The desire to “get back at” or “prove wrong” those who have spoken harshly or treated you poorly can sometimes become a source of motivation for success. However, when such emotions become too strong, they can also lead one away from healthy and sustainable success.

Regarding Shohei Ohtani’s two-way playing style, doubts in Japan were largely put to rest in 2016, when he won the MVP award and led his team to a championship.

In Major League Baseball, similar doubts were dispelled in his fourth season in 2021, when he hit 46 home runs, recorded nine wins as a pitcher, and struck out 156 batters.

That year, Ohtani won the league MVP, received the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award, and was named Player of the Year by the MLB Players Association. It was truly a season in which all of Major League Baseball celebrated his performance.

Prior to that, after two seasons of underwhelming results, there had been growing skepticism about whether he could succeed as a two-way player. However, his performance in 2021 and beyond erased those doubts completely.

It could be said that he silenced his critics through his performance. Yet Ohtani himself remains humble, stating, “I don’t think about whether those who doubted me were wrong.”

Ohtani does not play baseball to prove others wrong. His approach is simply to aim to become the best player in the world by focusing on each and every game.

Source

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

Sho-Time: Shohei Ohtani, the Man Who Changed 120 Years of Major League History, p.21