Japan beats U.S. 3-2 to win World Baseball Classic title

Congrats to Japan.

Ohtani sure has the Midas touch.

The TV networks demanded Ohtani v Trout at the finish, and both team managers caved in.

Good game. A "classic" way to end the Classic with an Ohtani-Trout faceoff, and big big strikeout.

I was a little bit concerned that Japan's manager was a little too quick to change pitchers. But, their pen is so deep, it all worked out.

Great Finale.

Champions vs Champions.

Listened to the last few innings on US radio.

Quite different from watching the tv here.

Commentators gave equal immense praise where due to all players, showing their deep knowledge of players and the game. No hysterics.

And Ohtani is simply The Man in baseball.

Won't see another for a long time.

Great game!

not interested in baseball or WBC one bit, but well done. Japanese TV is going to be tremendously boring for the next 2 weeks though

Bleeping damn

Another close game that was great entertainment. Almost scripted with "Sho time" at the end.

Lots of em will never get to win a pennant in their careers, so they should drink it all in. Even if they do win for their regular team, they won't have the whole country cheering them on as here. I could understand Ohtani saying he was sad the tournament was over.

Nice to see them do the "do-age" for Nootbar, which is probably a first for him, a bit of Japanese baseball he won't have grown up with. The Ichiro shirt with the medal (Murakami's?) almost dead center when they lifted the trophy was funny, you'd think he'd died in tragic circumstances, but it's all good (!) Whatever makes them happy!

This was the greatest WBC ever. Last moment was so intense. Keep praying that Trout doesn't hit the ball. Ohtani threw perfect sliders. 3 times Champion!!!!!

Great game, Congratulations to Japan.

Time for those who've claimed Japanese baseball id equivalent to US AAA or AAAA, to accept how good Japanese players are.

Ohtani Shohei is in fact a unicorn, he stands alone, as good a baseball player as there is, maybe ever has been. At the end of his current contract he will most likely become the highest paid MLB player ever; maybe US$500,000,000./year. Perhaps a New York, Texas or California (Padres Dodgers) team will pay him that much. He deserves a better team than the Angels.

Otani is a once in a generation player.

Amazing how the Us goes on about being the best at Baseball, Basketball and Hockey but never seem to win much.

I suppose they have their American football.

Anyway well done Japan but as people pointed out, the commentators are awful.

not interested in baseball or WBC one bit, but well done. 

Same. Do not care for baseball one bit. BUT Japan did a wonderful job. The US are usually the kings of baseball, so a Japanese win is truly something to be proud of.

Well done Japan.

kohakuebisu

Nice to see them do the "do-age" for Nootbar, which is probably a first for him, a bit of Japanese baseball he won't have grown up with. 

He seemed to enjoy it. Although, a little unsure about it at first. :-)

I liked the interview with Nootbar, his parents, and the manager. Touching moment.

not interested in baseball or WBC one bit, but well done. Japanese TV is going to be tremendously boring for the next 2 weeks though

Reason my taste for sports depends on where I am in the globe. Last saturday I tried to watch one of these "7days" like shows where they give you all the relevant/pop news of the week in 1 hour. They spent half their time talking about baseball alone. No thank you

My first ever baseball game. Great game, well done Japan.

I liked the way Murakami opened the scoring for Japan with a first at-bat HR to tie it up. I'm glad Kuriyama had enough faith in him to keep him in the lineup every game.

Chibakun

My first ever baseball game. Great game, well done Japan.

To quote John McClane, "Welcome to the party, pal!"

Very entertaining to see Trout vs, Ohtani.

buchailldanaToday  12:47 pm JST

Amazing how the Us goes on about being the best at Baseball, Basketball and Hockey but never seem to win much.

I suppose they have their American football.

Anyway well done Japan but as people pointed out, the commentators are awful.

The US have won plenty of Olympic golds for basketball; the Dream Teams. When their best players can play, they're always the favorites. Basketball world cup's schedule conflicts with the NBA's regular season and it's just not that revered among US players.

The US are one of the best teams but not the best in hockey.

If more US superstars could play in the WBC, it would be far more interesting. MLB spring training starts February 24th and the WBC just doesn't carry the same importance for US players. The Japanese roster is full of Japanese superstars while the US not. Japan was favored to win and they did as they should have. Congrats to them.

Team Japan doubters: "Pfft, yeah all they faced were the best teams from Earth, they had it too easy. Wait until they have to face the Galactic league's best, no way they'll get past Alpha Centauri's pitching with that lineup."

The TV networks demanded Ohtani v Trout at the finish, and both team managers caved in.

