In baseball, a pitcher’s success used to be judged primarily by wins and losses.

Today, however, many analysts focus more on metrics such as strikeouts, walks, ERA, and opponent batting average. The reason is simple: a pitcher cannot control everything that determines the final outcome of a game.

Run support from teammates, defensive plays, and relief pitching all influence whether a pitcher earns a win.

Shohei Ohtani experienced this reality many times—both in Japan and later in Major League Baseball. There were games where he pitched brilliantly but did not receive the win.

During such moments, one idea helped shape his mindset.

It came from Trevor Hoffman, the legendary closer of the San Diego Padres, who once said that the most important thing is not the win or loss itself, but how well a player prepares before stepping onto the field.

As a pitcher, the only thing truly under one’s control is preparation.

Ohtani embraced that philosophy deeply.

During the 2015 Premier12 tournament, he started twice against South Korea. On both nights before those games, he watched the same movie: Facing the Giants.

The film tells the story of an underdog American football coach struggling with setbacks and doubt. At one point, the coach learns about two farmers during a drought.

One farmer simply prays for rain.

The other farmer prays—but also prepares his field as if the rain will come.

That lesson transforms the coach’s approach to leadership and effort.

For Ohtani, the message resonated perfectly.

The idea of doing everything possible—making the best preparation in every detail—and then entrusting the final outcome to something beyond one’s control felt exactly right for him at that moment.

Preparation was his responsibility.

The result was not.

Source

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

Shohei Ohtani: Baseball Youth I (Japan Edition 2013–2018), p.201