When Shohei Ohtani's former Nippon-Ham Fighters manager was stupefied to witness the LA Angels star's incredible talent

During a 2022 interview with Ben Verlander, Hideki Kuriyama, the former manager of Nippon-Ham Fighters, talked about Shohei Ohtani.

The video of the interview is given below, time stamp: 3:16.

The Angels' star, who is famous for being a two-way player, had once almost given up on batting. Shohei talked about how all the scouts only saw his value as a pitcher and not a batter. And so he was slotted in to start his MLB career as a pitcher at eighteen years old.

"For me, what I come to believe is based on the things I see with my own eyes. When he was a sophomore in senior high he hit a liner to left field at the Koshein Tournament".

Thankfully, the former manager of the Fighters saw Shohei Ohtani's potential and he was selected by the Nippon-Ham Fighters, both as a pitcher and a batter. The first to notice Ohtani as a two-way player was Hideki Kuriyama.

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"It was a very powerful shot to the opposite field. And the liner smashed into the fence. When it smashed into the fence it still had power to fly further".

Kuriyama saw Ohtani for the first time when Shohei was in his sophomore year of high school. He described how Ohtani hit a liner towards left field in the Koshein Tournament. He expressed his amazement by saying that it was a very powerful shot. Kuriyama said when the ball smashed into the fences, it still had enough power to fly more.

"I had never seen anyone who could hit such a shot to the opposite field. Seeing that made me believe for certain that he could bat".

Kuriyama went on to say how he has never seen anyone who could hit a shot like that and with that much power. This was when Kuriyama started believing that Shohei Ohtani should not only be a pitcher but also a batter. The young player also had a lifelong dream of playing in the MLB.

When Hideki Kuriyama, former manager of Shohei Ohtani compared him to Yu Darvish.

During the same interview, Hideki Kuriyama went on to describe the first time he saw Shohei Ohtani and how he felt at the time.

"The first time I saw Shohei pitch was when he was a sophomore in senior high just before the summer, by chance I was at the game and Shohei happened to be there. When I first saw him pitch behind the plate".

Kuriyama said that he arrived by chance at the game Shohei Ohtani was playing. Shohei was still very young and developing as a player and was prominently known as a pitcher rather than a batter.

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"Well, Yu Darvish was the best pitcher in japan at the time, I could already see Ohtani's pitches coming with the arc and speed of Darvish's pitches. I was really surprised"

He described how when he saw Ohtani hit the ball for the first time, he was immediately reminded of Yu Darvish. The San Diego Padres' player was the best pitcher in japan at the time.

Kuriyama could see how, if given enough training, Ohtani's pitches can develop into the same speed and arcs as Darvish's. Kuriyama recalled being extremely surprised by his first meeting with Shohei Ohtani, who is today a star in the Los Angeles Angels.