Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani answered questions from the media in the team’s first press conference since arriving in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday. One reporter got a chuckle out of Ohtani when asking him what he likes most about his wife.
He laughed and responded via translator, “I have one job to focus on and it’s baseball.”
Shohei Ohtani gets asked what part of his wife he likes the most and bursts out laughing with Mookie & Freddie 🤣
🎥: FNN News pic.twitter.com/fHawiwMakQ
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) March 16, 2024
Ohtani recently surprised the world when he revealed in a social media post on Feb. 29 that he had gotten married.
He didn’t provide any details at the time and described her as “a normal Japanese woman.”
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
However, she’s anything but normal.
The Dodgers revealed a picture of the newlyweds on social media before taking off for Seoul and multiple media outlets confirmed the identity of the woman standing next to him as professional Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka. The Dodgers confirmed with CNN that she is his wife.
According to Chuck Shilken of the Los Angeles Times, the 5-foot-11 Tanaka, 27, played power forward/center for the Fujitsu Red Wave in the Women’s Japan Basketball League for four seasons, from 2019-23. She had her best season in 2022-23, with career highs in games played (28), minutes per game (24), points per game (7.8) and rebounds per game (6).
SHOBAE! 🥰 The Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani posted photos on social media that showed the two-way Japanese superstar with his wife – Japanese basketball player Mamiko Tanaka – on an airport tarmac, marking the first time the newlyweds have been seen in public together. 💙💙… pic.twitter.com/yzx7qz853d
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 14, 2024
Fujitsu also confirmed the marriage with a statement in Japanese that read: “We wish to celebrate from the bottom of our hearts the new journey embarked by Mamiko Tanaka, who provided joy to many people through her performances with the Fujitsu Red Wave. We pray this new stage of life will be wonderful for the two of them.”
The news about the mystery woman who married Ohtani was a major story among Japanese and Korean media outlets which was proven by the direction of questioning from some of the media in South Korea.
Ohtani and the Dodgers will face two local Korean teams in a pair of exhibition games against the Kiwoom Heroes on Saturday (11 p.m. ET) and the Korean national team on Monday (6 a.m. ET). They will open the regular season against the San Diego Padres on March 20 and 21.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.