Shohei Ohtani is a superstar unlike any seen before, to the point where many are already calling him the ‘new Babe Ruth‘. And while he still has a long way to go to reach the legendary status of the great Bambino, the truth is that he is currently the most complete baseball player in the world.
Ohtani was a key player in Japan’s 3-2 victory over Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, which the Japanese squad won for the third time in their history. In fact, the Los Angeles Angels star was named MVP of the tournament and has practically everyone at his feet.
But one thing that draws attention to Ohtani is that, despite being in the MLB since 2018, he doesn’t speak English in his interviews, but through a translator. This has generated criticism from ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who said that a player who requires an interpreter is not the best representation of baseball in the United States.
The reason is very simple: he doesn’t speak it fluently as he would like.
Ohtani explained in an interview with GQ why he prefers to speak in Japanese during his interviews: “If I could speak English, I would speak English,” he says in Japanese. “Of course, I would want to do that. Obviously, there would be no negatives that would come from that.
“But I came here to play baseball, at the end of the day, and I felt that my game on the field could be my way of communicating with people, with fans. That’s all I really took from it in the end.”
Ohtani learned English in Japan, as it is a mandatory part of the curriculum, but he points out that the way they taught them English was to meet a certain standard, not to become fluent speakers.
Since he doesn’t speak English fluently, he prefers to speak in Japanese and have his words translated by an interpreter.
Shohei Ohtani emerged from the bullpen and fanned Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out in a matchup the whole baseball world wanted to see, leading Japan over the defending champion United States 3-2 Tuesday night for its first World Baseball Classic title since 2009.
Ohtani, the two-way star who has captivated fans across two continents, was voted MVP of the WBC and clutched the award against his chest.
Ohtani beat out an infield single in the seventh inning as a designated hitter before walking down the left-field line to Japan’s bullpen to warm up for his third mound appearance of the tournament.
Ohtani closed the first game of his career, and it was magic
Flashing his 100 mph heat, Ohtani walked big league batting champion Jeff McNeil to begin the ninth before getting Mookie Betts to ground into a double play.
Trout, the U.S. captain and a three-time MVP, then ended the game by striking out on a full-count breaking ball. Ohtani’s only other save was in a Japan postseason playoff game in 2016.
Ohtani batted .435 with one homer, four doubles, eight RBIs and 10 walks as Japan joined the Dominican Republic in 2013 to become the only unbeaten champions of baseball’s premier national team tournament. Ohtani, the 2021 AL MVP was 2-0 with a save and a 1.86 ERA on the mound, striking out 11 in 9 2/3 innings.
Japan went 7-0 and outscored opponents 56-18, reaching the final for the first time since winning the first two WBCs in 2006 and 2009. No other nation has won the title more than once.
Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto homered as Japan built a 3-2 lead.
Trea Turner put the U.S. ahead in the second with his record-tying fifth home run of the tournament and Kyle Schwarber pulled the Americans within a run when he went deep in the eighth off Yu Darvish.
It was the second straight major title for the Japanese, who beat the U.S. 2-0 in Yokohama for the 2021 Olympic gold medal. Japan used top players in that tournament while the U.S. sent released major leaguers and top prospects.
Turner put the U.S. ahead in the second inning with a drive to left against Shota Imanaga (1-0), tying South Korea’s Seung Yuop Lee in 2006 for the most in a WBC. That lit up a sellout crowd of 36,098 – fans were given wristbands with colored lights that flickered.
Murakami, at 23 already a two-time Central League MVP, tied the score on the first pitch of the bottom half when Merrill Kelly (0-1) elevated a fastball. Murakami drove it at 115.1 mph into the right-field upper deck, 432 feet away.
Murakami’s game-ending double lifted Japan over Mexico 6-5 in Monday night’s semifinal and his third-inning homer off Nick Martinez put Japan ahead in the 2021 gold medal game.
Japan loaded the bases in the second on singles by Okamoto and Sosuke Genda, and a walk to Yuhei Nakamura. Lars Nootbaar, the first non-Japanese-born player to appear for the Samurai Warriors, followed with a run-scoring groundout off Aaron Loup for a 2-1 lead.
