Shohei Ohtani’s two-way talent was widely recognized from an early stage, but his high school manager at Hanamaki Higashi, Hiroshi Sasaki, offered an interesting evaluation:

“His greatest strength is pitching, second is baserunning, third is outfield defense—and batting comes fourth.
His baseball sense is actually most evident in his baserunning.”

Considering that Ohtani would later become a two-time home run champion in Major League Baseball, ranking his batting fourth highlights just how exceptional his other abilities were.

In fact, despite his large frame, Ohtani possessed remarkable speed and running ability.
However, during his five years with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he recorded only 13 stolen bases. This was largely because manager Hideki Kuriyama restricted his attempts due to the risk involved.

After moving to MLB, those limitations disappeared.
Except for the shortened 2020 season, Ohtani recorded double-digit stolen bases every year.

Perhaps backed by this confidence, Ohtani gave a memorable answer during the 2018 offseason.

After his rookie MLB season, a Number magazine reporter asked about the “life plan sheet” he had written in high school, which included a goal of throwing 175 km/h by age 25.

Since he was recovering from Tommy John surgery at the time and unable to pitch, Ohtani responded with a smile:

“As a substitute? Hmm… what should it be?
Let’s say 30 stolen bases at age 25.”

Although slightly delayed, he would go on to surpass that target—recording 59 stolen bases at age 30 in 2024.

Source

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

Number 968–969, p.17