Shohei Ohtani Gave Surprisingly Honest Quote About Playing in Japan

Even Shohei Ohtani gets nervous. The global sensation is already a lock for the Baseball Hall of Fame after seven seasons and has already accomplished seemingly everything in this sport.  After the Los Angeles Dodgers came out victorious over the Chicago Cubs in the opening game of the 2025 MLB season, Ohtani told The Athletic how he felt:  “It’s been a while that I felt actually this nervous playing a game,” Ohtani said.

Every time Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate today, the fans at the Tokyo Dome went silent.

The @Dodgers superstar discussed his nerves to be back in Japan and more with Harold after getting the Game 1 victory.#MLBTonight | #TokyoSeries pic.twitter.com/QSQ1vBGrlK

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 18, 2025

Ohtani has closed out a World Baseball Classic championship, won a World Series, and has played in over 400 games at Japan’s top level. However, his comments reflect the magnitude of this series and the importance of baseball to his home country.  Yes, it’s still mid-March. And yes, a two-game set before domestic play begins will not have that great of an effect on the cumulative season. But, this is not any regular series.

Baseball is easily the most popular sport in Japan and it does not have to compete with American entities like the rest of the major four professional sports and particularly this time of year, college events like March Madness.  All eyes were on the Dodgers and Cubs today.

He was not the only superstar to return home, with teammates Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki also making headlines, and Chicago boasting Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki of their own. But, Ohtani is still the main attraction.  Ohtani may have felt nervous, but he looked like his normal, dominant self in front of over 42,000 fans Tuesday. He went 2 for 5 with a double and two runs scored and was instrumental in a three-run fifth inning.   The nerves may have been present, but Ohtani did well to conceal them.