The Japanese National Baseball Team recently announced 12 players who will be a part of the World Baseball Classic roster.
There are some MLB stars in that group, but the most prominent name is, by far, Los Angeles Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani.
The 2021 American League MLB will play his first WBC.
He proudly showed the threads he will rock in March during the competition.
Shohei is ready 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Fs6muWRrvB
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) January 9, 2023
Other players announced in that first wave by Japan are pitcher Yu Darvish and outfielder Seiya Suzuki.
There are the first 12 players announced by Japan:
Pitchers: Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres), Shosei Togo (Yomiuri Giants), Roki Sasaki (Lotte Marines), Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), Shota Imanaga (DeNA BayStars)
Catcher: Takuya Kai (SoftBank Hawks)
Infielders: Sosuke Genda (Seibu Lions), Shugo Maki (DeNA BayStars), Munetaka Murakami (Yakult Swallows)
Outfielders: Kensuke Kondo (SoftBank Hawks), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs).
Ohtani is coming off another masterful season in which he had a 2.33 ERA on the mound and hit 34 home runs.
He says he is excited to play in his first WBC after watching the competition on TV when he was younger.
Japan is trying to win its third WBC crown after taking home the first two, in 2006 and 2009.
The Dominican Republic won the 2013 edition and the United States took home the 2017 one, the last one ever played.
20 teams will participate in the 2023 tournament, which will start on March 8 and finish on March 21.
The Japanese take these competitions very seriously and have always been competitive in each and every classic played to this point.
Led by a true difference-maker, they can surely go places this year.
