Shohei Ohtani’s dedication to nutrition is now widely known.
But earlier in his career, one of his biggest physical challenges was simply building enough muscle and gaining weight.
When he entered Hanamaki Higashi High School, Ohtani already possessed impressive height and natural pitching ability. Yet his body was still extremely lean. At the time, he weighed only 63 kilograms (139 pounds).
Even basic weight training was difficult.
According to those around him, he sometimes struggled to stabilize a 20-kilogram barbell during early training sessions.
Despite this, Ohtani was already throwing pitches that amazed local observers. By his third year of junior high school, people in Iwate were already saying that a pitcher like Yu Darvish had appeared in the region.
His raw talent was undeniable.
Still, Hanamaki Higashi’s manager Hiroshi Sasaki believed that Ohtani’s potential would grow dramatically if his body developed further. Sasaki had previously coached another future star, Yusei Kikuchi, whose pitching velocity increased significantly after gaining around 20 kilograms of muscle.
The same principle could apply to Ohtani.
If he could build his body properly, perhaps he could someday throw 160 km/h (100 mph) fastballs.
Increasing food intake became part of that plan, and Ohtani gradually gained weight and strength.
But a deeper transformation came after he joined the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Following the 2015 season, the Fighters invited Yu Darvish—already an established Major League star—to train with several players, including Ohtani. During that training period, Darvish shared his knowledge of nutrition science, training theory, and performance optimization.
For Ohtani, the experience was eye-opening.
He began eliminating sugar from his diet, switching from white rice to brown rice, and adjusting his training approach based on nutritional principles.
The discipline could be demanding.
But the results were undeniable.
In 2016, Ohtani delivered one of the most remarkable seasons in Japanese baseball history—leading the Fighters to a Japan Series championship and earning the Pacific League MVP award.
Looking back, Ohtani recognized how transformative that knowledge had been.
“Learning about nutrition was huge for me,” he said.
“It can be strict at times, but it contains many important lessons.”
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
SHO-TIME: The Man Who Changed 120 Years of Major League History, p.53