Okamoto boosted the lead in the fourth when he sent a flat slider from Kyle Freeland over the wall in left-center.
Japan was outhit 9-5 as Imanaga combined with six relievers to hold the U.S. to 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. The 29-year-old left-hander and Shosei Togo pitched two innings each, Hiroto Takahashi, Hiromi Itoh and Taisei Ota got three outs each, with Ota escaping two-on, no-outs trouble by retiring Trout on a flyout and getting Paul Goldschmidt to ground into a double play.
Trout and Ohtani hugged behind the batting cage during pregame workouts, then held their nation’s flag while leading their teams toward home plate in single file during the introductions, Trout down the right-field line and Ohtani in left.
Several thousand fans had arrived hours early to watch Ohtani take batting practice and applauded when he hit a drive off the video board above the second deck in center.
Trout hit .296 in the tournament with one homer, seven RBIs and 12 strikeouts.
MONEY MATTERS
Japan gets $3 million in prize money and the U.S. $1.7 million. Half of each goes to players, the other half to the national baseball federaton.
UP NEXT
MLB openers are March 30, the same day the season starts in Japan.
The Mexican Baseball Team played a great game and dominated Japan most of the game, however, their relief pitching fell apart and they ended losing in a dramatic 5-6 loss to Japan in the closing of the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Japan wins with a walkoff home run
Mexico was ahead the entire game and even led by three runs at the start of the game and two more in the eighth inning. However, closer Giovanny Gallegos could not hold a one-run lead in the ninth and Japan pulled out the bats at the right time in the bottom of the ninth to take the win.
Randy Arozarena’s night
Mexico relied heavily on the glove of Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena and the arm of starter Patrick Sandoval, who kept the dangerous Japanese bats at bay for the first four innings of the game.
While Randy stole two home runs in the sixth inning to maintain the 3-0 lead, one of them would have been a grand slam. He also had other important catches in left field and above all, he connected an important double in the eighth that helped Alex Verdugo to bring him to the plate, when Japan had just tied the game at three runs.
In fact, Randy took advantage of the breaks in the game to sign balls and be loved by the Mexican fans, who already consider him an idol.
Mexico took the lead in the third with a powerful three-run homer by Luis Urias off Japan’s promising pitcher Rooki Sasaki and held the lead until the seventh, when Yoshida returned the courtesy to JoJo Romero.
In the eighth, Mexico responded with Verdugo’s double and a single by Isaac Paredes that drove in Jarren Durn, who came in as a pinch runner.
With many difficulties, Mexico managed to get out of the eighth. In fact, Japan started leaving runners on base in the fifth inning.
The Japanese scored with a sacrifice fly by Yamakawa and in the ninth, Shohei Ohtani hit a long double to the Mexican closer to put himself in scoring position. Yoshida took a base on balls and Murakami towed them in with a shot to right, away from Arozarena’s glove.
Randy Arozarena became a Mexican citizen barely a year ago and he’s already won the hearts of Mexican fans all over the world as
Mexico reached the Semi-Finals of the World Baseball Classic and people are paying attention to all the news regarding the team, and especially those of Cuban-Mexican slugger Randy Arozarena. Arozarena arrived on Mexico’s Caribbean peninsula in 2015 and was naturalized only a year ago so he could proudly and passionately lift the Mexican flag.
Arozarena asked the Mexican President to speed up his naturalization
Last year Randy Arozarena was Cuban and could not represent the country in the World Baseball Classic, so he asked for his naturalization letter, which he obtained in 2022. The baseball player went even further by asking the fans to convince President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to help him with his process.
Today Randy is the man of the hour of the Mexican team and he is on fire with the bat, not only offensively but also defensively he is making great plays like the impressive catch against Puerto Rico
Randy Arozarena, is the story of a Cuban who defected from the island
The baseball player escaped from Cuba on a raft in 2015 to undertake a dangerous journey bound for Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Randy emerged unscathed in search of a much better quality of life, which he achieved by establishing himself as a baseball player in the Mexican Baseball League and the Mexican Pacific League.
