Who is Shohei Ohtani’s wife, Mamiko Tanaka?

BASEBALL star Shohei Ohtani made headlines when he secured a record-breaking $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the athlete at the forefront of the MLB, many are curious about his life, particularly his romantic relationships.

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Shohei Ohtani is one of the highest-paid players in the MLBCredit: Getty

Shohei Ohtani is married to Mamiko Tanaka (left)Credit: Getty

Who is Shohei Ohtana’s wife, Mamiko Tanaka?

On February 29, 2024, Shohei Ohtani made the revelation that he was married.

Ohtani’s wife was later revealed to be Japanese basketball player, Mamiko Tanaka.

The pair met in Japan at a training facility.

From 2019 to 2023, Tanaka played center for the Fujitsu Red Wave.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers star took to social media to share the announcement, much to the surprise of fans everywhere, as the athlete has always been tight-lipped about his private life.

“I wanted everyone to know I am now married,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

“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 Shohei Ohtani?

Born on July 5, 1994, in Iwate, Japan, Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter currently playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Fans also call him “Shotime.”

He was previously part of the Los Angeles Angels and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.

As a two-way player, many have compared him to the legendary Babe Ruth.

Ohtani’s parents are also athletes, with his mother having been a national-level badminton player when she was in high school, and his father an amateur baseball player who played in Japan’s semi-professional industrial league.

Growing up, Ohtani was branded as a “yakyu shonen,” or a kid who lives, eats, and breathes baseball.

He was a talented swimmer as well, with his high school coach saying that he could have made it in the Olympics if he tried.

While he could have opted to play baseball for a high school team in big cities in Japan, he chose to stay at the local Hanamaki Higashi High School, where he played as a pitcher.

After graduating, he already expressed interest in moving up to the MLB, but instead decided to play for a few years for the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and was drafted by the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who then let him be a two-way player.

He then moved on to play for the Los Angeles Angels, where he stayed for half a decade.

In his first year in the MLB, he was awarded the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

While he was injured through 2019 and 2020, Ohtani made a huge comeback and became the first two-way player in the league to achieve 10+ home runs and 20+ stolen bases as a hitter and 100+ strikeouts and 10+ pitching appearances as a pitcher.

In 2023, he signed a 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers amounting to $700 million, making it the biggest in MLB history.

Shohei Ohtani announced that he was married in February 2024Credit: Getty

What is Shohei Ohtani’s net worth?

Shohei Ohtani’s net worth is estimated to be around $50 million, according to Clutch Points.

But according to reports, he has chosen to defer the payments throughout his 10-year stint with the Dodgers.

He would only be paid $2 million annually until 2033, and from 2034 to 2043 after his contract expires, the team is to pay him $68 million per year.

Ohtani, however, is known to live frugally.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the star player has let his parents manage his finances, with his mother depositing around $1,000 to his bank account monthly.

“But he barely touches it,” his former coach Hiroshi Sasaki said.