Shohei Ohtani’s relationship status

By Lachlan Wellington October 27, 2024 17:58

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty

Throughout his six-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career there is little that Shohei Ohtani has not done. After joining the league with the Los Angeles Angels after playing five seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball League (Japan’s top baseball league), Ohtani made his MLB debut on March 29 2018 as a designated hitter and his pitching debut on April 1, 2018. MLB fans have also fallen in love with the two-way Japanese star as an extraordinary individual who can pretty much do it all.

After initially struggling in his first MLB preseason and some negative media attention for his performances, Ohtani quickly established himself as a fan favorite, winning the 2018 Rookie of the Year despite being hampered by injuries. Ohtani won the award back in 2018 off the back of slashing .285 average, a .361 on-base percentage, 22 home runs, 61 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases. Additionally, in 10 starts on the mound, Ohtani held a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.16 walks plus hits per innings pitched (WHIP) and 63 strikeouts.

Ohtani is missing very little from his resume. Showtime has the 2023 AP Male Athlete of the Year Award, 2021/ 2023 American League MVP (also favorite for the 2024 National League award), however, the one thing that is missing is a World Series title. 2024 marks the first time that Ohtani has made the playoffs with the Dodgers after the Angels failed to make the playoffs once with Ohtani. Shoehi has made the opportunity count not only making the postseason for the first time but also the World Series.

One question about the Japanese superstar remains however and that is, what is Ohtani’s relationship status? Well, I am sorry folks but this man is taken. This news may burst many bubbles of those of you who have fallen in love with the Japanese superstar, however Ohtani recently announced via an Instagram post back in February that he is married to Mamiko Tanaka.

Ohtani’s original announcement appeared quite cryptic. The two-way star revealed in an Instagram post that he had started a “new chapter” in his life through getting married to someone from his home country. He did not share her identity at the time.

Who is this mystery woman I hear you ask? Mamiko Tanaka is a former professional basketball player who spent four seasons with the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Japan Basketball League from 2019-2023. Tanaka also represented Japan at the international youth and collegiate levels of basketball.

The couple made their first red carpet appearance at the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation’s 2024 Blue Diamond Gala on May 2, 2024. This is perhaps fitting that Ohtani, one of the biggest sports stars in the world currently, found the love of his life in sports.

Born in Japan on December 11, 1996, Tanaka began playing basketball in junior high school. Tanaka attended Waseda University in Tokyo where she joined the Japan national under-24 team and won silver at the 2017 Summer Universiade. Tanaka began her professional basketball career with the Red Wave in 2019, however retired from the sport last year. Their relationship is quite private so it is unclear how the pair met.