It must take a considerable amount of willpower for Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama not to respond to questions about his former player Shohei Ohtani with a simple, "I told you so." Although the sly smile he lets slip on occasion more or less does the job.
Really, none of the Fighters seemed particularly vexed by Ohtani's issues in MLB during spring training with the Los Angeles Angels. They'd already seen him juggle hitting and pitching at a high level — not to mention how well he acquitted himself as an outfielder for one stretch.
It was the naysayers who were in for the surprise once the season began and Ohtani let loose with the full force of the promise that had left MLB fans and teams anxiously awaiting his arrival.