Taishi Ota, T-Okada, and Norichika Aoki: Emotional Farewells from Pro Baseball

“I’ve been excessively down and had moments of sulking. I was once told by Ikku Okazaki, the 2nd-team coach at the time, ‘Don’t let it get to you.’ There were times when I cried behind the bench, making sure no one saw. It wasn’t just once. I was at rock bottom,” confessed Taishi Ota (34), who will retire at the end of this season, in the FRIDAY magazine (June 8, 2018 issue).

This season, many big-name professional baseball players are hanging up their jerseys, including Ota, T-Okada (36), and Norichika Aoki (42). In this issue, we revisit their struggles and challenges through interviews conducted during their playing days, reflecting on the difficult times in their own words.

Ota, a towering slugger standing at 188cm, was drafted first overall by the Giants in 2008 after graduating from Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa). His former high school coach, Tatsunori Hara (then Giants manager), had high expectations for him, and Ota inherited the number “55” previously worn by Hideki Matsui, who had moved to the Yankees. However, the pressure of being in the media spotlight every day and the anxiety of not being able to live up to Matsui’s success caused Ota to slowly lose his sense of self. As mentioned earlier, he hit rock bottom during his time with the Giants.

After experiencing hardship with the Giants, Ota’s talent blossomed following his move to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in the 2016 offseason. In 2019, he achieved a career-high .289 batting average, 20 home runs, and 77 RBIs. He also shared this in the interview:

“My eight years with the Giants were a battle with myself. I never wanted to go through those painful times again. When I transferred, I decided to part ways with the weak version of myself and make use of my strengths. I focused on improving my power. During spring training, I didn’t watch TV at all. I wanted to embed the right image in my mind, so I watched videos of Chris Bryant, the Cubs’ slugger who became MVP, over and over.”

 

I Became Afraid to Even Hold a Bat.

In 2010, T-Okada of the Orix Buffaloes hit 33 home runs and became the home run king, but the year before, he had struggled immensely. He shared his thoughts in an interview with Weekly Baseball (November 12, 2010):

“I had completely lost myself. I tried different batting stances, but nothing worked. I was in a state where nothing seemed to go right, and I became afraid to even hold a bat. (omitted)

I am weak under pressure and tend to overthink things. When I make an error, I can’t eat for two days. Normally, I’d be eating a big serving of rice with my yakiniku, and finishing off some cold noodles and bibimbap, but when I’m down, I can’t even enjoy my food.”

In May 2010, T-Okada adopted a no-step batting stance, as advised by then-manager Akihisa Okada, keeping his weight centered and not shifting his feet. This adjustment significantly increased his contact rate and helped him hit home runs consistently.

Norichika Aoki, who amassed 2,730 hits in Japan and the U.S., spent six years in Major League Baseball, moving across seven teams. In the Weekly Baseball (March 2, 2018) issue, he opened up about his struggles in America:

“My life was a series of relocations. Especially in places like Kansas City and Milwaukee, where there were no Japanese communities, the stress built up. Although I never said it out loud, my wife, Sachi, who always made sure I had Japanese ingredients, must have gone through a lot. (omitted)

It was tough. We were constantly on the move, with long trips and back-to-back games, which limited my practice time. In Japan, I’d take about 1,000 swings a day, but in the U.S., I was only able to do about one-fifth of that.”

These legendary players, who achieved great records, all had their share of hidden struggles before reaching their moments of glory.