When people describe Shohei Ohtani’s career, they often say it feels “like something out of a manga.”

The reason is simple: many of the moments in his career unfold with a dramatic quality that almost seems scripted.

One famous example came during the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, when Ohtani took the mound in the ninth inning and struck out Mike Trout—his Los Angeles Angels teammate—to secure the championship for Japan.

It was the kind of scene that feels almost too perfect even for fiction.

But long before that moment, Ohtani had already created similar drama in Japan.

In 2016, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters were chasing the Pacific League championship after mounting an incredible comeback from an 11.5-game deficit.

With the magic number at one, the Fighters lost a crucial game to the Seibu Lions. Their championship hopes then depended on another game: if the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks lost that night, the Fighters would clinch the title.

But the Hawks won, meaning the championship would have to be decided the following day.

Many players were disappointed by the missed opportunity.

Ohtani, however, remained calm.

“We’ll just win tomorrow,” he said confidently.

The next day, the decisive game arrived.

Ohtani would start on the mound, facing Yusei Kikuchi, a respected pitcher and senior from his hometown in Iwate.

Rather than feeling pressure, Ohtani saw something else entirely.

“It was the perfect situation to win.”

In that game, he delivered a brilliant performance, throwing a one-hit shutout and leading the Fighters to their first league title in four years.

For Ohtani, the biggest stage was not something to fear.

It was the stage he had been waiting for.

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 Ten-Year Chronicle, p.102