Ichiro Suzuki once said during a press conference:

“Since I was a child, I’ve accomplished things people laughed at.”

As a boy, Ichiro spent countless hours at batting cages, and adults would jokingly ask, “What, are you trying to become a professional baseball player or something?”

Later, when he announced his goal of becoming a batting champion in Major League Baseball, many people laughed again.

He accomplished it all.

Shohei Ohtani experienced something similar with his pursuit of two-way baseball.

People never doubted his talent itself. What they doubted was the idea that one person could succeed as both a pitcher and a hitter at the highest level.

Most critics said the same thing:

“If he focused on just one, he could become truly great.”

In Japan, some viewed his two-way ambition as unrealistic. Others treated it almost like an insult to professional baseball itself.

And even in MLB, before the 2021 season, many believed Ohtani had reached a breaking point. Injuries and surgeries had interrupted his early years in America, and there were growing calls for him to finally choose either pitching or hitting.

Ohtani understood those doubts completely.

But instead of allowing the pressure to crush him, he approached it differently.

As he explained:

“I tried not to let the pressure overwhelm me. I just wanted to enjoy playing and see how far I could push my numbers by fully using my abilities.”

That mindset became the foundation of his breakthrough.

Rather than obsessing over proving critics wrong, Ohtani focused on enjoying the challenge itself and maximizing his own potential.

Today, very few people doubt the viability of two-way baseball anymore.

In fact, more young players are beginning to follow the path Ohtani helped create.

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 Baseball History, p.327