What do you mean both managers caved? Perhaps Kuriyama calling Ohtani in for the 9th was a bit of fan service (but it was also a sound decision), but the US manager didn't do anything to his lineup, it just coincidentally happened to be Trout's turn in the lineup.

Outstanding win by the Samurai Warriors! Ultimately the strength of the Japanese squad told the tale - as I predicted all along. No-one was beating them. Brilliant to see the incomparable Ohtani finish it out!

If that doesnt get a few million more eyeballs on baseball around the world, nothing will! Commiserations to the Americans - but I think they will admit, Japan now has the best baseballers on the planet!

Well done Japan! I think people are generally surprised by the win!

BTW, I hope the people who watched the game on their phones walking from the JR lines to Isetan department store reflect on their childish and regressive behaviour. It's a very dangerous thing to do!!!

Congratulations Japan!

What a win for a team of minnows against the might and power of the MLB. Despite being noticeably shorter and lacking muscle power Japan was able to prevail. Would this be one of Japan's greatest sports achievements on the world stage?

How about a national holiday PM?

Great seeing Japan as the best baseball nation of the world.

The Japanese roster is full of Japanese superstars while the US not.

This is just stupid nonsense. Literally every guy in the US team's starting lineup today was an MLB all-star:

Mookie Betts (6 time all star, 2018 AL MVP)

Mike Trout (10 time all star, 3 time AL MVP)

Paul Goldschmidt (7 time all star, 2022 NL MVP)

Nolan Arenado (7 time all star)

 Kyle Schwarber (2 time all star, NL home run leader 2022)

Trea Turner (2 time all star, NL batting champ 2021)

J.T. Realmuto (3 time all star)

 Cedric Mullins (2021 all star, 30-30 club member)

Tim Anderson (2 time all star, AL batting champion 2019)

Congratulations to the Japanese team, they did the country proud.

You guys do know the whole point of the WBC, from the MLB’s pov, was never winning? It was to make it easier to identify and poach talent. If the US had sent all their A-listers like Japan, sure they would have won. They didn’t. They don’t care. It’s all about bringing these guys to the states for the MLB scouts. Besides, they already got the World Series to prepare for this fall. MLB got exactly what they wanted and designed the WBC for.

Great seeing Japan as the best baseball nation of the world

Winning one tournament, does not make it the "best baseball nation in the world". I doubt anyone would have said that if the Czech Republic had won.

They were the best team in this tournament.

Winning one tournament, does not make it the "best baseball nation in the world".

It's not just one tournament, it's the WBC. Credit where it is due. Japan is the best baseball nation in the world. Congrats. Again!!!

Too early to say Ohtani is now the GOAT of baseball - all time?

Even if he retired tomorrow, he is now certainly in the discussion.

Too early to say Ohtani is now the GOAT of baseball - all time?

Even if he retired tomorrow, he is now certainly in the discussion.

While his accomplishments are extremely impressive, its way too early to be having that conversation. Ohtani's career numbers in MLB are:

As Pitcher: 28-14, 2.96 ERA, 11.2 WAR.

As Batter: 127 HR, .267 avg. 13.6 WAR.

They were the best team in this tournament.

Which is literally the tournament that is meant to determine the best national team in the world.

> PTownsendToday 12:39 pm JST

Great game, Congratulations to Japan.

> Time for those who've claimed Japanese baseball id equivalent to US AAA or AAAA, to accept how good Japanese players are.

> Ohtani Shohei is in fact a unicorn, he stands alone, as good a baseball player as there is, maybe ever has been. At the end of his current contract he will most likely become the highest paid MLB player ever; maybe US$500,000,000./year. Perhaps a New York, Texas or California (Padres Dodgers) team will pay him that much. He deserves a better team than the Angels.

I seriously am not trying to rain on yours or Japan's parade, although I doubt I could rain on a country's parade. Japan was clearly the best team in this tournament. They beat all comers and barely even trailed in a game and their pitching was lights out. That said, the overall quality of the players in Japan is no match for MLB because MLB has players from all over the world. The U.S. did not even send surefire hall of fame pitchers like Scherzer and Verlander and top position players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton from the Yankees. Again, Japan was the best team but most of those players are not MLB-caliber. Ohtani is definitely a unicorn but he's stuck with the Angels. He said previously he didn't want to play for the Yankees. Pinstripes are heavy for most. . I do hope to see Roki Sasaki. I became a fan of his just reading about what happened to his family on 3/11. The kid has dynamite stuff too. Congrats to Japan.

Fighto!

