Shohei Ohtani, #17 of the Los Angeles Angels, pitches during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Angel Stadium on June 21, in Anaheim, Calif.
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Shohei Ohtani, #17 of the Los Angeles Angels, pitches during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Angel Stadium on June 21, in Anaheim, Calif.
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MIZUSAWA, Japan — Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is often described as a once in a century talent, especially in terms of his dual skills as pitcher and hitter.
To understand how Ohtani became such a baseball prodigy, it was helpful to journey to Mizusawa, Ohtani’s hometown, in northern Japan’s Iwate prefecture, to see where he started playing baseball.
Ohtani’s Little League team, the Mizusawa Pirates, still practice every weekend at a diamond sandwiched between a country road and a river where salmon swim upstream from the Pacific Ocean.
Ohtani played here in the early 2000s, between the ages of 8 and 14.
“He and his parents came to this yard to see me,” coach Shoji Asari, who founded the Pirates, recalls.
Asari thinks Ohtani might want to join his school’s softball team with the rest of his friends.
A yearbook from the early 2000s shows young Shohei Ohtani with his old Little League team, the Mizusawa Pirates.
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A yearbook from the early 2000s shows young Shohei Ohtani with his old Little League team, the Mizusawa Pirates.
Anthony Kuhn/NPR
“But he looked me in the eye and said, ‘I want to play hardball with this team,'” Asari said. “I thought this boy could do it and he made such an impression, but at the time he was very thin.”
Ohtani’s ability quickly surpassed that of his teammates. Playing left-handed, he often hit the home runs over the right fence and down the river. Asari says the cost of lost baseballs is starting to add up.
“So I joked with him, ‘Stop hitting, Shohei!'” he recalls. “He shot me a dagger-like look, then hit his next shot into the left court. I think that’s when he found joy in hitting the opposite side of the court.”
Ohtani’s opposite-court runs became the hallmarks of his shots, including hardest hit homer on the opposite field by a left-handed player since Major League Baseball’s statistical The database system started tracking them in 2015. Opposite home runs require more energy, as the hitter turns later and the club has less time to accelerate.
As a child, Ohtani also excelled at pitching. He throws faster balls and his slides are more curved than other pitchers. They are not only difficult to hit, but also very difficult to catch.
Ryuki Sasaki, Ohtani’s catcher in high school, said: “I have never caught a ball from a pitcher who can throw at more than 87 miles per hour.
He remembers the countless sprained fingers the pitches caused. “Also, his slider was curved too much,” he said, “and my body couldn’t react in time. At first, I couldn’t catch his throw.”
In Japanese, players who excel at both pitching and hitting the ball are called cartoon, or “two-sword style”, a term recalling the samurai warriors of Japan’s past. As in martial arts, Japanese mini tournament Players hone their skills through repetitive drills, and in Ohtani’s day, severe discipline often included corporal punishment.
Players with the Mizusawa Pirates jumped over a ladder to practice agility during weekend practice. Young baseball players in Japan use repetitive exercises to hone skills such as playing a pennant or performing doubles.
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Players with the Mizusawa Pirates jumped over a ladder to practice agility during weekend practice. Young baseball players in Japan use repetitive exercises to hone skills such as playing a pennant or performing doubles.
Anthony Kuhn/NPR
But Coach Asari took an unusual approach, emphasizing fun over winning matches.
Sports journalist Nobuya Kobayashi, who wrote a book about Ohtani, explains: “Most Japanese baseball players practice hard how to play, suppress their emotions, be patient and practice. Just like their coach said. “But Coach Asari has let his players develop freely. So Ohtani has continued to enjoy baseball the whole time.”
Kobayashi says that anyone who played baseball happily as a child will recall it from watching Ohtani play.
“Whatever the outcome for him, his team’s victory simply makes him happy,” said former catcher Sasaki. “I think even now, he plays with the mind of an elementary school kid who loves baseball.”
Many Little Leaguers in Japan are allowed to hit and pitch at the same time, but this is rarer in professional baseball, in part because pitchers need to rest while batters can play in every match. Kobayashi said Ohtani’s efforts to reprise his dual role.
Ohtani wanted to go to the US to play immediately after graduating from high school, but he agreed to stay in Japan to play for the team. Hokkaido Nippon Ham fighter aircraft, provided he is allowed to hit and throw the ball at the same time. He played for the team from 2013 to 2017.
Kobayashi says Ohtani has been successful in playing his own way, in the face of opposition.
“Because of the Japanese mentality,” he said, “they want to believe that the dual-sword style is impossible, because it has no precedent. Maybe they don’t want someone as extraordinary as Ohtani to emerge.”
In another example of how Ohtani’s special skills have allowed him to bend or even rewrite the rules of the game, Major League Baseball introduced a rule last year that a The pitcher can still hit the ball as a designated hitter, even after being released from the mound. It is called “Ohtani’s Rule.”
The Mizusawa Pirates warm up during the weekend training session.
Shohei Ohtani
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Shohei Ohtani
The Mizusawa Pirates warm up during the weekend training session.
Shohei Ohtani
However, some observers, including Asari and Kobayashi, are concerned about the changes Ohtani has undergone since playing in the US, and his dual path has been correct.
“It’s up to the kids, but really, it’s impossible,” Asari said of the two-sword style. “Even in America, only Little Ruth Can do that. You shouldn’t do that. You could get hurt.”
Meanwhile, Kobayashi argues that Ohtani has abandoned the Japanese style of baseball – which emphasizes control of time and distance – and adopted the American style, which he says is about strength. He believes Ohtani has gained excessive weight and worries that he might get injured.
Ohtani has admitted to feeling tired this season, but he has led the Major Leagues in run to home and is one of the top five pitchers when it comes to attack.
“He made it big through his own efforts. We have nothing to do with that,” Asari humbly said of Ohtani’s success in the US.
Chie Kobayashi contributed to this report in Mizusawa and Tokyo.
