Is Shohei Ohtani following Hideki Matsui's lead? Dodgers star's mysterious wedding announcement reminds fans of bizarre 2008 press conference when Yankees slugger shared a DRAWING of his new bride

Baseball fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean are still reeling from Shohei Ohtani's stunning marriage announcement, which came out of the proverbial left field on Thursday morning.

Despite constant surveillance from American and Japanese media, the Los Angeles Dodgers' $700million star wasn't known to be dating anyone. Naturally, Ohtani's admission on social media that he is 'now married' came as an undeniable shock to those who have followed his celebrated journey from Japan's Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to the Los Angeles Angels and, finally, the Dodgers.

And the fact that he didn't identify his new spouse only added to the intrigue. Baseball's greatest two-way player since Babe Ruth described his new partner as 'someone from my native country of Japan,' but left this person to be a complete mystery otherwise.

The situation would have been completely unfamiliar to baseball fans, were it not for Hideki Matsui, the celebrated former New York Yankees slugger known to many as Godzilla.

It was 16 years ago that Matsui revealed his own surprise marriage, only he went a step further in identifying his bride with a bizarre self-made drawing of the woman, which he then shared with reporters.

Hideki Matsui (pictured) is seen holding a drawing of his new bride in March of 2008

Shohei Ohtani is off the market, but it's anyone's guess who his new Japanese spouse may be

'I met somebody who felt right,' the two-time All-Star told media gathered at the Yankees' spring-training complex in Tampa. 'That was it.'

Like other Yankees legends, including Joe DiMaggio and Derek Jeter, Matsui was protective of his private life. And not wanting to divulge his new wife's identity to the public, the then-33-year-old felt his sketching would suffice. (In fact, not much is known about Mrs. Matsui, other than the fact that she and Hideki have two children together) 

'I have decided to spend my whole life with her,' Matsui said while holding her picture and showing off the silver ring on his left hand.

As the world soon discovered, there was more going on than a simple wedding.

Matsui had already planned to wed his fiancée that year when he, Jeter and  teammate Bobby Abreu wagered over which of the three would be the first to get married. So when he convinced the other two Yankees to take part in the bet, Matsui flew back to New York on his off day so that he could get hitched and be declared the winner.

'He won,' Jeter told reporters in Tampa in 2008. 'I'm going to give him the money today.'

A specific dollar amount was never revealed.

'I'm happy for him,' Abreu said. 'I'll have to send him a check.'

Seen here at Yankees' spring training in 2008, Derek Jeter (left) and Bobby Abreu (right) were forced to pay Hideki Matsui after he won a wager by getting married before they did 

Matsui's sudden marriage not only took teammates by surprise, but gave then-manager Joe Girardi a reason to chuckle.

'Sometimes you should get all the information before you make a bet,' Girardi told reporters.

Naturally, fans were reminded of Matsui's memorable wedding announcement upon hearing news of Ohtani's on Thursday.

'What I expect tomorrow,' one fan wrote on X alongside a photo of the Yankees slugger holding the drawing of his new wife. 'Hideki Matsui style when he got married.'

'I prefer Hideki Matsui’s wife announcement where he proudly displayed a hand-drawn sketch of his bride,' wrote popular social media personality Norm Charlatan (like: Norm Charlton). 

Another fan chimed in: 'I hope he can afford a better artist to draw his wife than Matsui.'