Shohei Ohtani: The Two-Way Star Who Changed Baseball History
From a baseball-loving kid in Iwate to a four-time MLB MVP, Shohei Ohtani has built a career few players could even attempt.
Introduction
Shohei Ohtani can hit home runs.
He can pitch, too.
And that simple combination has made his career very different from almost every other modern baseball star.
The Japanese player has won major awards on both sides of the Pacific, represented Japan on the biggest international stage, produced MLB’s first 50-home-run and 50-stolen-base season, and won consecutive World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His story started much earlier.
Back in northern Japan.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Shohei Ohtani |
| Japanese Name | 大谷 翔平 |
| Date of Birth | July 5, 1994 |
| Age | 32 years old |
| Birthplace | Ōshū, Iwate Prefecture, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in |
| Listed Weight | 210 lb |
| Bats | Left |
| Throws | Right |
| Position | Two-way player, pitcher and designated hitter |
| Current Team | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Jersey Number | 17 |
| MLB Debut | March 29, 2018 |
| Former MLB Team | Los Angeles Angels |
| Japanese Team | Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
| Wife | Mamiko Tanaka |
| Children | Two |
| Father | Toru Ohtani |
| Mother | Kayoko Ohtani |
| MLB MVP Awards | 4 |
| World Series Titles | 2024, 2025 |
| WBC Championship | 2023 |
| Dodgers Contract | 10 years, $700 million |
MLB lists Ohtani as a 6-foot-4, 210-pound two-way player who bats left-handed, throws right-handed and wears No. 17 for the Dodgers.
Who Is Shohei Ohtani?
Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That answer sounds simple.
His job isn’t.
Ohtani works as both a starting pitcher and a designated hitter. Most modern baseball players spend their careers working on one side of the game. Pitchers pitch. Hitters hit.
Ohtani does both.
And he has done both at an elite MLB level.
That rare skill set has helped him win four Most Valuable Player awards through 2025. He won American League MVP honors with the Angels in 2021 and 2023, then National League MVP awards with the Dodgers in 2024 and 2025.
All four wins were unanimous.
MLB confirmed his fourth MVP in November 2025, making him only the second player in MLB history to win at least four MVP awards.
Early Life in Japan
Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994, in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
Baseball entered his life early.
His father, Toru Ohtani, had played amateur baseball. His mother, Kayoko, competed in badminton. So sport was already part of everyday family life.
Ohtani is the youngest of three children.
He grew up with an older brother and older sister.
His father also helped coach him during his early baseball years. Those sessions gave the young player a strong base, but Ohtani’s physical ability soon became hard to miss.
He was tall.
He threw very hard.
And he could hit.
Hanamaki Higashi High School
Ohtani attended Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate Prefecture.
The school is known for baseball.
This is where wider attention started.
As a teenager, Ohtani produced pitching speeds around 160 km/h, or roughly 99 mph. That immediately put him among Japan’s most closely watched young baseball players.
He appeared in major Japanese high-school tournaments and started attracting professional interest.
There was another twist.
Ohtani wanted MLB.
He considered going directly from high school to professional baseball in the United States rather than starting in Japan.
That plan changed.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Career
The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters selected Ohtani in the first round of the 2012 NPB draft.
The team had a smart pitch.
They would let him hit and pitch.
Ohtani accepted.
He made his professional debut in 2013 and spent five seasons with the Fighters from 2013 through 2017.
His two-way plan quickly started working.
In 2014, he recorded 11 pitching wins and hit 10 home runs.
Then came a huge 2016 season.
Ohtani hit .322 with 22 home runs while posting a 1.86 ERA as a pitcher. He won the Pacific League MVP award, and the Fighters won the Japan Series.
Japan already knew his name.
America was next.
Move to Major League Baseball
Ohtani left NPB after the 2017 season.
Several MLB clubs wanted him.
He eventually picked the Los Angeles Angels.
His MLB debut came on March 29, 2018.
People wanted to see whether his two-way style could actually work against MLB competition.
The answer came quickly.
2018 Rookie Season
Ohtani hit .285 with 22 home runs during his first MLB season.
On the mound, he went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA.
Pretty strong start.
He won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year award.
His pitching season was cut short by damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, though. Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2018.
That kept him off the mound in 2019.
He still hit.
Injuries and Comebacks
Ohtani’s road has not been clean.
There have been surgeries.
