Throughout his career, Shohei Ohtani has often spoken about the people who shaped his path. Among them, one of the most influential figures is former Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama.

Kuriyama was the person who first believed in Ohtani’s potential as a two-way player. At the time, no one in modern professional baseball had successfully pursued both pitching and hitting at the highest level. The idea itself seemed unrealistic.

But Kuriyama supported the challenge and continued to guide Ohtani through both encouragement and tough criticism.

In public interviews, Kuriyama sometimes used surprisingly blunt language about Ohtani’s abilities. On one occasion he joked that “as a pitcher he’s a bit scatterbrained,” while adding that he trusted him more as a hitter.

To outsiders, such comments could sound harsh.

Yet Ohtani understood the context.

Rather than taking the remarks personally, he calmly responded:

“Behind the scenes it’s the complete opposite, so I assume that’s just how it’s reported. It doesn’t really bother me. I still think I have a lot to improve.”

For Ohtani, the public narrative was less important than the real relationship built through trust and guidance.

He understood that expectations often come with criticism, and that media framing can differ from reality.

More importantly, he never allowed praise—or criticism—to define his own evaluation.

Even when he was already one of the most extraordinary talents in baseball, he continued to see himself as a player still in the process of becoming better.

Source

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

Following Shohei Ohtani: A Beat Reporter’s 10-Year Chronicle, p.36