Watching Shohei Ohtani’s development, a Japanese proverb often comes to mind: “fortune and misfortune are intertwined like a twisted rope.” Even setbacks can open unexpected paths—and in Ohtani’s case, a major injury became the turning point that allowed his hitting talent to fully emerge.

When Ohtani entered Hanamaki Higashi High School, head coach Hiroshi Sasaki primarily envisioned him as a pitcher. Looking back, Sasaki has even said that if Ohtani had spent three smooth years developing only as a pitcher, “Shohei Ohtani the hitter” might never have become what he eventually did.

That changed in the summer of Ohtani’s second year, when he suffered a serious injury—an epiphyseal plate injury—that prevented him from pitching. Unable to throw, he poured his energy into batting practice instead. He began hitting in the heart of the lineup, often batting third or fourth, and his potential as a hitter rapidly blossomed.

Ohtani later reflected on that time with surprising clarity:

“I could feel myself getting better and better as a hitter. There was a version of me that was higher than I expected, and that’s when batting started to become fun.”

In a sense, it was a classic case of turning misfortune into opportunity. Interestingly, a similar pattern appeared later in his Major League career. In his second and third seasons after moving to MLB, Ohtani had periods when he couldn’t pitch due to surgery and recovery. Yet even then, he dedicated himself to hitting and felt himself growing as a batter. His 2024 performance, too, came during a season when he was unable to pitch.

For Ohtani, injuries and setbacks have never been endpoints. Again and again, he has turned them into fuel—finding new strengths, discovering new levels of himself, and continuing to grow.

Source

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

Baseball Chronicle I: Japan Years 2013–2018, p.67