Shohei Ohtani's Dad Leaves No Doubt About His Opinion of Dodger Star's Wife

Toru Otani, the father of Shohei Ohtani, noticed that something changed ever since the Los Angeles Dodgers star married his now-wife, Mamiko Tanaka.

After LA clinched the NL West title, Toru Otani penned a heartfelt message for his son on Sponichi, a Japanese publication. In the message, the father of the Dodgers slugger congratulated the MLB superstar for his accomplishments, including becoming the first member of the 50-50 club.

Toru Otani also talked about Shohei Ohtani's wife and their marriage, which apparently came as a surprise to the family. However, the Otani patriarch emphasized that Mamiko Tanaka has had a positive impact on his son and is a big reason for his success.

"When we first heard about your marriage last December, we were the most surprised," Toru Otani wrote, as translated by Yahoo Sports. "To be honest, until last season when you were single, I would visit your games in-person, chat for a bit and go home from the stadium. After you got married this season, you'd invite us over for tea and we'd get to spend a little more time together, which was a change from before. As a dad, that made me happy.

He added, "I feel like you're able to focus more in games after you got married. You seemed to have loosened up a little, rounding up your sharp edges."

Furthermore, Toru Otani touched on Shohei Ohtani's betting scandal before the season started, noting that it gave him "relief" to know that his kid has a partner that would support and help him through the challenging time.

"There was the fraud case before the season started, and it left me feeling very worried," Toru Otani added. "But as a married man, you have someone by your side that you can talk to anytime, which gave me relief. Without Mamiko, you would not be where you are today."

Clearly, Shohei Ohtani's family is happy with his relationship with his wife and has high praises for her.

It is worth noting that Mamiko Tanaka recently went viral after she made a rare public appearance to celebrate the Dodgers' NL West-clinching win. It remains to be seen when fans will get to see Shohei Ohtani's wife watch a game again, but with LA advancing to the postseason, there should be plenty of opportunities to see her.

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