After a few years, Arozarena stood out for his great level of play and earned his right to play in the Major Leagues, where he also stood out for his enormous talent.
“For me, my second country, it was where I arrived when I left Cuba, I have a Mexican girl, grateful to Mexico and it is as if it were my home,” said Arozarena. “Excitement, happiness, eager to show the world how proud I am to be Mexican, since I was a kid I wanted to play a World Classic and I get the opportunity with Mexico.”
Team USA has to thank Trea Turner’s much-needed performance which helped to turn things around after a Venezuelan 5-run rally took the wind out of Team USA who had more than half the crowd rooting for the South American team.
It was thanks to an incredible Grand Slam by the Phillies’ centerfielder that Team USA was able to get their air back as there was a moment when Venezuela was feeling like the winner of an unfinished game, however, a grand slam changes everything.
Team USA is in the Semifinals where they will face Cuba
In addition, Venezuela’s second baseman Jos Altuve left the game in the fifth after being hit by a ball, which caused him to fracture the thumb of his right hand after being hit by a pitch from Daniel Bard, who had a dreadful relief with two wild pitches and a ball that allowed Venezuela to come back 5-6.
Jose Altuve had to leave the game in the 5th Inning
In front of a great atmosphere of Venezuelan fans at the home of the Miami Marlins, the defending champion had a game where they hit the floor running putting together a rally in the top of the first inning to go up 3-0 and then went down 5-7 until Turner rescued them when they were about to give up. The crack of his bat silenced the stands full of Venezuelan fans.
Cuba is ready for Team USA as is Japan, who will face Mexico on Monday
Arozarena has many good luck charms and celebrations
Randy has tried to show, whenever possible, the pride he feels for having obtained Mexican nationality. First, he told his story about how he managed to escape from the Cuban dictatorship and the way that Mexico opened the doors for him to boost his career as a baseball player, to make the jump to the Major Leagues, where he is currently triumphing with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Then, he celebrates his hits by putting on charro hats when he arrives at the dugout, he wore a Mistico wrestler mask, one of the most popular wrestlers nowadays, and even strikes a pose in the dugout with his ‘Boots of Power‘ because he considers that they bring him good luck since years ago.
Another curious gesture of Randy is that when making an important play he crosses his arms. The Mexican baseball player has already explained the meaning of this movement, which is followed by his teammates
Randy Arozarena’s celebration
The player explained in an interview with MLB Network that this celebration is simply a pose with which he has fun with his teammates and provides a show with what they have achieved on the field.
“This is how I flow. You have to have fun. Baseball gives you great moments like the ones I’m experiencing in the Classic with Mexico, so it’s happiness and it’s a new celebration. It is to pose for all the cameras and get caught with a good photo,” explained Arozarena.
But Randy is also the offensive clutch for the Mexican team. In the group stage alone, he finished as the player with the most runs for Mexico, with a total of 9, surpassing Jorge Cant’s 8 in 2006.
Mexico and the rest of the Mexican Baseball Team are in the Semis and they will face a difficult task which is to beat Japan and the Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani on Monday evening. On the other side of the bracket, we have the US versus Venezuela which will face each other on Saturday.
Mike Trout had three hits and three RBIs as the United States enjoyed a brilliant night from its reserve pitching squad to defeat Colombia 3-2 and advance to the quarterfinals in the World Baseball Classic.
Mexico and the United States finished 3-1 in Pool C to advance to the next round. Mexico finished first after its 11-5 victory over the United States on Sunday.
Trout singled in the third to drive in Mookie Betts to make it 1-0. Colombia rallied quickly and went up 2-1 in the bottom of the third on Gio Urshela’s sacrifice fly and Reynaldo Rodriguez’s RBI double.
Trout put the Americans ahead again in the fifth with a two-run single that drove in runs for Betts and Will Smith.
Merrill Kelly allowed two runs in three innings for the Americans. Kelly then gave way to a series of power pitchers waiting in the bullpen: Kendall Graveman, Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Jason Adam, Devin Williams and Ryan Pressly each pitched a scoreless inning to round out the victory.