And long rehab periods.
After his 2018 elbow operation, he underwent left-knee surgery in 2019. A forearm problem then limited his pitching during the shortened 2020 season.
Another major right-elbow injury ended his pitching work in 2023.
He had surgery again.
The result meant no pitching during the 2024 MLB season.
Still, he kept hitting.
And 2024 became one of his biggest years.
2021: First MVP Award
Ohtani’s 2021 season changed how many baseball fans viewed his two-way career.
He hit 46 home runs.
He stole 26 bases.
He drove in 100 runs.
Then look at his pitching.
He went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and struck out 156 batters.
He was selected to the MLB All-Star Game as both a hitter and pitcher.
That had never happened before.
Ohtani won the American League MVP award unanimously.
His first MVP was secured.
More followed.
2022: Strong on Both Sides
Ohtani kept working as a full two-way player in 2022.
He hit 34 home runs and drove in 95 runs.
His pitching numbers were even sharper.
Ohtani finished 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts.
He also became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both the batting and pitching leaderboards in the same season.
MLB even changed its designated-hitter rule in a way closely connected with his style of play.
The rule allows a starting pitcher who is also listed as designated hitter to remain at DH after leaving the mound.
Fans often call it the “Ohtani Rule.”
2023 World Baseball Classic
International baseball produced one of Ohtani’s best-known moments.
Japan reached the final of the 2023 World Baseball Classic against the United States.
Then came the ending.
Ohtani was pitching.
Mike Trout was batting.
The two had been Angels teammates.
Ohtani struck Trout out to finish the game and secure Japan’s 3-2 win.
Japan became world champion.
Ohtani was named tournament MVP.
Second American League MVP
His 2023 MLB season was huge, too.
Ohtani hit .304 with 44 home runs and a 1.066 OPS.
As a pitcher, he went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA.
His pitching season ended early because of another right-elbow injury.
His work before that injury still earned him the 2023 American League MVP award.
Again, unanimous.
Shohei Ohtani’s $700 Million Dodgers Contract
Free agency arrived after 2023.
Then came the number everyone talked about.
$700 million.
Ohtani signed a 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2023.
The payment structure is unusual.
Of the $700 million, $680 million was deferred. MLB reported that Ohtani would receive $2 million per year during the main 10-year contract period, with the large deferred payments coming later.
That deal moved him across Los Angeles.
Blue replaced red.
Historic 50-50 Season
Ohtani could not pitch in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery.
So he attacked with the bat.
The result was wild.
He hit 54 home runs.
He stole 59 bases.
That made Ohtani the first player in MLB history to record at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. MLB’s own 2025 MVP coverage still points to that 2024 50-50 achievement as one of his defining records.
His milestone game was unforgettable.
Ohtani went 6-for-6 against Miami, hit three home runs, stole two bases and drove in 10 runs while crossing the 50-50 mark.
First World Series Championship
The Dodgers reached the 2024 World Series in Ohtani’s first season with the club.
They beat the New York Yankees.
Ohtani finally had an MLB championship ring.
He then won the 2024 National League MVP award.
Another unanimous vote.
It was his third career MVP and his first in the National League.
Return to Pitching in 2025
Ohtani returned to an MLB mound in 2025.
The Dodgers handled his pitching workload carefully.
At the plate, though, the power remained.
He hit a career-high 55 home runs and finished with a 1.014 OPS.
On the mound, he posted a 2.87 ERA over 14 starts. Those numbers helped him win the 2025 National League MVP award.
That made four.
All unanimous.
Incredible 2025 NLCS Performance
Then came one of his strangest stat lines.
Game 4.
2025 NLCS.
Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 10 hitters.
He also hit three home runs.
Yes, same game.
He became the 2025 NLCS MVP. MLB records him as the award winner, while its game coverage confirms the three-homer, 10-strikeout performance.
The Dodgers went on to win the 2025 World Series.
That gave Ohtani consecutive championships in 2024 and 2025.
Shohei Ohtani’s 2026 Stats
Ohtani continued as a two-way player in 2026.
Through MLB’s late-September figures, he had a .277 batting average with 30 home runs, 80 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
His pitching numbers were even sharper.
Ohtani was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA, 95 strikeouts and a 0.95 WHIP across 85⅔ innings.
These figures are time-sensitive and reflect MLB data available in late September 2026.
