Despite his humungous talent, Shohei Ohtani is a living embodiment of taking it back to the basics. One of the most thoroughly professional athletes on this planet, Shotime is always looking to improve. A few days ago, a former teammate shared some of the two-way phenom’s training methods, revealing an interesting tidbit about his routine.
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While his $500 million contract race is becoming interesting with a few teams backing out, there’s much more to the Ohtani story. What makes him great is not just the natural talent that he has but also the work he puts in to hone that craft.
Shohei Ohtani has an unusual sleeping pattern
Two days ago, former LA Angels pitcher Lucas Giolito appeared on Foul Territory to discuss his future plans in baseball. Questions were bound to emerge about his time in the Halos, especially his experience pitching alongside Shohei Ohtani. Giolito shared how the two-way phenom is always training and warming up in the dugout during the game.
“He’d be like in the wave room prepare to pitch and then have the iPad and TV showing the opposing team’s pitcher, like see pitch sequencing so he can prepare to hit. But he’s also going warm-up exercises for his arms,” Giolito told the hosts.
The pitcher then referred to something he found fascinating about Ohtani – his sleeping schedule. While it is known that Shotime pays special attention to time spent snoozing, it’s surprising just how he does it. “He also sleeps a lot, that’s another thing I learned he does. He’ll sleep like 14 hours.”
Ohtani gives high importance to the quality of his sleep. The 2x AL MVP revealed in an interview once that he usually takes naps between his daytime training. It helps him recover faster from the high amount of wear and tear his body experiences due to the dual stress he faces.
But this surely adds another dimension to Ohtani. That he has found a great way to use sleep to improve his abilities shows the attention he pays to his performances.
Shotime takes his special mattress with him during away games
Earlier in the year, some reports suggested that Shohei Ohtani uses custom-made mattresses for sleeping. Made by the Japanese company Nishikawa, he even takes their portable mattress with him during away games.
The two-way phenom has his mattress specially made for his body structure and size. This helps him get high-quality sleep even during games not in Anaheim. With such dedication to helping his body recover as an athlete, no wonder baseball’s unicorn sleeps 14 hours!
Maybe fans should take notice, a good night’s sleep could do wonders for them as well.
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Edited by
Arunima Bhanot