Superstar Shohei Ohtani (30, Los Angeles Dodgers) of the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that he had a daughter.
![Major League Superstar Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka. And a picture of Ohtani's daughter's feet. [Picture = Capture the official MLB website]](https://wimg.mk.co.kr/news/cms/202504/20/news-p.v1.20250420.7ad037d53d994b3b9d48a71d84ed0d2c_P1.png)
“Welcome to the Otani family,” Ohtani said in a post on Instagram on the 19th (local time), “I’m so grateful to my lovely wife for giving birth to a healthy and pretty daughter.”
He then added to his daughter, “I feel a lot of emotions because it makes us very nervous and very excited.”
Finally, Ohtani said, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the medical staff who helped us until this wonderful day today and to all those who have been generous with their support.”
Ohtani attached a small photo of the newborn’s soles to the post.
The Associated Press reported the news of Ohtani’s daughter under the title “It’s a daughter! The Dodgers star is now a father.”
According to the Associated Press, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Ohtani’s birth daughter in an interview with the MLB Texas Rangers.
In February last year, Ohtani surprisingly announced that she had married Mamiko Tanaka (28), a former Japanese women’s professional basketball player, and in December of the same year, she revealed her wife’s pregnancy.
Ohtani, who is from Japan, is a superstar who has made MLB history by playing both pitching and hitting.
Last year, he set a record of 50 home runs and 50 steals in a single season for the first time in MLB, and this season, he played in 20 games before maternity leave with a batting average of 0.288, six home runs and eight RBIs.
On the other hand, Ohtani said in an interview with Japanese media, “If I have children, I would like to play sports, whether it’s a son or a daughter,” expressing his intention to actively support baseball, especially if he is interested in it.
Major League Baseball fans celebrated the news of Ohtani’s birth and daughter, hoping Ohtani II would play baseball. MLB Park, Korea’s leading major league community, celebrated the news with comments such as “Congratulations on your daughter, your second is your son,” golf or tennis, and baseball.”