Life is often described as a series of choices, and what matters most is the standard by which those choices are made. For Shohei Ohtani, that standard was formed during his time at Hanamaki Higashi High School through the words of his manager, Hiroshi Sasaki: “Act based on what’s right, not what’s fun.”

That principle stayed with Ohtani long after high school. In his second professional season in 2014, he recorded 11 wins as a pitcher and hit 10 home runs as a batter—achieving a “double-digit wins and double-digit home runs” season that had never been accomplished in Japanese professional baseball and had only once been done in Major League Baseball, by Babe Ruth.

Despite the historic achievement, Ohtani did not allow himself to be satisfied. During the offseason, he continued to devote much of his time to training. Even on Christmas—a day most people associate with celebration and rest—he chose to train.

When a reporter asked why, Ohtani pointed back to the lesson he had learned in high school. He explained that there are times when a training menu is extremely demanding and instinctively feels undesirable. Yet if that work is necessary for growth, the crucial question is whether one can choose to do it anyway.

Ohtani’s well-known stoicism is not rooted in a rejection of enjoyment, but in a deeply held belief: when faced with a choice, prioritizing what is right over what is easy or pleasant is what ultimately leads to progress.

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.125