Since moving to Major League Baseball, Shohei Ohtani has rarely appeared on Japanese television outside of serious interviews. Unlike many popular athletes, he almost never participates in entertainment programs or variety shows.

During his time with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, however, he occasionally appeared on such programs during the offseason. As one of Japan’s most promising young stars, he was invited to several television shows and even served as a judge for the prestigious NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve in 2016.

For many athletes, being invited into such glamorous environments would be thrilling.

Ohtani saw it differently.

He reportedly showed little interest even in the broadcast dates of the variety shows he appeared in. When asked about television appearances, he responded calmly that if work opportunities came, he could enjoy them, but fundamentally he wanted to focus on baseball.

Even in his early twenties—an age when many people seek excitement outside their profession—Ohtani maintained a disciplined perspective.

“Practice comes first,” he said. “I don’t really feel the need to make time for other things.”

He also recognized something about the world surrounding professional athletes.

“In the broader world of society,” he explained, “this is a place where people praise you constantly. Once you start believing you’re a king, that’s when it’s over.”

Success can easily distort a person’s sense of reality. Continuous praise often leads athletes to lose focus, become complacent, or forget the discipline that originally brought them success.

Ohtani understood this danger early in his career.

And from the beginning, he chose to keep baseball at the center of his life.

Source

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

Kadokawa Special Edition: Shohei Ohtani Feature, p.19