'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAYACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABgAAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABxAAAgEEAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMEAAIFEQYxEhMhAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACBhEAAgEFAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIRAAMEEyIhwf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AlOO43IxuLvWoRXSgXMVMeWM9OkkHxTcTYSewT1U7PFJWzuWLjv6TvZpSpps/L12n2dOpLcj0zFJ3ZrdoEzC/TX//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Shohei Ohtani, a young Japanese and American star, has been quickly gaining popularity among baseball fans. Ohtani revealed his true feelings about fulfilling his lifelong goal of finally playing in the MLB in a January 2022 GQ interview.
“I felt like my lifelong dream was really starting up.” Shohei said when asked about his move from Japan.
Shohei Ohtani has been playing baseball since he was a child and was introduced to the game by his father. Growing up in a small prefecture in japan, Ohtani was the youngest of three children. His father taught him how to play and Ohtani began his baseball journey on his school's team.
Trending
After showcasing his skills, Ohtani was admitted to Hanamaki Higashi High School. This is the school that his idol Yusei Kikuchi went to. During his high school days, Shohei Ohtani competed in the 2012 U-18 Baseball World Championship. From there, he started playing for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013.
“I've never been homesick,” said Ohtani.
After a five-year career with the Fighters, Ohtani moved to America to start his MLB career in 2018. Shohei Ohtani didn't feel homesick, as he was used to living away from home. It did take him time to get used to America, but his excitement about his MLB career outweighed any nerves.
Ohtani picked the Los Angeles Angels team and on his first day of training instead of feeling nervous, he felt liberated and thrilled. For Shohei Ohtani, this was just the beginning of his dreams finally coming true.
When Ichiro Suzuki told Shohei Ohtani to be himself
After shifting to America from Japan, Ohtani was feeling out of place in this new country and had trouble adjusting. That's when Ichiro Suzuki invited him to dinner and gave him some life advice:
"Remember to be yourself. You made it this far being yourself, so don't change that, stay within yourself."
Suzuki asked Ohtani not to change and to be true to himself, as being himself is what got him to where he is today.
Ohtani had to really think about the advice given to him, as he was fundamentally a person who was constantly changing:
"And I kind of had to think about that. I'm the type of person who's always modifying a little bit, a little tweak in form here and there, always changing. Which kind of contradicts with what Ichiro was saying."
However, he did benefit from the former outfielder's advice. Ohtani realized that he didn't really have to do anything to be a certain way:
"But as I've really thought about it over the last few years, I've realized that that's me, that's who I am—actually changing stuff around."
Ohtani gained a lot of confidence from Suzuki:
“And so ever since that dinner with Ichiro, it kind of gave me the confidence to just be myself, to keep doing the right things, and to stay confident, to stay the course.”
Shohei Ohtani is a person who is constantly changing and that is the real him. In a world of constant change, you have to embrace the future as well as remember the past.
