Shohei Ohtani is famous for his love for pups as much as he’s famous for his supreme two-way skills, if not more. From MLB.com’s demand to create a bonus category in the game for the title “Outstanding Animal Companion”, to fans naming their pets after him or after the pooches in his life, Ohtani’s affinity for animals is a trait loved by all. Surprisingly enough, there is a secret factor at play behind that behavior.

In a Bally Sports interview, years before Shotime’s dog, Decoy, made an appearance on television during this season’s AL MVP win, the slugger divulged why he loved puppies more than kittens!

Shohei Ohtani might be the G.O.A.T., but he is also a D.O.G.!

Five years ago, a reporter asked Shohei Ohtani which group he belongs to—meows or barks? Shotime revealed himself to be a pup fanatic through and through. Shotime’s trusted confidante and interpreter of six years, Ippei Mizuhara, couldn’t help but laugh after listening to Shohei Ohtani’s giggly answer. “He was born in the Year of the Dog,” was the translator’s answer.

Surprise surprise! It looks like MLB’s favorite baseball player is a bit of an astrology fan himself! The centuries-old Japanese system of dividing eras into twelve lunar years uses 12 different animals to represent them, and the Year of the Dog is the eleventh of them.

While Shotime may display the same loyalty as the animal of his birth year, that is not the only trait that the sign denotes. It makes one wonder what else it might have in common with him, doesn’t it?

Watch This Story: An Apple Of The Japanese Ace, Ohtani’s Eyes Conveys His Endearing Bonding With His Furry Friends

An American’s peek into the Japanese symbol for the Unicorn

While the country Shotime plays for may have miles of differences between their Western approach to astrology and the traditional Eastern methods, there are few similarities there, after all. Born on the 5th of July in 1994, Ohtani’s western zodiac sign falls under the constellation of Cancer.

But hopping across the pond, a person born under the Year of the Dog displays honesty and a sense of duty, but also knows how to keep a secret. Of course, various schools of thought exist on the matter, but most agree on these traits, which Shohei Ohtani clearly portrays.

Read More: Beyond the Diamond: A Look at Shohei Ohtani’s Endearing Journey With Pets From Childhood to Stardom

Be it in the way he approaches games or the efforts he has put in regardless of a 5-year-long Saharan career with the Angels, the Unicorn couldn’t have been a better proof of the nobility demanded by the sign of his lunar year. In turn, he got his love for pups as a gift to himself!