‘Beans grow where they’re planted, red beans where they’re planted’. Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels), who is making Major League Baseball history, had great parents.
The Japanese media outlet Money Post reported on the 22nd (KST) that “Ohtani will make more than 8.5 billion yen (about 81 billion won) this year, the most in the major leagues. While some families of top players may find their lives ruined by the money, the Ohtani family doesn’t seem to have to worry about that.”토토사이트
This season, Ohtani is earning $30 million (about 39.8 billion won) in salary alone and has sponsorship deals with 17 major corporations. Most notably, he signed a ¥4 billion ($38 billion) deal with an American fashion brand this year. Since joining the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Fighters as a first-round draft pick in 2012, his income passbook has reportedly been managed by his mother, Kayoko Otani, until now.
However, according to the media, there was no record of any withdrawals from the account. This was due to his parents’ insistence that their income was enough to live on. The work was ordinary. Their father, Toru Ohtani, was a professional baseball player, and their mother, Kayoko, a former badminton prefectural representative, but now works part-time.
“Ohtani once asked his mother, ‘How long are you going to work?’ Kayoko said, ‘I can’t be carried around by you,’ and Toru said, ‘I can’t ask you to feed me because my son is successful,'” says Money Post. They said that they were living their own lives and that was enough. To this day, they have not reached out to Otani.”
It wasn’t just his parents, but his older brother and sister as well. Ohtani is the youngest of three, with an older brother six years older and an older sister two years older. Both of them are married, but none of Otani’s money went into the purchase of their honeymoon home, when his brother took out a loan of more than 30 million yen (about $290 million), and when his sister rented a detached house.
Growing up in such a family, Otani also maintains a frugal lifestyle. His current suits and shoes are all sponsored. Not only that, but the family has refused to do any media interviews since 2018, the year his son and brother broke into the major leagues. A Japanese media representative said, “We don’t want to bother him with family matters. I think it means they want their son to focus on baseball.”
The family’s efforts paid off. In the major leagues, Ohtani has consistently put up MVP-calibre performances every year despite his two-hitting duties, starting with his American League MVP award in the 2021 season. On 25 April, he started at third and designated hitter against the Boston Red Sox and hit his 12th home run of the season to lead the Angels to a 7-3 victory. This season, he is 5-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 10 games as a pitcher, striking out 80 batters in 59 innings, and batting .280 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs in 49 games with an OPS of .888.
He is loved by baseball fans not only for his stats, but also for his personality. With both skill and star power, he is expected to sign a massive $500 million free agent contract after this season. According to Money Post, “According to Japanese reporters, Ohtani’s answers and demeanour are always perfect. His choice of words never fails. His personality mesmerises teammates and fans alike. One U.S. reporter even said that even though he is still in his 20s, at times he can seem like a saint.”