The Japanese baseball team first announced 12 out of 30 players who will participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Japanese media such as Sports Hochi said on the 6th, “Japanese national coach Hideki Kuriyama held a press conference today in Tokyo, Japan, and announced the names of 12 of the players who will participate in the WBC. The remaining 18 will be released at the end of this month.”
Among the big leaguers, Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels), who caused the “two-hitting syndrome”, Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres), who won 95 victories in the major leagues, and outfielder Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), who entered the big leagues last year, were named.
Twelve players representing Japan were also included in the list, including Roki Sasaki (Chiba Lotte Marines), who succeeded in a perfect game last year, and Munetaka Murakami (Yakult Swallows), who hit 56 homers, the most in Japan. 토토사이트
Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), Shota Imanaga (Yokohama DeNA Baystars), Shousei Dogo (Yomiuri Giants), catcher Takuya Guy (Softbank Hawks), infielder Sosuke Genda (Seibu Lions), Shugo Maki (Yokohama), Outfielder Kensuke Kondo (Softbank) and others also joined the WBC national team.
Ohtani, who entered the press conference wearing a uniform with the number 16 of the Japanese national team, said, “I am personally participating in the WBC for the first time. My goal is to win.”
Regarding the question about Korea, which will face off in Group B, “There are many world-class players in the WBC. Even in Korea, there are good players of all generations in pitching.” “I remember the 2006 and 2009 WBC Korea-Japan matches. It’s a team that can play a good game.”
The Japanese national team will have a training camp in Miyazaki from February 17th to 27th. On February 25 and 26, we plan to conduct an interim inspection with Softbank in an evaluation match.
Ohtani played the Angels’ spring camp in the United States, and joined the Japanese national team just before the tournament began.
Japan and South Korea were in Group B with Australia, Czech Republic and China.
Sookmyung’s Korea-Japan match will be held on March 10th at 7:00 pm at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.