Shohei Ohtani is a new father, and pretty soon, he'll be back in the Dodgers lineup.
The superstar leadoff hitter texted manager Dave Roberts on Saturday evening to let him know when he'd be back.
The date? Sunday, April 20. Ohtani will return to the Dodgers' lineup on Easter Sunday.
Ohtani will have to catch a flight from California to Texas with the Dodgers in the middle of a road trip that currently is taking place at the Rangers and will then progress to Wrigley Field in Chicago next week.
On Saturday, Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, announced they had welcomed their first child into the world.
They gave birth to a girl.
"I am so grateful to my loving wife who gave birth to our healthy beautiful daughter," Ohtani wrote on Instagram. "To my daughter, thank you for making us very nervous yet super anxious parents."
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Ohtani has missed two Dodgers games while on the paternity list. L.A. lost Saturday on a walk-off home run by Rangers star Adolis Garcia.
The superstar Ohtani is currently batting .288 with six home runs and five steals. He leads the NL with 21 runs scored.
All eyes will be on him when he leads off the top of the first Sunday in Texas. The new dad could be first-pitching swinging.
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