On 17 February, world No. 1 Japan will open camp for the fifth World Baseball Classic. Tickets for the first game of the camp are already sold out.
"We made our choice on the 30 players on the roster starting from a pre-selection of 60, 70 players," said manager Hideki Kuriyama to Samurai Japan's official website.
The roster includes nine players from the Olympic gold medal winning team. "We had to look at the current condition of the players and also wanted to have young players who could contribute with their attitude and enthusiasm."
"I'm impressed by the rosters of the United States and the Dominican Republic. This doesn't change our goal though. We play the World Baseball Classic to become World Champions. I'm fully committed to that."
Lars Nootbar, one of the five Samurai Japan players on Major League Baseball (MLB) 25-man rosters, is the first-ever Japanese-American to play for Samurai Japan.
"We looked for players who can help us improve. He can play all three outfield positions and give us some power. I realize I use a roster spot, making it unavailable for those playing in Japan. But I'm working for the future of Samurai Japan. I also believe that welcoming a player who was born and developed abroad is what sport is all about."
Seiya Suzuki helped Japan win the WBSC Premier12 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
"He didn't play at his best in his first MLB season [with the Chicago Cubs], but I had no doubt he had to be on this roster."
Masataka Yoshida committed despite entering his first MLB season with the Boston Red Sox.
"After he signed for the Red Sox, I thought I couldn't count on him, but he reached out to me and said he had two dreams. He wanted to play at the MLB level and dreamed of representing Japan in the World Baseball Classic. I thought about it; then I decided he deserved to make the team."
Kuriyama announced he would use Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player. "We need power. It's not the type of baseball I always play, but in international baseball, you play tournaments with few games concentrated in a few days. You need the ability to change the course of a game."
The Samurai Japan manager said he could not preview a starting lineup and a pitching rotation. "We will need to choose the best players for each game. We will have to see the players' conditions when they join the team. There won't be time to teach anything, only get them ready to play. Of course, if we make the quarterfinals, we know that there won't be second chances from that point. Starting from elimination games, we may need to reconsider our approach."
