Shohei Ohtani reaches landmark Instagram milestone ahead of MLB 2025 Opening Day

Shohei Ohtani is a global superstar and continues to be one of the best baseball players of this generation. Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing games in Tokyo, giving the two-way sensation a chance to play in front of his home fans again.

While most are paying attention to Shohei Ohtani and his heroics on the baseball field, at least one fan is keeping a close eye on his social media account. On Monday, a fan provided an update on Ohtani's Instagram follower account by sharing a screenshot of the post on X.

"Congratulation Shohei 9 million followers 🥹, " @shoheisaveus captioned the post

Shohei Ohtani has kept a private personal life since coming over to Major League Baseball, but that hasn't stopped fans from wanting to follow him. His 2024 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers was historic and he also started to become more comfortable about sharing his life with fans.

Ohtani was named MVP of the National League following the 2024 season and he did so without even stepping foot on the pitcher's mound. The Dodgers are planning to use Ohtani as a starting pitcher again in 2025 and he is once again one of the favorites to win the MVP, which would be his fourth.

Shohei Ohtani discusses "Golden Generation" label ahead of Tokyo Series

Shohei Ohtani is just one of five Japanese players who will be appearing in the MLB Tokyo Series 2025, but he is the biggest attraction. Ohtani met with reporters upon arriving in Japan and he was asked about this being the "Golden Generation" of Japanese talent in Major League Baseball.

"It's hard to tell if this is the golden age for Japanese players here in the United States," Ohtani said (translated to English). "I know there's been a lot of Japanese players that came before me, but having five is a big deal, and it's truly a big deal."

Ohtani is always extremely humble and thoughtful in his answers to the media and that was the case with this answer as well. It's becoming more common for Japanese stars to come over to MLB, and the fans in Tokyo will get to watch five stars play this week.

Joining Ohtani on the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers will be starting pitchers Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Chicago Cubs will send Shota Imanaga to the mound on Opening Day and Seiya Suzuki will be in the lineup as well.