"He is still hungry for more" - Yu Darvish spills the beans on Shohei Ohtani's compelling message in documentary that embodies his desire to win
Shohei Ohtani is one of the most accomplished baseball players of all time. He is an almost certain Hall of Famer, even if he never steps foot on the diamond again. He is a unique player among all MLB players, but what truly matters to him is a team win.
He has all the accolades and accomplishments. Winning in baseball requires far more than one player, but Ohtani's desire is for that to happen. This was evident in the documentary on him that was recently released.
Never was this more evident, though, than with the World Baseball Classic. It's arguably the world's highest baseball competition, and Ohtani wanted to win so much that he was begging other Japanese players to sign up.
He called San Diego Padres ace Yu Darvish, a Japanese team staple, and asked if he would play. Darvish revealed:
"Shohei messaged me to see I would consider participating in the WBC. He said he wasn't confident enough to win the championship without my help. It's not that I was flattered by what he said. Despite his consistent performance, he is still hungry for more. The WBCs are unrelated to the regular season. Just how much does he want to win? I guess he truly loves it."
Ultimately, it paid off, as Japan barely outlasted the United States, with Ohtani striking out Mike Trout to end the game and bring the trophy to Japan.
Yu Darvish details Shohei Ohtani's impressive will to win
Shohei Ohtani wants to win, which is probably a big reason he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $700 million this offseason. That's at all levels of baseball, including the WBC.
Darvish continued:
"I think it was already August when he reached out to me, but his hunger for victory really struck me. If you play long enough, this kind of feeling fades away. You start to see baseball from a business perspective. Even in a contract year fully aware of the importance of his health, he still took the risk of the tournament. He said he wanted to win the title and needed to beat the US team. He usually doesn't let people know of his emotion. But his determination was clear in his message."
Despite facing a career-altering year (one that resulted in a record-smashing contract), Ohtani wanted to take the risk so he could bring a win to his country.