Major League Baseball

Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani unveils personal logo ahead of 2024 MLB season

Published Mar. 19, 2024 11:24 a.m. ET

Shohei Ohtani added another achievement to his long list of accolades on Monday.

Ahead of the start of the 2024 MLB season, Ohtani and New Balance unveiled a personal logo for the Los Angeles Dodgers star. The logo is a black-and-white drawing of Ohtani rounding first base after seemingly hitting for an extra-base hit.

"To finally reveal this special logo that I've worked closely on is truly an exciting moment for me," Ohtani said in a press release. "It is a visual representation of my journey in baseball and I am excited to share it with the world. I also look forward to using this logo with future projects that we will reveal throughout the 2024 season."

Ohtani began his partnership with New Balance in 2023, joining the footwear and sports apparel brand to become a face of its "We Got Now" campaign.

"Since joining forces with New Balance, Shohei Ohtani has been nothing short of incredible to work with both on and off the diamond. We have collaborated with Shohei on charitable endeavors in Japan, global brand storytelling, product and a lot more still to come," New Balance Chief Marketing Officers and SVP of Merchandising said in a statement. "Shohei is truly a reflection of our values, and this is just the beginning. We will continue to innovate, inspire and give back in a way that can only be expressed through Shohei."

The unveiling of Ohtani's logo puts a bow on what has been an eventful offseason for him. He won his second AL MVP award in November after having another dominant two-way season in 2023, hitting .304 with 44 home runs and 95 RBIs in 135 games, while going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA on the mound for the Los Angeles Angels.

A few weeks later, Ohtani ended his tenure with the Angels after six seasons by signing the largest contract in North American professional sports history with the Dodgers, agreeing to a 10-year, $700 million contract. He was later joined by fellow Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed the largest deal for a pitcher in MLB history.

Ohtani also shared that he had gotten married earlier in the offseason, refusing to share his wife's identity at the time as he wrote in a social media post that she's "a normal Japanese woman." However, the Dodgers showed Ohtani with his wife, former professional basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, before entering the team's plane to take off for South Korea for their season-opening series against the San Diego Padres last week.

After playing in exhibition games as part of the Seoul Series earlier this week, Ohtani and the Dodgers will officially open the 2024 MLB season on Wednesday with their two-game series.

Ohtani won't pitch this season after undergoing surgery to repair a UCL tear in his pitching elbow in September.