Why Shohei Ohtani Chased Mastery Over Money
And why he avoided big paychecks throughout the start of his baseball playing career.
The Baseball Playing Monk
In 2023, Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year $700M contract with the LA Dodgers—crowning him the highest paid baseball player ever at the time of his signing. But a big paycheck was never Ohtani’s motivation.
During his early playing years in Japan, Ohtani developed a reputation for being a “baseball playing monk”—ignoring the financial rewards of his baseball playing career.
Even while earning a seven-figure salary, Ohtani lived in dorms typically reserved for rookies.
He asked his parents—who managed his earnings at the time—to only give him a $1,000 monthly allowance.
He intentionally left a $200M contract on the table when he left Japan for the USA to play in the MLB.
Ohtani played for close to the MLB league minimum salary. Only after earning first first of two MVP awards did he cross seven-figure salary threshold.
“This frugal lifestyle immediately became part of Ohtani lore, creating the image of a monastic baseball robot singularly focused on pitching and hitting, with no interest in material goods.”1
By contrast, many pro athletes often refuse to play during contract negotiations, or have their agent shop for competing offers to maximize their earnings.
It seems that Ohtani was intentionally avoiding the big ticket salary he had earned. Why?
Optimize Your Environment For Improvement
Ohtani had a monk-like view about money. Since high school, he avoided the path that offered the highest pay.
Instead, he intentionally seeked the environments that would help him continue to get better.
How can you put yourself in an environment where you can continue to get better?
Ohtani proved that improvement maximization leads to mastery—3x MVP, 4x MLB All Star—and coincidentally, a big paycheck.
It can be hard to decouple your career from money.
And yet, sometimes avoiding a big paycheck in favor of environments where you can grow is, iconically, what yields the big paycheck.
What drastic change you can make right now to take one step towards an environment where you can grow?
Look around. Are you the smartest person in the room? Maybe it’s time to move onto a new opportunity.
Mastery Over Money
If your goal is to make a lot of money, you should find an environment where you can improve your skillset.
The money will come with your inevitable mastery of that skill with time and deliberate practice.
During a 2017 press conference about his decision to come to America, Ohtani said:
“I am not a complete player yet, and I want to go to an environment where I can continue to get better.
I felt the same way when I graduated from high school.
And it is my strongest reason for wanting to go [to the MLB] now.”
No matter what career path you’re on, it can be hard to ignore the paycheck.
But ignoring the paycheck could be the most profitable decision you make.
—Grant Varner
Diamond, J. (2024, March 27). Gambling scandal shines light on Shohei Ohtani’s odd financial decisions. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/shohei-ohtani-gambling-scandal-e7aeaeac