Japan announces final roster of 30 WBC… 5 big leaguers including Ohtani and Darvish

The Japanese baseball team, which will face South Korea at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March, has confirmed the final list of 30 players.

Five active big leaguers were selected, including Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres), and Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), and Lars Nutba (St. Louis Cardinals), born to an American father and Japanese mother, was also named.

Japanese baseball team coach Hideki Kuriyama held a press conference in Tokyo, Japan on the 26th and announced the final list of 30 players who will participate in the 2023 WBC. Earlier, on the 6th, Japan announced 12 participating players, including Ohtani and Darvish, and confirmed the remaining 18 players on the same day.

The additional players named this time include two major leaguers, Masataka Yoshida (Boston Red Sox) and Nutba, as well as Hotaka Yamakawa (Seibu Lions), Tetsuto Yamada (Yakult Swallows), and Kazuma Okamoto (Yomiuri Giants). etc.

As a result, a total of five players are active in the major leagues, and at least one player from 12 Japanese professional baseball teams has been selected.

By position, there are 15 pitchers, 3 catchers, 7 infielders and 5 outfielders. Japanese media Sports Nippon said, “Japan selected 15 pitchers, the most in the WBC national team. explained.

However, Masahiro Tanaka (Rakuten Golden Eagles), Yasuaki Yamazaki (Yokohama DeNA Baystars), Ryosuke Kikuchi (Hiroshima Toyo Carp), Yuki Yanagita (Softbank Hawks), Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants), etc. excluded from the list.

“I only thought of becoming the best in the world,” said coach Kuriyama.

The WBC was founded in 2006 and has been held four times so far. Japan won the tournament in 2006 and 2009, but has not reached the top since.

Coach Kuriyama expressed his aspirations for the third championship in his career, saying, “I will believe in the spirit of Japanese baseball and participate in the tournament. The players will definitely express it well.”카지노

Japan was placed in Group B with Korea, Australia, China, and the Czech Republic in the first round of the tournament. In the first round, 5 teams will play a full league, and the 1st and 2nd places will advance to the quarterfinals, and Korea and Japan will clash for the first place in the group on March 10th in the ‘Group B 2nd round’.

Meanwhile, the Japanese baseball team starts field training in Miyazaki on February 17th and prepares for the WBC in earnest.