Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is consistently breaking records and reimagining what a baseball player can do on the field.
In modern baseball, players are seldom developed to be well-rounded. Instead, coaches and management focus on specializing players based on their skill sets.
Advertisement
This specialization may include being effective against certain-handed pitchers, adopting either a contact or power hitting approach, or focusing on playing specific positions in the outfield or infield.
Ohtani, however, has bucked those trends, remaining stubbornly committed to being a starting pitcher with a deep arsenal of pitches, all while being a complete hitter with a good eye and the ability to stay in the lineup no matter the pitching matchup.
Feb 21, 2026; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training game at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Considering how special Ohtani is, even when looking throughout history, the question of how he came to be the all-imposing unicorn has lingered.
Advertisement
The Japanese sensation is a reserved character, tending to avoid the media and never quite opening up much about his life.
However, by researching his childhood, Frances X. Frei — a professor at Harvard Business School — found that the Harada Method, created by Takashi Harada, helped Ohtani develop the mental focus and planning that made him the player he is.
The Harada Method is taught in high school and centers on setting goals and tracking both daily and year-over-year progress.
What is the Harada Method?
In a conversation with the Harvard Gazette, Frei laid out what the planning method entails and how Ohtani built his plan.
Advertisement
“You come up with a multiyear ambition, so really dare to dream. And then, the first step of the chart is, ‘What are the set of things that if I concentrated on this year, I’d make meaningful progress on my multiyear ambition?’ You have one thing in the center: my multiyear ambition. For him, it was ‘be the No. 1 draft pick’ four years later,” Frei said to the Harvard Gazette.
“And then, what are the eight things that if I did this year, I would make progress on my ambition? He had ‘physical conditioning’ and ‘mental strength’ and then four pitching things — ‘control,’ ‘sharpness,’ ‘speed,’ and ‘trickery.’ He had “character” and ‘karma’ for No. 7 and No. 8.
“Then the method asks you to do that one thing surrounded by eight, do it again, one more time. So, each of the eight yearly goals — physical conditioning, mental strength, character, karma, etc. — bring those out and surrounds them by the eight things I have to do on a daily basis to achieve that.”
Ohtani’s Harada Method
Ohtani’s personal Harada Method developed the traits he now shows on the world stage, built around a humble approach and hard work.
Advertisement
“There’s the No. 1 ambition, and then there are eight things surrounding it. Four of them having to do with pitching all the way down to the detailed behavior, the body, the mental,” Frei explained.
“’Cool head, hot heart’ was one of them. I have since learned it is common Japanese vernacular. I didn’t know it at the time, but that one really struck me. But it was ‘character’ and ‘karma’ that just weakened my knees. And indeed, I encourage everyone who uses this method to include character and karma regardless of if you want to be a pitcher or not.
“’Pick up the trash’ — that one really spoke to me; ‘clean room’ because that’s private. Nobody else is going to see that. ‘Respect towards umpires.’ He is known as the most respectful player. He does a greeting to the umpires at every single at-bat. The one that I really wish I had learned a lot earlier was ‘be a person that people root for.’”
“If he only had the four pitching things, I don’t think he would be as successful. I think it takes all of us, every ounce of us, to give ourselves the best position to achieve greatness. I don’t want to call it an insurance policy, but it’s not a bad word for it.”
Advertisement
The Harada Method alone did not make Ohtani the exceptional player he is today. Numerous factors, including execution, support, coaching, and many others, all contributed to his success.
However, it is evident that the way his goals were established helped him visualize his success and create a clear path forward, resulting in remarkable achievements.