Having tied the knot, Shohei Ohtani wants to 'focus on baseball'
Every Japanese mother's dream son-in-law is off the market. After stunning his home country with the announcement, the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar said he now wants to turn his undivided attention to the upcoming MLB season.
Baseball Softball
The way he puts a bat on a baseball, Shohei Ohtani knows all about timing.
Marriage was no different.
“Looking at things as a whole, I just felt like it was better to do it before the season rather than during it,” Ohtani told reporters at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring training complex in Glendale, Arizona, on Thursday (29 February) after announcing his marriage via Instagram.
“I wanted to announce it a little earlier but there was all kinds of paperwork to take care of so it became today.”
“The biggest reason though is because I know you guys wouldn’t leave me alone,” he said jokingly. “If I didn’t announce it, you’d bug me about it. So I just wanted to get it out of the way and now focus on baseball.”
Ohtani’s wife is Japanese. He he said he met her three or four years ago and the two were engaged last year. She is now living with him in the States and apparently is not a celebrity, to the disappointment of the tabloids.
But beyond that, the two-time unanimous American League MVP did not reveal much. He didn’t say how he met his wife (unnamed) or exactly when he tied the knot.
“It wasn’t any one thing,” said Ohtani, who turns 30 in July and does hope to have children one day. “I enjoy being with her and I could see myself with her forever.”
Ohtani, though, did say his marriage did not affect his decision to sign with the Dodgers this winter for a record 10-year, $700 million (USD).
“It had nothing to do with it. She respects my opinion and the two have nothing to do with the other. She was going to come wherever I went.
“The most important thing was where I wanted to play baseball.”