Colombia started the tournament with a win over Mexico, but then lost three straight games to Canada, Great Britain and the United States. The South American nation played a fantastic tournament, and was barely edged out by the US in Phoenix.
A crowd of 29,856 people attended the game at Chase Field, and saw the reigning champs qualify to the quarter finals of the WBC for the fifth time in tournament history.
In a stunning upset at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Puerto Rico defeated the heavily favored Dominican Republic team, but the victory came at a cost for New York Mets‘ pitcher Edwin Diaz.
Diaz was carried off the field after celebrating the win with his Puerto Rican teammates, leaving fans and coaches alike concerned about the extent of his injury.
Edwin Diaz appears to have suffered an injury during Puerto Ricos celebration pic.twitter.com/G9Md6SBrEj
The Dominican Republic team, which was favored to win the entire tournament according to DraftKings Sportsbook, has now been eliminated from contention.
For Diaz, this is a devastating setback, especially given that he recently signed a five-year, $102 million contract with the Mets, making him the highest-paid relief pitcher in the league.
Concerns arise for Diaz’s availability for upcoming MLB season
The Mets are considered strong contenders for the 2023 World Series, with odds of +750 on DraftKings Sportsbook, just behind the reigning champions, the Houston Astros.
Here is Edwin Diaz’s brother, Alexis Diaz, in tears after his brother went down.
If Diaz is out for an extended period of time, the Mets will need to rely on other key relief pitchers like Adam Ottavino and David Robertson. Additionally, players such as Brandon Berger, Drew Smith, and John Curtiss will need to step up and account for Diaz’s innings.
Unfortunately, based on the severity of the injury, it is unlikely that Diaz will be ready for the opening day of the 2023 MLB season. This news is a blow to both the Mets and Diaz, but fans are hopeful that the team can still make a strong showing in the upcoming season.
Freddie Freeman, the brightest star in Canada’s World Baseball Classic roster and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman suffered what appeared to be a hamstring injury during the third inning of their first round game against Colombia.
Freeman exited the game and was replaced by Denzel Clark shortly after, in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Canada’s manager said Freddie Freeman is unlikely to play
Canada will arrive to their fourth game of the tournament holding a 2-1 record just like their last rival, Mexico, who looked really good in their win on Sunday against the United States, and manager Ernie Whitt told reporters that’s unlikely that Freeman takes the field in the crucial game as the winner will secure their spot in the next round.
“He had tightness in his hammy. Of course for precautionary reasons we took him out of the game right away. He felt something on one of his swings in his second at-bat. I don’t foresee Freddie being in for tomorrow. We’re waiting from the doctors to see what they say and also the Dodgers. Again, that’s the most important thing is his health,” Whitt reportedly expressed.
Mexico and Canada cleared the benches during 2013 WBC
Canada and Mexico have a long history at the World Baseball Classic, including an all out brawl that cleared the benches during the 2013 edition of the tournament, after Mexico’s pitchers deliberately threw at Canandian batter’s body.
Mike Trout hit a three-run homer, Lance Lynn threw five impressive innings and the United States used a nine-run first to cruise past Canada 12-1 on Monday night in the World Baseball Classic.
The game was called after seven innings because of the tournament’s 10-run mercy rule.
The U.S. improved to 2-1 and bounced back from an 11-5 loss to Mexico on Sunday with its best offensive performance of the tournament. Canada fell to 1-1 before a crowd of 29,621 at Chase Field.
The Americans sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning. Nolan Arenado had a two-run double to start the scoring and Trout finished it by belting a low fastball into the left-center seats.
Lynn got the win, giving up one run and two hits while saving the bullpen for the team’s final game of pool play against Colombia on Wednesday. United States manager Mark DeRosa had to use eight pitchers on Sunday in the loss to Mexico.
Canada scored its lone run on Jared Young’s homer. Left-hander Mitch Bratt took the loss, giving up six earned runs while getting only one out.
