I get excited when I go somewhere unfamiliar. It was the same when I entered professional baseball. I remember feeling excited, thinking there must be so many players who are better than me.

For many people, stepping into an unfamiliar place brings anxiety before excitement. Whether it is advancing to a new school, starting a new job, or entering a completely different environment, worries like “Will I fit in?” or “Can I really compete here?” often come first.

Shohei Ohtani, however, has always felt the opposite.

When he entered the world of professional baseball, and later when he moved to Major League Baseball, Ohtani recalls feeling genuine excitement rather than fear. To him, the unknown represented opportunity.

Ohtani’s first experience in a national-level competition came during his first year of middle school, when he played for the Mizusawa Little League. At the Tohoku tournament, he struck out 17 of the 18 batters he faced—an extraordinary performance. Yet even then, he did not consider himself a special player on a national scale. In fact, Ohtani admits that until middle school, he believed he was “not that great of a player.”

Precisely because of that mindset, stepping into larger stages thrilled him. Beyond Iwate Prefecture, he believed there must be far better players—athletes who could push him to grow even more. Facing those players, testing himself against unknown competition, was what made baseball truly exciting for him.

According to Ohtani, you never truly understand your own ability—or your opponent’s—until you actually step into that unfamiliar environment and try. Imagining higher levels, believing that you can reach them, and then challenging yourself there is what fuels his sense of excitement.

That excitement, more than fear or obligation, is what has driven Shohei Ohtani to continue challenging himself at every stage of his career.

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.101

Shohei Ohtani Quotes

I get excited when I go somewhere unfamiliar. It was the same when I entered professional baseball. I remember feeling excited, thinking there must be so many players who are better than me.

Source

More Quotes

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