One of Shohei Ohtani’s defining traits is his willingness to experiment.
Whenever he receives advice or discovers a new idea, his first instinct is rarely rejection. Instead, he prefers to try it himself and evaluate the results.
As Ohtani once explained:
“If I feel like a training method might work, I’ll try it. Even if it turns out not to be effective, it’s not a waste.”
This mindset became especially visible during his first spring training with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018.
At the time, Ohtani was struggling.
In exhibition games, his pitching lacked control despite impressive velocity, and his hitting performances were underwhelming. Some critics even mocked him, saying he looked like “a high school hitter.”
Then, during a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a hitting coach made a simple suggestion.
“Try swinging without lifting your front leg.”
In Japan, Ohtani had always used a high leg kick in his batting stance. However, the coach believed that eliminating the leg lift might help him better control timing against Major League pitching. He also suggested that Ohtani’s natural power would still transfer effectively even without the leg lift.
Ohtani didn’t hesitate.
He immediately tried the adjustment during the game.
After just a few swings, he launched a ball into the stands at Dodger Stadium.
His response was simple.
“That feels good. Let’s do it.”
From that point forward, Ohtani adopted a more compact stride-based swing, abandoning the high leg kick.
Many players were surprised by how quickly he accepted and implemented such a major mechanical change.
But for Ohtani, the decision was consistent with a philosophy he had held since his time with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
He never wanted to reject an idea before testing it.
Trying—and learning—was always better than dismissing something out of instinct.
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.185