The Japanese national baseball team, Samurai Japan, is the 1st and 2nd champion of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). From the first tournament, the national team was formed with the most elite members, and won consecutive championships with delicate baseball unique to Japan. The United States and the Dominican Republic also benefited from not putting all their efforts in the early stages of the tournament. In the 2013 and 2017 competitions, they failed to advance to the final after being pushed by the Dominican Republic and the United States. In the 3rd tournament, I participated as a domestic member without a major league player.
14 years have passed since the last win. Japan, the ‘country of baseball’ that is serious about baseball, began preparing quickly with the goal of winning the championship. After the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, coach Hideki Kuriyama was appointed as the full-time command tower of the national team. He is a bright leader on the field who led the Nippon Ham Fighters for 10 years until the 2021 season. He took office at the end of 2021 and conceived the power for over a year.
The strongest power begins with the selection of the best players. In this respect, the national team is evaluated as the strongest power of all time. The best players active in the Major League and Nippon Professional Baseball have been selected or are scheduled to be selected. There are no injuries among the main starting candidates. First of all, on the 6th, 12 out of 30 were announced in the first round. The remaining 18 will be added at the end of this month.
Let’s look at the mound first. The six selected resources were first revealed, and they are the ‘Avengers’ lineup.
Major league aces, Yu Darvish (37, San Diego Padres) and Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) make opponents feel intimidated. Veteran Darvish threw a powerful ball comparable to his heyday last year. In his 11th year in the majors, he finished with 194⅔, tying his record for most wins in a season with 16. He had a 3.10 earned run average and 197 strikeouts.
Darvish is a ‘living legend’ to the junior pitchers of the national team. Some players say: “It’s an honor to play for Darvish in the same team. I will learn a lot from the national team.” Although he is the eldest, he is expected to play a pivotal role in the team. He is the last winning member in 2009. Won the championship by pitching as a closer in the final match against Korea.
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A superstar that needs no long explanation, Ohtani. Over the past two years, he has rewritten major league history as a pitcher and hitter. Last year, for the first time in the major leagues, he filled the required number of innings and at-bats, and posted a 15-9 record -2.33, a batting average of 2.33, 34 homers and 95 RBIs. In other words, he secured the major league ace and number 4 hitter at the same time. When asked about the strength of the national team, Ohtani said ‘strong mound’.
It is possible to do ‘dual swords’, which is a pitcher and a hitter at the same time. The pitcher’s position is yet to be determined. Discussions with the team are ongoing. There are various ways to use it. There is a plan to start from the first round and increase the number of pitches as you go to the upper rounds. There is also a plan to throw short innings as a relief pitcher in the 8th and 9th innings after running as a designated hitter. It is a technique that is possible because the starting pitcher is thick.
All six pitchers announced earlier are starting resources. Four of them will start: Ohtani, Darvish, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25, Orix Buffaloes), Roki Sasaki (22, Chiba Lotte Marines), Shota Imanaga (30, Yokohama Baystars), and Shosei Dogo (23, Yomiuri Giants). . There is a limit on the number of pitches, so the rest of the pitchers go for long relief.
Yamamoto, who has won 4 wins, ERA, strikeouts, and win rate for 2 consecutive years, is the strongest pitcher in Japanese professional baseball who has won the MVP and Sawamura Award for 2 consecutive years. Last year, it marked 15 wins and 5 losses -1.68. Sasaki, who achieved the youngest perfect game, struck out 13 consecutive batters and struck out a total of 19.
Fifteen pitchers are expected, but the remaining nine have been roughly determined. Most of them throw 150 km/h fastballs as standard.
Starter Hiroya Miyagi (22, Orix), one of the main players in the Orix championship, and bullpen resources Daisei (24, Yomiuri Giants), Yuki Matsui (28, Rakuten Eagles), Ryoji Kuribayashi (27, Hiroshima Carp), A Yuasa Tsuki (24, Hanshin Tigers) is expected to join. It is a power composition that does not show any gaps, even from the starting pitcher to the bullpen. , 바카라사이트
It is relatively less illuminated than the pitching staff, but the batting line is also strong. With Ohtani and Munetaka Murakami (23, Yakult Swallows) at the center, various other combinations are possible. Murakami, who hit 56 homers last year and set the record for the most Japanese batters, is a strong candidate for the fourth hitter in the national team.
There is also a plan to place Ohtani as the second designated hitter, and place Masataka Yoshida (29, Boston Red Sox), Murakami, Seiya Suzuki (29, Chicago Cubs), and Tetsuto Yamada (31, Yakult) in the center of the batting line. Some argue that Yoshida, who has a high on-base percentage, should be used as a top hitter.
Suzuki, who was in charge of number 4 in the previous national team, joined after much consideration and became a source of strength. Suzuki, who entered the major leagues last year, posted .262, 14 homers, and 46 RBIs. He adapted smoothly. Yoshida, who transferred to Boston this winter, was expected to be absent as he was about to make his major league debut. It seemed that he would prepare for adaptation at his team’s spring camp, but his will to participate in the national team was strong.
Japan, which had a national team composed of Japanese players until the previous tournament, opened its doors to win the championship. The selection of Japanese-American outfielder Lars Nutba (26, St. Louis Cardinals) was confirmed. Coach Kuriyama said that starting with the semifinals, where the best pitchers in the major leagues will participate, the major league outfield will be helpful. The outfield can be filled with players from three major league clubs: Nutba, Yoshida, and Suzuki.
Among the catchers, I chose defensive guy Kakuya (31, Softbank Hawks). Tomoya Mori (28, Orix), who even won the batting king as a catcher, joins the team.
Regardless of the opposing team’s power, it is clear that it is the best power of all time. The best pitchers in the major leagues will join the United States and the Dominican Republic, where competition for championships is expected. I wonder how the other line will attack them.
◇Japan National Team WBC Results
Year = Results = Coach = Key Players
2006 = Winner = Sadaharu Oh = Matsuzaka, Uehara, Ichiro, Matsunaka
2009 = Winner = Hara = Matsuzaka, Darvish, Ichiro, Iwamura
2013 = 3rd place = Yamamoto = Tanaka, Maeda, Abe, Inaba
2017 = 3rd place = Kokubo = Senga, Sugano, Sakamoto, Akiyama
◇Japan National Team Best 10
Starting Pitcher = Darvish (San Diego)
Catcher = Mori (Orix)
1st Baseman = Maki (Yokohama)
2nd Baseman = Yamada (Yakult)
3rd Baseman = Murakami (Yakult)
Shortstop = Genda (Seibu)
Left Fielder = Yoshida (Boston ) )
Center fielder = Suzuki (Chicago Cubs)
Right fielder = Kondo (Softbank)
DH = Ohtani (LA Angels)