TOKYO (AP) — Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has announced in a surprising way that he is married.
Ohtani wrote in Japanese on Instagram on Thursday: “The season is approaching, but I want to let everyone know that I got married.”
He said his new wife was “Japanese,” without identifying her. He said he would reveal more in an interview; presumably at the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training site.
Ohtani, 29, is Japan's biggest celebrity, and his personal life, which he has always kept very private, has always been a matter of curiosity. His focus and image has always been 100% baseball-free – free from scandals or tabloid news.
Ohtani was traded from the Los Angeles Angels to the Dodgers in December for a record contract worth $700 million over 10 years.
“I have started a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers, but I have also started a new life with someone from my home country of Japan who is very special to me,” he wrote.
He called on the media to “refrain from unauthorized interviews.”
The Instagram post included a photo of his dog “Dekopin,” also called “Decoy.”
He wrote: “We hope the two of us – and an animal – work together.”
The news broke in the middle of the night in North America and in the late afternoon in Japan, where it was immediately the top news story on local television.
Local television covers his training in the United States daily, and due to his unprecedented success in North America, he has become the pride of Japan, and the Dodgers have become Japan's de facto team.
Ohtani is training in Arizona for the Major League Baseball season and preparing for the Dodgers to open in a two-game series against the San Diego Padres on March 20-21 in Seoul, South Korea.
Ohtani just had surgery on his right elbow and will not pitch this season. He will be used as a designated hitter and there is a chance he could play the field.
He hit a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox in his spring training debut this week.
Ohtani has hit 171 home runs – 44 last season – and a career batting average of .274. His record as a pitcher is 38-19 in five seasons. He missed the 2019 season due to elbow surgery and has a career ERA of 3.01.
He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 and the American League MVP in 2021 and 2023 and was often compared to Babe Ruth for his abilities as a two-way player.
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