Ultimately the strength of the Japanese squad told the tale - as I predicted all along.

You also predicted the score would be 10-5. So, you only get partial credit. ;-)

You also predicted the score would be 10-5. So, you only get partial credit. ;-)

Correct on that! I honesly did not think it would be this close. The Americans played the game of their lives.

WOW!

おめでとう、ニッポン！！！ Congratulations, Japan!!!…; みんな頑張った！！！; I couldn’t watch the full game because hey, Wednesday morning (smh)… but I saw some highlights and it was another spectacular game…*(!); Ohtani is unbelievable…; he’s becoming more charismatic and his confidence is reaching new levels… he’s proudly accepting/embracing* the fact that he’s special… probably the best baseball player of all time.

What an amazing victory…; well done, Japan, you deserve this…; the millions of Japanese that love this sport deserve this.

..

To those who supported China, South Korea, Czech Republic, Australia, Italy, Mexico and now the US: please get rid of those negative feelings…; positivity and respect are two beautiful things.

rainydayToday  02:06 pm JST

The Japanese roster is full of Japanese superstars while the US not.

This is just stupid nonsense. Literally every guy in the US team's starting lineup today was an MLB all-star:

Mookie Betts (6 time all star, 2018 AL MVP)

Mike Trout (10 time all star, 3 time AL MVP)

Paul Goldschmidt (7 time all star, 2022 NL MVP)

Nolan Arenado (7 time all star)

 Kyle Schwarber (2 time all star, NL home run leader 2022)

Trea Turner (2 time all star, NL batting champ 2021)

J.T. Realmuto (3 time all star)

 Cedric Mullins (2021 all star, 30-30 club member)

Tim Anderson (2 time all star, AL batting champion 2019)

You didn't list any pitchers. If you watch MLB, you'd know that their best players were not on the roster especially pitchers. The WBC doesn't mean all that much to MLB players but it means everything to Japanese players and Japanese. The same way that the world cup/championship of basketball and hockey mean little to NBA and NHL players.

That said, the overall quality of the players in Japan is no match for MLB because MLB has players from all over the world. 

You are comparing apples and oranges here.

Japan = country

MLB = baseball league

If you are going to compare countries (Japan and the USA), then its not fair to equate MLB with the US given, as you say, that it has players from all over the world.

If you are going to compare leagues, then you should compare MLB to NPB rather than to "Japan" since many of Japan's best players aren't in NPB anymore. MLB is clearly way better than NPB, no argument here.

Again, Japan was the best team but most of those players are not MLB-caliber. 

I would strongly disagree with this. While its true that many players in NPB would not succeed in MLB, the specific players on Team Japan from NPB were the best from that league and I think pretty much all of them were MLB calibre, and in fact most of the younger ones (Murakami, Sasaki, Takahashi, etc) likely will play in the majors at some point.

Well, credit where it's due. Well done, Japan.

Now, I genuinely hope, and one reason why I wanted to see another team win, like Mexico, that this generates more interest in baseball and makes this an actual international competition instead of just having three teams that can play and calling it a "World" event. Soccer, for example, has comparatively weak groups like Asia and Africa, but key wins by teams in those groups (Japan included) is helping spur interest and increasing competition in the lagging nations in a sport that is TRULY international and fun. If this could help baseball become more like that instead of a sport most nations don't even know about let alone participate in, great. Also, either ALL teams should have their major leaguers playing, or none. Sometimes this kind of tournament reminds me of when the NBA "Dream Team" from the US would play an Eastern European team that had just set foot on a court for the first time.

Congratulations Japan!

You didn't list any pitchers. If you watch MLB, you'd know that their best players were not on the roster especially pitchers. The WBC doesn't mean all that much to MLB players but it means everything to Japanese players and Japanese. The same way that the world cup/championship of basketball and hockey mean little to NBA and NHL players.

Its true that several top American MLB pitchers didn't join Team USA. Its also true that the reason they didn't is because they couldn't be insured for it, not because they didn't want to.

As for the lineup, as I said its literally entirely made up of all stars. Yup, there are some names like Judge missing from it but its still an all-star lineup anyway you look at it.

