By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Shohei Ohtani and wife Mamiko have welcomed their first child, a girl, the Los Angeles Dodgers star announced via social media on Saturday.
“Welcome to the Ohtani Family! I am so grateful to my loving wife who gave birth to our healthy beautiful daughter,” he said in the post.
“To my daughter, thank you for making us very nervous yet super anxious parents.”
The reigning National League MVP and World Series champion from Japan went on to thank the Dodgers, his team mates and the medical professionals who supported his family “up until this wonderful day”.
The post included a photo of the infant’s feet and of Decoy, the family dog, a Dutch Kooikerhondje.
The private Ohtani surprised many when he announced in February that he had got married to a Japanese woman, who was later revealed to be Mamiko Tanaka, a former professional basketball player in Japan.
Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023 and made the stunning decision to defer collecting $680 million of that to give the team more flexibility to sign top talent for a run at the championship.
That move paid off as Ohtani, who last season became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, capped off his year with his first World Series championship.
The designated hitter is batting .288 with six home runs, eight RBIs and five stolen bases so far this season for the 15-6 Dodgers.
The dual-threat star did not pitch last season as he recovered from elbow surgery but could return to the mound in a few months, manager Dave Roberts said recently.
The Dodgers are currently in Texas taking on the Rangers. The club had previously said that Ohtani would not travel with the team in anticipation of the birth of his child.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; editing by Clare Fallon)
