As major league players are delayed joining the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, the importance of Japanese players in the Japanese national team is growing.

Japanese media Nikkan Gendai reported on the 31st that the joining of major league players would be delayed, saying, “The WBC held in March will be important for Japanese professional baseball players to play.”

Japan, which has failed to advance to the finals in two consecutive tournaments since winning the championship in 2009, will challenge for the first time in 14 years. Major league players such as Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Yu Darvish (San Diego), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Masataka Yoshida (Boston), and Lars Nutba (St. Louis) are joining the ranks, raising expectations.

However, disappointment was great as news spread that major league players could not join the national team until March. Japan national team coach Hideki Kuriyama said, “It is OK to participate in major league exhibition games, but it is not OK to participate in Japanese practice games. I know that there are various reasons, such as insurance, but if you want to have a good tournament, it is important to prepare the players for what they want to do. Anyway, I’ll do it according to the rules. I am also preparing for when things go wrong,” he said, unable to hide his regret.

Nikkan Gendai said, “In the current situation, there is a high possibility that major league players such as Ohtani will play in real matches on March 6th at the earliest. Various media are predicting that Ohtani will be selected against China, the opening match of the first round, and Darvish against Korea and Japan, the biggest hurdle in the first round, but a media official pointed out this prospect,” explaining that major league players may find it difficult to demonstrate their skills.

A media official who said, “Major league players, including fielders, are worried about their physical condition, such as adjusting to jet lag,” said a media official who said, “It is harsh to set high expectations from the beginning of the tournament. In fact, Norichika Aoki, who participated as the only major league player in the 2017 tournament, joined five days before the opening of the tournament and played only two actual games. At the time, Aoki said, ‘I can’t help it because it’s a rule’, but he said, ‘It was quite difficult to play as soon as I came back (to Japan).’

Nikkan Gendai said, “If it is difficult to adjust major league players and there are restrictions on their appointment, the players who will play an important role in the Japanese national team can be Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix) and Munetaka Murakami (Yakult), who won MVPs in the Central League and Pacific League. There is,” he predicted the performance of the best players in Japanese professional baseball.

Yamamoto is a special ace who recorded 15 wins and 5 losses with an ERA of 1.68 in 26 games (193 innings) last season. He ranked first in most wins, earned run average, strikeouts (205), and winning percentage (.750), and won four crowns for two consecutive years for the first time in Japanese professional baseball history. Murakami played in 141 games with a batting average of 3.18 li (155 hits in 487 at-bats), 56 homers, 134 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.168, becoming the youngest triple crown in Japanese professional baseball. At the same time, he broke Oh Sadaharu’s 55 home runs in 1964 and set a new record for the most home runs by a Japanese batsman. 토토사이트

The media said, “There are many opinions that Darvish is the center of the Japanese starting lineup, but Yamamoto is young and can expect his strength. It is easy to use compared to Otani and Darvish, whose techniques are flexible. Murakami is also a hitter who can determine Japan’s victory or defeat when major league players are in poor condition.”

Yamamoto and Murakami are clearly motivated. Both players are aiming to advance to the major leagues. Nikkan Gendai said, “Yamamoto can challenge the major leagues this offseason and Murakami in the 2025 offseason. The WBC is an important showcase that can raise the evaluation in the major leagues,” he said, looking forward to the performance of the two players.