Hahah…

I should probably apologize to Fighto!…(!); some people (including me) didn’t take you seriously…;

Fighto!Mar. 12  09:48 am JST Congrats to Team Japan on a dominant win. Realistically, I can't see any nation capable of beating them.

rcchMar. 12  05:07 pm JST Today  09:48 am JST “ Congrats to Team Japan on a dominant win. Realistically, I can't see any nation capable of beating them. “

Um, I’m not an expert in this baseball thing but I think there’s a team that can (easily(?) ) beat the Japanese… memory’s kinda foggy… trying to rememb… oh, right: the United States of America.

rainydayToday  03:06 pm JST

You didn't list any pitchers. If you watch MLB, you'd know that their best players were not on the roster especially pitchers. The WBC doesn't mean all that much to MLB players but it means everything to Japanese players and Japanese. The same way that the world cup/championship of basketball and hockey mean little to NBA and NHL players.

Its true that several top American MLB pitchers didn't join Team USA. Its also true that the reason they didn't is because they couldn't be insured for it, not because they didn't want to.

As for the lineup, as I said its literally entirely made up of all stars. Yup, there are some names like Judge missing from it but its still an all-star lineup anyway you look at it.

Pitching is just as important as batting. Some would say more.

It's not just insurance. The regular season starts on March 30th. About a week away. Many players and teams don't want to risk injury so close to the start of the season. The WBC is the same as the WC for basketball and hockey. An exciting tournament but not with the best players in the world.

Hahah… 

I should probably apologize to Fighto!…(!); some people (including me) didn’t take you seriously…;

@ rcch - no need for apologies!

Hats off to both teams for a fitting and thrilling finale that will remembered for all time - and hopefully promote baseball around the world.

Theyll be drinking the bars and izakaya from Hokkaido to Okinawa bone dry tonight!

Fighto!Today  03:33 pm JST

Hahah… 

I should probably apologize to Fighto!…(!); some people (including me) didn’t take you seriously…;

@ rcch - no need for apologies! 

Hats off to both teams for a fitting and thrilling finale that will remembered for all time - and hopefully promote baseball around the world.

Theyll be drinking the bars and izakaya from Hokkaido to Okinawa bone dry tonight! “

Well said. :)

At the end of his current contract he will most likely become the highest paid MLB player ever; maybe US$500,000,000./year.

Ain't nobody paying nobody $500 million per year. Maybe that over 10 seasons but bidding could go higher.

The U.S. did not even send surefire hall of fame pitchers like Scherzer and Verlander and top position players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton from the Yankees.

Those pitchers declined their invitations as well as many others. Stanton is not as good as any of the outfielders on this team. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago but he has regressed.

That was a great game with great pitching on both sides. This whole WBC has proven that we need it and the players love it. I love seeing the fans in the stands cheering for their country, playing music, and dancing in the stands. The energy throughout was tremendous. This will definitely boost the interest in baseball and the upcoming season.

Pitching is just as important as batting. Some would say more.

True, pitching is just as important as hitting. However, it's not fair to say that the pitchers for Team USA are a bunch of nobodies. I often peruse the websites and Youtube channels of diehard baseball fans, experts, and enthusiasts, and they all say the same thing: Only real fans and experts can truly understand that players like Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Merrill Kelly, Kyle Freeland, Devin Williams, etc. are really good baseball pitchers. These players have lasted quite long in the majors for a reason. They can pitch. Are they the cream of the crop? Maybe not. But Team Japan was also without some of their best players like Seiya Suzuki from the Chicago Cubs, or their best shortstop, Hayato Sakamoto, or the 2022 Central League's best pitcher, Koyo Aoyagi.

Pitching is just as important as batting. Some would say more.

True, but also true that pitching wasn't ultimately a problem for Team USA.

It's not just insurance. The regular season starts on March 30th. About a week away. Many players and teams don't want to risk injury so close to the start of the season. 

Yeah, they do have other reasons, mostly related to potential injuries, which are a particular thing for pitchers, but that"s not the same as them not wanting to take part simply because they aren't interested in the WBC.

Incidentally, it not just American players who declined to participate, several top Japanese players didn't either. Yuki Yanagita of the Hawks and Hayato Sakamoto of the Giants both announced they wouldn't join the team because they wanted to concentrate on the regular season, basically the same excuse Judge used.

>

I watched the game. Japan did well. Congratulations!

Congrats to Japan! Well-played game by both sides. US had the hitting (outhit Japan 9 to 5), but Japan had the pitching (limited the US to 2 runs, 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position)

Amazing how the Us goes on about being the best at Baseball, Basketball and Hockey but never seem to win much.

