There is a well-known quote by Steve Jobs:

“Your time is limited. The opportunities to truly devote yourself to what really matters may come only two or three times in your life.”

Watching Shohei Ohtani, one gets the sense that he lives with a similar awareness—making the most of every moment within the limited time he has as a professional baseball player.

In reality, the average career of a professional player is not very long.
And within that span, the period during which a player can remain at the very top is even shorter.

Of course, there are rare exceptions like Ichiro, who sustained excellence for over 20 years across Japan and the United States.
But even then, when viewed across an entire lifetime, that period is still only a fraction of one’s life.

In 2021, Ichiro offered Ohtani a message of encouragement:

“I hope that, starting with the 2021 season, you push yourself and create an era that only you can create.”

To this, Ohtani responded:

“The time you can maintain peak performance as a player isn’t very long. The deadline gets closer every year. The time I have to develop my abilities is limited, so I want to make the most of it.”

The “pushing yourself” Ichiro referred to was not about reckless overexertion.

It was about making the most of limited time—
about striving fully, with purpose, to become the best possible player.

That belief is something both Ichiro and Ohtani share.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Following Shohei Ohtani: A Reporter’s 10-Year Chronicle, p.325