Today, it is not uncommon for professional baseball players in Japan to earn salaries exceeding 100 million yen per year.
But that was not always the case.
Even legendary stars like Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima never crossed that milestone during their careers. The first player to break the barrier was Hiromitsu Ochiai, and he did so only after achieving the rare feat of winning the Triple Crown three times.
That is how high the standard once was.
Shohei Ohtani reached the 100-million-yen salary mark in just his third professional season in 2015.
That year, he delivered an extraordinary performance on the mound, winning the pitching Triple Crown in Japan’s Pacific League.
Although Ohtani never showed a strong personal attachment to money, he understood what the salary represented.
When discussing his pay raise, he first expressed gratitude to the players who came before him.
He acknowledged that the progress in players’ salaries was made possible through the long efforts of the players’ association and the work of many athletes who had fought for better conditions.
At the same time, Ohtani offered his own perspective on what salary truly means.
For him, it is not simply a reward for statistics.
Instead, it reflects how much his performance contributes not only to his team, but also to the organization and even to the sport of baseball itself.
Many people see salary purely as a measure of individual success.
Ohtani sees it as something broader.
A player’s value is also measured by the impact he has on his team, his club, and the future of the game.
Now playing in Major League Baseball, Ohtani frequently speaks about the importance of growing the popularity of baseball.
Increasing interest in the sport and inspiring the next generation of players are goals he clearly values.
In that sense, the numbers on a contract are not just about personal achievement.
They represent how much a player’s presence contributes to the game itself.
Source
This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.
KADOKAWA Special Edition: Shohei Ohtani, p.22