Today, Shohei Ohtani is one of the defining players of Major League Baseball—someone many players look forward to facing.

But when he first joined the Los Angeles Angels, he often found himself going up against the league’s elite pitchers and hitters, and those matchups sometimes brought difficult, humbling experiences.

Justin Verlander, now 41, is one of those elite pitchers.

With 262 career wins and three Cy Young Awards, he has long been considered one of the best in the game.

At his peak, he combined a fastball exceeding 165 km/h with a full arsenal of breaking pitches—so dominant that Ichiro once said, “Every pitch is top-class. He can strike you out with anything.”

In his rookie season, Ohtani faced Verlander in a game against the Houston Astros.

The result: 0-for-4, with three strikeouts.

Looking back, Ohtani said, “Without opportunities like this, there are things you never realize. It was a great learning experience.”

In that same series, he also faced Gerrit Cole—who would later oppose him again in the 2024 World Series—and was struck by what he saw:

“In all my years playing baseball, that was the fastest pitch I’ve ever seen in a game. Not just the speed—the quality of the pitch was something I had never experienced before.”

Despite being unable to produce results in those matchups, Ohtani viewed the experience in a positive light.

“It’s something worth experiencing—even if you had to pay for it.”

Facing greatness.

Learning from it.

And eventually overcoming it.

That, for Ohtani, is both the challenge—and the joy of the game.

Source

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

Following Shohei Ohtani: A Reporter’s 10-Year Chronicle, p.188