skilled MLB players of all time, has largely kept his personal life private. The star designated hitter had announced his marriage, without naming Tanaka or previously noting he even was in a relationship, in February.
"Not only have I begun a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers but I also have begun a new life with someone from my native country of Japan who is very special to me," he wrote on Instagram at the time, "and I wanted everyone to know I am now married. I am excited for what is to come and thank you for your support."
In the post itself, alongside a pic of Decoy, he also shared insight into his and Tanaka's plans for the future together.
"We are still young and [there are] many things we don't know yet, but we hope you will warmly watch over us," Ohtani wrote in Japanese in the post translated by CNN, adding, "We hope that the two of us (and one dog) will work together to support each other and move forward alongside with our fans."
The baseball player later addressed his decision to make the announcement about his marriage the way he did.
"I felt like it was good timing because it was before the season,” he said at a press conference in February, Sports Illustrated reported. "I didn’t want any distractions when the season started. And I would have liked to announce it earlier, but there was some paperwork issues that lagged the whole process. So that was the whole deal."
He noted that his wife is a "normal Japanese woman" who he has known for three or four years and added that he proposed to her in 2023, the outlet said.
In March, a photo of Ohtani and his wife was posted on the Dodgers' social media, confirming her identity.
Tanaka, who played for the Fujitsu Red Wave team in the Women's Japan Basketball League, has since been spotted at a few of her husband's games. She also joined him at the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation's 2024 Blue Diamond Gala in May and the two were photographed together at a Los Angeles Lakers game earlier this month.
Ohtani had also reportedly penned a now-viral list about his hopes and dreams, including about starting a family, when he was in high school.
According to Sports Illustrated, which cited a post on Reddit that referenced a Japanese TV show, the athlete had written he wanted to get married and win the World Series by age 26 and have his first child, a son, by the time he was 28.
In October, in what marked his first MLB postseason appearance, the 2024 National League MVP helped the Dodgers win the 2024 World Series.
This story was originally published Dec. 28, 2024 at 5:15 p.m. PT.
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