Shohei Ohtani’s Wife
Shohei Ohtani is married to Mamiko Tanaka.
He announced his marriage in February 2024 but initially kept his wife’s identity private.
Tanaka is a former professional basketball player in Japan.
Ohtani has generally kept his family life away from constant public attention.
So this article sticks to what they have actually made public.
No guessing.
Shohei Ohtani’s Children
Ohtani and Mamiko welcomed their first child, a daughter, in April 2025.
Their family grew again in June 2026, when the couple announced the birth of their second child.
They have not publicly shared every private detail about their children.
That boundary matters.
Decoy the Dog
There is another famous member of the household.
Decoy.
Ohtani’s dog has appeared with him publicly several times and gained plenty of attention from baseball fans.
The dog’s Japanese name is Dekopin.
Decoy even became part of some Dodgers celebrations and public appearances.
Ippei Mizuhara Case
Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, became the subject of a federal criminal case involving gambling debts and money stolen from Ohtani.
The facts need to stay clear.
Federal prosecutors said Mizuhara transferred millions of dollars from Ohtani’s bank account without Ohtani’s knowledge or permission.
Mizuhara later admitted stealing nearly $17 million.
Ohtani was treated as the victim in the federal case.
So describing the matter as Ohtani’s own gambling case would be misleading.
It wasn’t.
Shohei Ohtani Net Worth
You may see exact net-worth figures on entertainment and celebrity websites.
Those numbers are estimates.
Ohtani has not released a verified public statement showing his complete assets, investments, taxes and liabilities.
For that reason, giving an exact personal net worth as fact would not be responsible.
His $700 million Dodgers contract, however, is publicly documented.
That is the figure we can safely use.
Playing Style
Ohtani bats left-handed.
He throws right-handed.
His hitting combines serious power with speed.
His pitching mixes high velocity with several breaking and off-speed pitches.
But his biggest difference is obvious.
He can do both jobs.
Really well.
That forces teams to think about roster construction, pitching schedules, designated-hitter use and recovery in ways that are unusual for a single player.
Major Career Achievements
Ohtani has already collected a long record of major honors.
His verified career includes the 2016 Pacific League MVP award, the 2016 Japan Series championship, 2018 AL Rookie of the Year, AL MVP awards in 2021 and 2023, NL MVP awards in 2024 and 2025, the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship and tournament MVP award, consecutive World Series championships in 2024 and 2025, and the 2025 NLCS MVP award.
Four MLB MVP awards stand out.
All four were unanimous.
Why Shohei Ohtani Is So Unusual
Baseball has seen great hitters.
It has seen great pitchers.
Seeing one player handle both jobs at this level is much rarer.
Ohtani has produced 40-plus and 50-plus home-run seasons.
He has also pitched seasons with an ERA in the low twos.
Then there is speed.
His 59 stolen bases in 2024 helped produce MLB’s first 50-50 season.
Honestly, that mix explains the attention.
Power. Speed. Pitching.
One player handles it.
Final Thought
Shohei Ohtani’s career already stretches across two major professional baseball systems, international competition and several MLB records.
The numbers are big.
But the main point is simple.
He kept trying to hit and pitch when the normal path would have been to pick one.
That choice took him from Hanamaki Higashi High School to the Nippon-Ham Fighters, then the Angels and eventually the Dodgers.
By late September 2026, he was a four-time MLB MVP, two-time World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion and one of the most successful two-way players the sport has seen.
And his career is still active.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Shohei Ohtani?
Shohei Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994. He is 32 years old as of September 2026.
Where was Shohei Ohtani born?
He was born in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, and grew up in the area now associated with Ōshū.
Who is Shohei Ohtani’s wife?
Shohei Ohtani is married to Mamiko Tanaka, a former professional basketball player from Japan.
Does Shohei Ohtani have children?
Yes. Ohtani and Mamiko have two children. Their first child, a daughter, was born in April 2025. They announced their second child’s birth in June 2026.
What team does Shohei Ohtani play for?
He plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He joined the club before the 2024 season.
What position does Shohei Ohtani play?
He is a two-way player. He works as a pitcher and designated hitter.
How much is Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers contract?
His Dodgers deal is worth $700 million across 10 years. Most of the money is deferred.
How many MVP awards has Shohei Ohtani won?
He has won four MLB MVP awards through 2025: 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. All four victories were unanimous.
