How Does He Win With a 140 km/h Fastball? SoftBank’s Tomohisa Ozeki and His Sports-Psychology Mind Notebook

He never lets go of his notebook

“Three years ago, I relied on a fastball that topped out at 152 km/h. But this year, no matter how hard I threw, it was mostly in the low 140s.”

And yet, Tomohisa Ōzeki (27) of SoftBank had a breakout season. He recorded the best winning percentage in the Pacific League (.722) and posted a career-high 13 wins (5 losses)—performing at the level of a true ace.

How does a pitcher win with slow fastballs? Even SoftBank’s analysts—equipped with state-of-the-art tracking technology—were baffled:

“We checked every piece of data, but both his fastball and breaking pitches look average. We honestly can’t explain why he wins.”

When asked directly, Ōzeki pulled out a large black notebook.

“I keep this notebook with me at all times—I even bring it into the dugout during games.

Before each start, I form a hypothesis, try it on the mound, and collect data.
Then I write down what I noticed as soon as I get back to the bench.

Based on sports psychology, writing helps me verbalize my insights and organize my mind.”

Ōzeki was originally drafted as a developmental player, earned a full roster contract, and became the Opening Day starter in 2023. It seemed like a smooth ascent—but his performance plateaued.

“I thought I had to change something, so during the 2023 offseason I bulked up to over 100 kg. But it wasn’t just muscle—I gained fat too. I realized that at spring camp the next year, and that’s when I turned to sports psychology.”

The first step in sports psychology is defining your ideal self.

“I heard speed skater Nao Kodaira talked about achieving the ultimate glide, and gymnast Kōhei Uchimura pursued the ultimate gymnastics. Not medals—performance ideals.

So my ideal is a pitch from the soul. A performance born from every part of my mind, technique, and physical preparation. Whenever something strikes me, I immediately write it in the notebook.”

Eventually he realized he didn’t need a 150-km/h fastball—but rather a better pitching form. What makes a batter say this is hard to hit isn’t always captured by measured data.

His answer was a slower, more fluid pitching motion that creates extra carry on the ball.

“To me, baseball is both art and science.

The art is like Ichiro’s hitting—intentionally getting jammed and still producing a hit.
For a hitter, getting jammed is normally a loss, but if it results in a hit, Ichiro wins.

On the other hand, a ball hit hard can still be an out if it’s right at a fielder.

Speed and force—that’s the science. But baseball also contains things that numbers can’t fully explain.

The fact that I can get outs with fastballs in the 140s—that’s art.

I honestly think the era of the mind is coming to baseball.”

A time when baseball is spoken of as an art form may not be far away.

The FRIDAY Nov. 14–21 double issue (released Oct. 31) and the paid edition FRIDAY GOLD include more detailed comments from Ōzeki about adversity—such as undergoing surgery for a suspected testicular tumor—and his thoughts on sports psychology, along with many unpublished photos.

If you’d like the next section translated, feel free to ask.

From the November 14/21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY