They are certainly not striking out. With the Milwaukee Brewers facing the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the 2026 World Series on Oct. 23, PEOPLE rounded up eight Major League Baseball stars whose love lives are as high-profile as their stat lines — from a power couple built on a video-game commercial to romances that began, unmistakably, in the DMs.
Justin Verlander and Kate Upton
Recently retired two-time World Series champion Verlander and Upton — PEOPLE’s inaugural 2014 Sexiest Woman of the Year and a four-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model — met filming a commercial for the video game MLB 2K12 in 2013. He proposed quietly in 2016, and they wed a year later in Tuscany, Italy, just days after he won the World Series with the Houston Astros. “The moment the gates opened and I saw her walking down the aisle, I lost it,” the 10-time All-Star told PEOPLE in March 2018. Daughter Genevieve arrived Nov. 7, 2018, and son Bellamy Brooks on June 19, 2025. On Sept. 26, Verlander played the final game of his career, joined on the field by Upton and both children as he left the mound for the last time.
(Eva Rinaldi from Abbotsford, Australia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))Cole Tucker and Vanessa Hudgens
Former shortstop Tucker and High School Musical star Hudgens have been together since 2020 — and she made the first move. After meeting in a Zoom meditation group, Hudgens slid into his DMs. “If I want something or someone, I’m going after them,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “I fully just slid into his DMs and was like, ‘Hey, it was nice to meet you.'” They went Instagram official in February 2021, announced their engagement in Paris in February 2023, and married Dec. 2, 2023, in Tulum, Mexico, in a ceremony officiated by Jay Shetty. A son arrived in July 2024 and a daughter in November 2025.
Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne
Pirates pitcher Skenes and former gymnast Dunne met at Louisiana State University, where his roommate was dating her friend — “just a small-world type of thing,” Skenes told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fans spotted Dunne in his jersey in a June 2023 TikTok; he confirmed the relationship that August. Their long-distance relationship runs on presence: “He makes time to come to my events,” Dunne told PEOPLE in March 2026. “I make time to go watch him pitch. I try to make every start I can.”
(Toglenn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0))Cody Bellinger and Chase Carter Bellinger
Bellinger and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Chase Carter have been together since 2020, going Instagram official that October. Daughters Caiden (Nov. 27, 2021) and Cy (April 28, 2023) followed. “We kind of see life the same, so I think that’s where it’s really going to work out,” the former MVP told PEOPLE in August 2021. He proposed in Chicago in June 2023, and by December fans had spotted rings — and a new last name on her Instagram.
Kiké Hernández and Mariana Vicente Hernández
Three-time World Series champion Kiké discovered actress and former Miss Universe Puerto Rico Mariana in Hot Tub Time Machine 2 in 2015, messaged her, and arranged a first date two months later. “He found me on social media and sent a message congratulating me on my performance,” she told Inside Weddings. He proposed in Big Sur in July 2017 — “I’m going to marry the woman of my dreams!!!!!!” — and they wed Dec. 8, 2018, in Puerto Rico. Daughter Penélope Isabel arrived Jan. 15, 2021, and son Santiago José on Feb. 25, 2026.
(CCS Pictures / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0))Dansby Swanson and Mallory Swanson
A true athlete power couple: Dansby won a World Series with Atlanta while Mallory stars for Chicago Stars FC and the USWNT. Former Braves teammate Jace Peterson set them up on a blind date in 2017 with his sister-in-law. They wed Dec. 10, 2022, in an “enchanted forest” ceremony at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia, and welcomed daughter Josie James in November 2025.
Francisco Lindor and Katia Reguero Lindor
Five-time All-Star Lindor saw a photo of violinist Katia Reguero on Instagram and messaged her while she was studying music at St. Mary’s University in 2019. “He was honest and really open and really showed effort and we just became really good friends at first,” Katia said on PEOPLE’s Wag World in July 2026. Daughter Kalina Zoé arrived Nov. 4, 2020; they married Dec. 16, 2021, in Miami, then welcomed Amapola Chloé (June 2023) and Koa Amani (March 2025). Katia later performed the national anthem on violin at Citi Field on Hispanic Heritage Night.
Shohei Ohtani and Mamiko Tanaka
Two-time World Series champion and four-time MVP Ohtani married fellow athlete Mamiko Tanaka, who played four years for the Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women’s Japan Basketball League. Famously private, he announced the marriage in 2024 without naming her at first: “I also have began a new life with someone from my Native country of Japan who is very special to me.” Daughter number one arrived April 19, 2025, and a second child in June 2026. The couple share a dog named Decoy — and, clearly, a very good celebrity-couple decade.
Eight Couples, One Postseason
Read together, the eight stories trace a full spectrum of modern fame: a storybook Tuscany wedding days after a championship, two romances launched by direct messages, a blind date arranged by a teammate, a campus introduction at LSU, a violinist who became a ballpark headliner, and the most private superstar in sports announcing a marriage before he announced a name. As the Brewers and Rays meet in Game 1, these are the partners who will be in the stands, on the field for the farewells, and — in Dunne’s case — at every start she can possibly make.