LOS ANGELES – On the field, he is the “Alien.” He is a pitcher who throws 100 miles per hour and then immediately swings his bat to hit a 450-foot home run. But behind the spotlight, Shohei Ohtani – the Dodgers’ superstar – is a man with a heart of silent cuts, silent burdens and a childhood unlike any other.
A genius. A loner. A “god” who once lived as a… shadow.
Born to be different – but not allowed to fall
Ohtani was born in 1994 in Oshu, a small town in Japan. His father was an amateur baseball player, his mother a national badminton player. But for Shohei, family has never been a place for weakness.
“I can’t cry when I lose,” Ohtani once shared. “My dad said, ‘You were born to win.’”
As early as fifth grade, Ohtani wrote a detailed “life plan”: sign with a professional team at 18, become a superstar at 22, play in the United States at 27, win the world championship at 28. No one believed it. But Shohei believed it. And he lived like a machine to make it happen.
No friends, no personal life
During his high school years, Shohei didn’t play games, didn’t date, didn’t use social media. He ate on time, slept on time, and practiced as if he had to beat the world tomorrow.
“He wasn’t like a student. He was like a programmed ancient warrior,” said one of his former coaches.
Even when he was famous in the NPB (Japanese baseball league), Shohei still lived in a small apartment, did his own laundry, and cooked his own meals. No parties, no scandals. Just baseball.
The price of perfection
In 2018, when he came to America and joined the Los Angeles Angels, Shohei exploded. But then injuries struck. He tore his ligaments, requiring Tommy John surgery – which could have ended his pitching career.
Many people told him to give up pitching. But Shohei kept quiet. And came back. Stronger than ever.
“Nobody knows how many times I cried in the recovery room,” he said. “I am Shohei Ohtani. I can’t be weak in front of the world.”
The billion-dollar deal and the emotional shock
In 2023, Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the Dodgers – the biggest contract in sports history. But while the world was celebrating, he faced an unprecedented shock: his close assistant and confidant, Ippei Mizuhara, was discovered to have embezzled tens of millions of dollars from Ohtani’s personal account to… gamble.
Shohei did not say much. He only posted a short statement. But people could clearly see the hurt in his eyes every time he appeared afterwards.
“That was the person I trusted the most in America,” Ohtani said. “And now, all I have left is… baseball.”
Alone at the top
Despite being the MVP, the global face of MLB, and an advertising “giant”, Shohei Ohtani still lives like he used to: alone, discreet, quiet, and practices more than anyone else.
He has never revealed his love life. No one knows what he does after each game. And despite having millions of fans, he is still the loneliest man in sports.
Shohei Ohtani is not a superhero. He was a Japanese boy who dreamed, doubted, and suffered – but never stopped moving forward. He broke his physical limits. He overcame betrayal. He turned loneliness into motivation.
“I don’t live to be loved. I live to play baseball as if it were the only thing left.” — Shohei Ohtani