Shohei Ohtani (31, Los Angeles Dodgers) has been listed on the first list of the Japanese national baseball team.
Japanese national team coach Hirokazu Ibata held a press conference in Tokyo on December 26 and revealed the list of eight players who were confirmed to participate in the WBC in March 2026.
Japan’s Kyodo News reported, “Major leaguers such as Otani, Kikuchi Yusei (Los Angeles Angels), and Matsui Yuki (San Diego Padres), and Japanese professional baseball players such as Ito Hiromi (Nipponham Fighters), Daisei Ota (Yomiuri Giants), Atsuki Tanichi (Chiba Lotte Marines), Kaima Daira (Seibu Lions), and Daichi Ishii (Hanshin Tigers) have been confirmed to participate in the WBC.”
사진 확대 Shohei Ohtani. Photo = The Canadian Press via AP= Yonhap News 
사진 확대 Ohtani. Photo = Courtesy of AP= Yonhap News 
사진 확대 Ohtani. Photo (Los Angeles, USA) = ⓒAFPBNews = News1
Ohtani expressed his intention to participate in WBC through his social network service (SNS) last month.
On this day, the head coach of the national team called Ohtani’s name.
Ohtani was the brightest player in the 2023 WBC.
Ohtani played in seven games as a batter at the time, batting .435 (10 hits in 23 at-bats), one home run, eight RBIs, nine runs and 10 walks. As a pitcher, he pitched in three games with two wins, one save and a 1.86 ERA.
사진 확대 Ohtani, who led Japan to victory in the 2023 WBC. 사진=AFPBBNews = News1
The final scene of the 2023 WBC final was like a drama with Ohtani as the main character.
It was the final between Japan and the United States. Ohtani pitched as a pitcher in the top of the ninth inning with Japan leading 3-2, and two outs later struck out then-Angels teammate and U.S. captain Mike Trout with a sharp slider to end the game.
It has not been confirmed whether Ohtani will also work as a hitter at next year’s WBC.
Ohtani, who played only as a designated hitter in 2024, resumed his pitching and hitting dual jobs this year. It can be burdensome to take the mound as a pitcher at the WBC in March next year.
Manager Ibata said, “Otani hasn’t started pitching yet. “WBC pitching and hitting will be confirmed after the Major League Baseball (MLB) spring camp starts,” he said.
사진 확대 Ohtani. Photo =ⓒAFPBNews = News1
Left-handed starter Kikuchi and left-handed bullpen Matsui, who play in the big leagues, also confirmed their participation in WBC early on.
Kikuchi vowed to “throw all out for Japan’s victory.”
Ito is a “domestic ace” who won the Sawamura Award this year with 14 wins and 8 losses, a 2.52 ERA and 195 strikeouts in Japanese professional baseball.
Chiba Lotte native ace Danachi, Pacific League save No. 1 Daira, Central League hold co-leader Ota, and Ishii, who played in 53 games and scored one run in 53 innings with a 0.17 ERA, also joined the Japanese WBC national team.
사진 확대 Japanese national baseball team coach Hirokazu Ibata speaks. Photo = Courtesy of Yonhap News
Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Dodgers), who was named the MVP of this year’s MLB World Series, was not named on the same day.
Manager Ibata said, “There is a player who has not yet been allowed to play by the MLB club. Other big leaguers can officially announce their joining in the WBC national team only after talking with their teams,” he said.
South Korea were tied together in Group C with Japan in the first round of the 2026 WBC.
The Korea-Japan exhibition will be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan at 7 p.m. on March 7 next year.
[Lee Geunseung, MK Sports Reporter]