It is well known that Shohei Ohtani spends most of his days between baseball and sleep. During the season, that may seem inevitable. But even in the offseason, when many players relax, Ohtani devotes enormous time to training and recovery.
Why?
For Ohtani, the offseason is when the body is rebuilt. He pushes hard in the weight room, adding strength and size. Then he adjusts his pitching mechanics and batting form to fully utilize that stronger body.
But physical development is only part of the equation.
Another crucial element is inspiration.
Ohtani has explained that during training, there are moments when something suddenly clicks — an idea, a movement, a sensation that feels promising.
“I might think, ‘Ah, this could be good.’”
And when that happens, he tests it immediately.
Those flashes of insight rarely come while resting. They come during repetition — in the middle of work.
That is why he feels a certain fear in skipping practice.
“There’s a certain fear in taking a day off from practice. You might be crushing the possibility that you could have gotten better.”
For Ohtani, missing a workout isn’t just missing effort.
It might mean missing a breakthrough.
To him, that possibility is too valuable to risk.
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
Shohei Ohtani: Baseball Chronicle I (Japan Edition 2013–2018), p.120