Shohei Ohtani Goes Public With First Photo of His Mystery Wife
In February, he announced his marriage to “someone very special” but didn’t say who she was.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Two weeks after shocking baseball fans by announcing his secret marriage to the world, L.A. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani finally revealed his “very special someone” on Thursday.
In an Instagram story, the legendary pitcher posted a group photo of himself and teammates standing on the tarmac before takeoff to Seoul, where they’ll play their season opener against the San Diego Padres. In the snap, a woman leans against Ohtani, smiling softly with her hands clasped, which prompted speculation that this was the wife he announced last month.
That woman is none other than Mamiko Tanaka, a 27-year-old Japanese basketball player who was on the Fujitsu Red Wave from 2019 to 2023.
Ohtani, famously private, had asked fans to respect Tanaka’s privacy when he announced that they were married, withholding her name at the time. He described her simply as “someone from my native country of Japan who is very special to me.”
Although Ohtani didn’t name Tanaka as his wife in the caption of the photo, multiple media outlets confirmed with the team that he is married to the woman in the picture. The Dodgers also posted a photo of them together alongside other players and their families on Thursday.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.