Dodgers superstar revealed on Thursday that he is now married.
“The season is approaching, I am pleased to announce to you that I have gotten married,” Ohtani said in .
“We are still young and [there are] many things we don’t know yet, but we hope you will warmly watch over us,” he said, 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.”
He added that his spouse “is a Japanese woman” and stated in English that she is someone “who is very special to me” but shared no other details about her identity.
In his post, he urged the media to refrain from reaching out to him and his family for interviews, but the 29-year-old addressed reporters at spring training Thursday. When asked when he was married and to whom, Ohtani was reluctant to share details.
“She is a Japanese woman. I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married, the exact date and stuff. But she’s a normal Japanese woman,” Ohtani said. He also said they have been seeing each other for years.
“I don’t remember the exact date. But it’s been around three to four years,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani was also asked about the timing of the announcement.
“I felt like it was good timing because it was before the season. 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.”
FROM JAPANESE TO ENGLISH AND BACK:
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he didn’t see the announcement coming.
“First off, I was as surprised as everyone was, but very happy for him and his bride. As far as wedding gifts, we got surprised so we didn’t have much time to think about it. I’m sure it’s en route,” Roberts said.
Roberts said he wasn’t up checking Instagram when Ohtani posted.
“Oh absolutely not. I found out from my wife this morning,” Roberts said.
Following his post on Instagram, Ohtani and topics related to his marriage became Japan’s top five trending topics on X, formerly known as Twitter, with his announcement stunning fans.
“Ohtani san is getting married! I wonder what the lucky girl is like!” one user posted on X.
Some Instagram followers were less thrilled with the news.
“Taking off work to mourn the loss of Shohei,” one user replied to Ohtani’s post.
In December, Ohtani announced that he was leaving the Angels to sign a historic 10-year, $700 million deal with the Angels’ crosstown rivals, the Dodgers, after weeks of fevered speculation.
Shortly after signing, he made the to defer more than 97% of his record-setting contract with the Dodgers until after the end of the 10-year term of the agreement.
On Tuesday, Ohtani got his Dodgers career off to a blistering start, in his spring training debut in the team’s 9-6 Cactus League victory over the Chicago White Sox.
It was the first time that the reigning American League MVP had stepped up to the plate in a game setting since in September.
Ohtani is known for his two-way abilities but likely won’t return to the mound to pitch until 2025, according to the physician who performed the surgery.
Correspondent Doug Padilla contributed to this report.
