Players who make their country's National Team are selected to represent their country because they are the best at what they do.
Seiya Suzuki (Japan) and Peter Crow-Armstrong (USA), two of the biggest stars of the 2019 international season, recently made the headlines.
Suzuki, the reigning WBSC Premier12 MVP and 2020 Olympic gold medalist with the Japanese National Team, earned the National League Rookie of the Month award for April. He combined 19 hits, including four home runs, 14 runs batted in (RBIs) and 13 runs scored playing for the Chicago Cubs.
The Japanese slugger started the season with a nine-game hitting streak and earned the National Team Player of the Week award for the period ending on 17 April.
Crow-Armstrong is one of the recent Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Player of the Week Award recipients.
He was one of the players who made the biggest sensation at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019, particularly for his athleticism.
He made the WBSC U-18 All-World Team playing center fielder for the silver-medal USA.
The New York Mets picked Crow-Armstrong at No. 19 overall in the 2020 amateur draft. He received a US$ 3.4 million signing bonus but did not play due to the COVID-19 impact on the minor league season.
His 2021 season was also unlucky. He had to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. Before the end of the 2021 campaign, the Mets traded him to the Chicago Cubs.
Crow-Armstrong is currently playing at the Class-A level. He appeared in 17 games,14 as the center fielder and 3 as the designated hitter (DH) for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, going 26-for-68 (.382 batting average), with three home runs and 14 RBIs. He also earned 10 walks and posted a .482 on-base percentage.
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- Seiya Suzuki makes MLB debut
- Crow-Armstrong earns Spring Training invitation
