Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani announces he is married
TOKYO – Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani announced on social media Thursday that he is married.
The two-way player who switched from the Los Angeles Angels He joined the Dodgers in December in a record deal worth $700 million over 10 years and wrote on Instagram in Japanese: “The season is getting closer, but I want to let everyone know that I got married.”
He said his new wife was also from Japan, without identifying her. He said he would reveal more in an interview on Friday.
“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.”
In North America, the news broke in the middle of the night, but in Japan it was late afternoon, where the story immediately became the top news item 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 is preparing for the Dodgers to open in a two-game series against the Dodgers on March 20-21 in Seoul, South Korea San Diego Padres.
Ohtani, 29, is Japan's biggest celebrity, and his personal life, which he has kept private, has always been curious.
The Instagram post also included a photo of his dog “Dekopin,” also called “Decoy.”
He wrote: “We hope the two of us – and an animal – will work together.”
Ohtani had right elbow surgery and will not pitch this season, although he will be used as a designated hitter.
In his spring training debut this week, he hit a two-run home run against the Chicago White Sox.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
