Shohei Ohtani underwent surgery on his right elbow twice — once after his first season with the Angels, and again during the 2023 offseason before joining the Dodgers.

Many wondered whether he felt anxiety about undergoing such a major procedure right before entering free agency, one of the most important moments of his career.

But according to Ohtani, the reason for both surgeries was exactly the same.

“It just wasn’t fun pitching in games anymore.”

Even before the second surgery, he said he could still throw around 150 kilometers per hour (about 93 mph) without pain.

To most people, that velocity would seem more than sufficient.

In fact, some pitchers in Major League Baseball choose not to undergo surgery at all, instead lowering their velocity and reinventing themselves as finesse pitchers.

But Ohtani did not want that path.

“Honestly, that just wouldn’t be fun for me. I wasn’t even 30 years old yet, and I still wanted to test the limits of what I’m capable of.”

That statement reveals how Ohtani views baseball.

For him, the game is not simply about surviving or maintaining a career for as long as possible.

It is about pursuing his absolute maximum potential.

He believed that if he had surgery and failed afterward, he could at least accept the result.

But continuing to pitch while knowing he was not performing at his best would betray himself, his team, and the fans.

That conviction led him to choose surgery.

Whenever he steps onto the field, Ohtani wants to compete in the best condition possible, throw the best pitches he can throw, and produce the best swings he can produce.

That is why he constantly chooses the harder path.

Not because it is safe, but because it gives him the chance to discover how far he can truly go.

Source

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

Number 1094–1095