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Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani shared a rare glimpse into his personal life Thursday.
Ohtani shared a photo on his Instagram Story with his wife, basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, according to Fox Sports.
The two are headed to the 2024 Seoul Series, where the Dodgers are set to begin the regular season on March 20 against the San Diego Padres.
Ohtani said through an interpreter in February that he had married a woman from Japan, but declined to give further details about his marriage, per Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post.
Tanaka is a former basketball player who played for the Fujitsu Red Wave of Women’s Japan Basketball League from 2019 to 2023, per ESPN’s Brianna Williams.
She averaged 7.8 points and 1.0 steals in 24 minutes per game with the Fujitsu Red Wave during the 2022-23 season. She was on the Red Wave team that made it to the league’s tournament final in 2022.
The Dodgers shared a photo of Tanaka on X, where they identified her as Ohtani’s wife in the photo’s alternative text.
The post was shared three months after Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
“Not only have I began a new chapter in my career with the Dodgers but I also have began a new life with someone from my Native country of Japan who is very special to me and I wanted everyone to know I am now married,” Ohtani wrote. “I am excited for what is come and thank you for your support.”
Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara in a later interview that the two had known each other for “three or four years.”
“She is a Japanese woman, and I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married, the exact date and stuff,” Ohtani said through the interpreter. “But she’s a normal Japanese woman.”
Tanaka will be present in Seoul as the Dodgers begin the series with exhibition contests prior to the season opener, which will be the first MLB regular-season game ever played in South Korea.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com