During his third year at Hanamaki Higashi High School, Shohei Ohtani reached 160 km/h, the fastest pitch ever recorded by a high school player at the time. This was not something he achieved by chance. When he was a first-year student, Ohtani had written “160 km/h” as a clear goal on his goal-setting sheet, along with everything he believed was necessary to achieve it—and he followed through on each step.

One of the most important tasks was gaining weight and building his body. To do so, Ohtani imposed a strict eating routine on himself. His rule was simple but extreme: three bowls of rice for breakfast and seven bowls at dinner.

Despite standing close to 190 cm tall when he entered high school, Ohtani weighed only around 60 kilograms. He had always been naturally thin and not a big eater. After moving into the dormitory, however, his routine changed dramatically. After eating breakfast at school, he prepared rice balls to take with him, ate lunch, had additional meals before practice, and continued eating throughout the evening.

The volume was overwhelming, and Ohtani later admitted that it was genuinely difficult. Still, the results were undeniable. His body, which he once believed could never gain weight, grew rapidly, eventually reaching his target weight in the 90-kilogram range.

Of course, simply gaining weight does not lead to throwing 160 km/h. Alongside eating, Ohtani strengthened his lower body, shoulders, and overall physical foundation. By building a body capable of enduring intense training and high-level competition, he created the conditions that allowed his long-held goal to become reality.

For Ohtani, his time at Hanamaki Higashi was not only about technique or results—it was the period in which he learned how to build a body ready to fight.

Source

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

Opening a Path, Crossing the Ocean: The True Story of Shohei Ohtani, p.151