In his rookie season with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Shohei Ohtani pitched in 13 games and won three. As a hitter, he appeared in 77 games, batting .238 with three home runs.

For a high school graduate attempting a two-way career, it was respectable.

Looking back, Ohtani said the first half of the season felt fast — but after the All-Star break, it felt long.

“Maybe my stamina dropped. Maybe I was feeling fatigue,” he admitted.

For most rookies, that explanation would be enough. A long professional season naturally exposes physical limits.

But Ohtani did not stop there.

“In the end, it’s all about skill.”

Yes, fatigue may have slowed his swing.

But if fatigue affects performance, then managing fatigue is part of skill. If endurance drops late in the season, then building durability is part of skill.

He refused to separate “condition” from “ability.”

Everything — strength, stamina, rhythm, recovery — was included in the definition of skill.

By framing it this way, he eliminated excuses.

Instead of saying, I was tired, he concluded, I need to become better.

That winter, he did not rest passively. He trained — building strength and endurance that could not be developed during the season.

The result?

In his second year, he recorded double-digit wins and double-digit home runs.

When fatigue becomes part of skill, growth becomes inevitable.

Source

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

Shohei Ohtani: Baseball Chronicle I (Japan Edition 2013–2018), p.87