It was no surprise Shohei Ohtani won his second straight National League MVP award on Thursday.
With his return to the mound following 2024 elbow surgery, Ohtani was once again baseball’s two-way sensation while leading his Los Angeles Dodgers to a second consecutive World Series title. Not only did he lead baseball in bases, runs and extra-base hits, but his 2.87 earned-run average in 14 appearances was actually the second-best mark of his distinguished career.
As a result, Ohtani garnered all 30 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for a remarkable fourth time in five years dating back to his tenure with the American League’s Los Angeles Angels. Only seven-time MVP Barry Bonds has captured the award more than Ohtani, who is still just 31 and entering ninth MLB season.
But as inevitable as another MVP was for Ohtani, his victory celebration was a bit more surprising.
As seen on MLB Network, Ohtani received the honor via satellite while seated on a couch with his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, and dog, both of whom he embraced. He also offered up a kiss, but not to the glamorous mother of his baby daughter.
‘Ohtani hugging his wife while kissing his dog,’ one of many fans noticed on X, adding: ‘lol.’
Many fans were surprised to see Ohtani rush to kiss his dog, Decoy, rather than his wife
Ohtani, Decoy and Mamiko Tanaka sit on a couch as he learns he’s won another MVP award
This reaction was not uncommon.
‘Lol at Ohtani kissing his dog and not his wife,’ another added.
One fan joked: ‘Ohtani reaches for his wife, but kisses… the dog.’
A supporter of the rival Padres then added: ‘I knew that marriage was just for publicity.’
Ohtani’s dog has now been part of two World Series celebrations and was recently seen aboard a double-decker bus with baseball’s biggest superstar and his basketball player wife during the Dodgers’ championship parade.
Known in Ohtani’s native Japanese a ‘Dekopin,’ which refers to the action of flicking someone’s forehead, the Dutch Kooikerhondje’s English name is ‘Decoy.’
And while Decoy is popular with fans, many felt Ohtani was rude for kissing the pooch and not his wife.
‘Ohtani is a real a**hole,’ a gravely serious fan responded. ‘Wins MVP and kisses the dog before his wife. I’d divorce him and take him for a ride.’
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers walks with his dog Decoy and his wife Mamiko Tanaka in 2024
But Ohtani may have his reasons for showing more affection to Decoy than Tanaka. According to several travel publications, public displays of affection are frowned upon in Japan.
‘As a foreigner, you probably won’t get told off for a quick peck, but you might get some dirty looks,’ read a piece on the subject from Islands.com. ‘In order to be respectful of the people around you, you should probably keep your PDA to a minimum.’
A similar piece from JapanToday.com noted in ‘Japan, you’re not likely to see too much public smooching.’
As for the kissing of dogs, that’s more of a case-by-case basis. But like many other places, Japan’s dogs are often considered part of the family, according to a 2012 piece from The Guardian, which claimed the country has ‘arguably the world’s most pampered pooches.’
As for the reason Ohtani was kissing his dog, the left-handed slugging and right-handed pitching All-Star belted 55 home runs in 2025 to set a new career high for himself. And in addition to leading baseball with a .622 slugging percentage, he also boasted a 179 OPS+, meaning he was 79 percent more valuable on offense than the average MLB hitter in 2025.
