Four-time MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani will play for defending champions Japan at next year’s World baseball Classic, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ superstar announced on Tuesday (25 November).
“I’m happy that I will be playing for the Japan national team again,” Ohtani said in a simple post via Instagram.
Ohtani, the reigning WBC MVP, led Japan to their third championship in 2023 with a win over USA in the final, striking out then team-mate Mike Trout for the last out of the tournament in an unforgettable moment.
The WBC begins on 5 March. Japan are in Pool C with the Republic of Korea, Australia, Czechia and Premier12 champions Chinese Taipei.
The 31-year-old Ohtani won his second World Series title with the Dodgers this season. It remains to be seen if his LA team-mates Yamamoto Yoshinobu and Sasaki Roki will commit to the WBC.