On the 6th, the Japanese national team first announced the 12 key players who will participate in the WBC in March. 

First pitchers include Los Angeles Angels Shohei Otani (28), San Diego Padres Yu Darvish (36), Orix ace Yamamoto Yoshinobu (24), Lotte Sasaki Rocky (21), Yokohama DeNA lefty Imana Shotai, Yomiuri righty Dogo Shosei (22). Six people.  토토

Ohtani and Darvish are active as major league pitchers, and Yamamoto is a domestic ace who has won three pitching crowns for two consecutive years. Sasaki was the youngest to achieve a perfect game. Dogo pitched salty water this year with a record of 12 wins and 8 losses, an ERA of 2.61, and Imana 11 wins and 4 losses, an ERA of 2.26. 

As for infielders, Yakult Murakami Muneta (22), the first Japanese to hit 56 home runs, Seibu shortstop and Olympic gold medalist Genda Sosuke (29), and Yokohama second baseman Shugo Maki (24) boasting an OPS of .861 were dropped. 

For the outfielders, Chicago Cubs outfielder Suzuki Seiya (28), who hit 14 homers in his ML debut season, and Softbank Kensuke Kondo (28), who boasts a career batting average of .307 in 11 years, were selected. Suzuki led the championship as a primer 12 and a fourth hitter at the Tokyo Olympics. 

For the catcher, Softbank Guy Takuya (30), who played an active part in the 2019 Premier League and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, was first selected.

‘Sports Hochi’ emphasized that three major leaguers with achievements were named, saying that they announced the main players first. Then, outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who joined Boston, and Las Nutba, from St. Louis, will join the team to build a strong batting line. 

The Japanese national team will confirm all 30 players by the end of this month and hold a training camp in Miyazaki from February 17 to 27. On February 25-26, Softbank will have an evaluation match. On March 3rd and 4th, we will have two consecutive matches against Chunichi, and on March 6th and 7th we will have a practice match against Hanshin and Orix. 

Immediately after announcing the 12 players, coach Hideki Kuriyama said, “I definitely want to win and play a baseball that makes the fans happy.” “He explained the background of his selection.