Shohei Ohtani has never been the type to train simply because he was told to. He thinks, evaluates, and experiments on his own. If something makes sense to him, he tries it immediately — without waiting for approval.
In February 2014, on the first day of spring camp, he drew the anger of manager Hideki Kuriyama. After bulking up significantly during the offseason, Ohtani entered the bullpen — but his mechanics were out of sync. His delivery looked scattered.
Most players would have rushed to explain:
“This is temporary.”
“I’m adjusting.”
“There’s a reason.”
Ohtani said nothing.
He quietly continued working on adjusting his mechanics to fit his stronger body.
Why?
Because explaining his logic in that moment would not calm the situation. It would sound like justification. Like excuse.
Instead, he chose proof over persuasion.
“If the results come as I steadily improve, and people eventually think, ‘Maybe that was the right approach,’ that’s best.”
That season, he won 11 games as a pitcher and hit 10 home runs as a batter — becoming the first player since Babe Ruth to achieve double-digit wins and double-digit home runs in a season.
He did not argue his case.
He built it.
Results made the explanation unnecessary.
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
Shohei Ohtani: Baseball Chronicle I (Japan Edition 2013–2018), p.112