Oh, let's not talk about basketball - US men's and women's teams have been the defending Olympic and World Cup champions for years and years, in all age groups! The only trophy they currently don't hold right now is the last Men's World Cup, which Spain won (the US didn't send their top players)

Hockey is Canada's national sport, not the US

And let's not overblow the World Baseball Classic. While other countries usually get all their best players, not all the best American players are lining up to play for the US team - especially pitchers avoiding injury (obviously since they value their lucrative contracts more than the WBC)

For example, the NL Cy Young winner Alcantara played for his country Dominican Republic, and the NL MVP Goldschmidt played for the US team, but the AL Cy Young Verlander and AL MVP Judge decided not to play for the US team. Kershaw wanted to play for the US but couldn't get insured for it. Miguel Cabrera couldn't get insurance neither, but his team the Detroit Tigers allowed him to play for Venezuela anyway

That's why just a couple days ago, Arenado (who did play for the US team) called out the other US players for not playing for their country (and Arenado is of Cuban descent too):

"Nolan Arenado calls out baseball’s stars for skipping the WBC"

https://fansided.com/2023/03/20/nolan-arenado-mlb-stars-skipping-wbc/

Some players opted not to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic to focus on the MLB season, get to know new teammates, and maintain a regular spring schedule. Others wanted to participate but were persuaded by their teams not to, or had lots of restrictions. Others, like the New York Mets’ Max Scherzer, felt they weren’t ready for the intensity of a playoff-like game in the spring. However, those who decided to represent their countries are not only proud, but happy they did it because they are living a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

> Some American players have forgotten that, which is why the USA pitching staff is half what it could be. Still, the Americans find themselves in the WBC Final thanks to the folks who did show up in the first place. That is not lost on Arenado, who hopes to see a more complete Team USA next time around. He has been proudly representing America even though his father is Cuban, and he is urging some of his fellow stars to be more open about the tournament in the future.

So think of it this way: the US team almost won the WBC even without their top pitchers

Nice 1 Japan!

Perhaps MLB needs to rethink their claimed "World Series" ... and start inviting ... er ... the world to compete?

rainydayMar. 22 02:55 pm JST

That said, the overall quality of the players in Japan is no match for MLB because MLB has players from all over the world.

> You are comparing apples and oranges here.

> Japan = country

> MLB = baseball league

> If you are going to compare countries (Japan and the USA), then its not fair to equate MLB with the US given, as you say, that it has players from all over the world.

> If you are going to compare leagues, then you should compare MLB to NPB rather than to "Japan" since many of Japan's best players aren't in NPB anymore. MLB is clearly way better than NPB, no argument here.

> Again, Japan was the best team but most of those players are not MLB-caliber.

I would strongly disagree with this. While its true that many players in NPB would not succeed in MLB, the specific players on Team Japan from NPB were the best from that league and I think pretty much all of them were MLB calibre, and in fact most of the younger ones (Murakami, Sasaki, Takahashi, etc) likely will play in the majors at some point.

I said all over the world as I was responding to someone's point. Also, the majority of Japanese players are not MLB caliber but may become that someday. The vast majority of NPB players that have come over have been mediocre at best. Furthermore, watching a single-elimination tournament does not prove a lot and is not akin to a seven-game World Series as in MLB. The strategy is totally different. You can load up all of your pitchers in a single game because there is no tomorrow to worry about. Ohtani would more than likely not be available the same way he was today. As for your point about the specific players from Japan being MLB-caliber, the point you are missing is what you DIDN'T see in this tournament, and that is the top level pitchers, most of whom are American. Murakami is a good player but he looks even better due to the less than top-level pitching he faced. The American team did not have most of the top pitching that appears in the league. He did not face Cole, Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer and many more. Stack those guys in a series and then see how the NPB players fare.

@buchailldana FIRST OF ALL CONGRATULATION TO JAPAN!! Now with that said, if you know anything about baseball you wouldn't have posted anything except that it was a great game and that the best team happened to be Japan that day. The best players in the US did not play and that is no excuse still the USA team played with professionals and yes they lost as I myself had predicted. but as I said you don't know what goes on behind the scenes the big contracts involved the US players have massive MILLION dollar contracts these owners do not want their players to get hurt and players do get hurt as we have seen in this tournament its on the insurance policies that the team owners have to look to pay off when a player gets hurts and those players who have not got $300,-500 million contracts they don't want to play for those reasons because if they get hurt it diminishes their chance of getting that big contract and those who do play have received releases from their teams to play and have already made their "GUARANTEED MONEY" under the contracts they were under which in case some of the teams give the players a RELEASE TO PLAY if you only knew the Angels allowed Ohtani to only pitch one inning and that he be a designated hitter. Unlike Japan the players don't make that kind of money and yes it a nationalist decision. If you ask any American baseball player if they wanted to put on that uniform they would say yes, but its about the MONEY!!! Now let me correct you when you say basketball never win, what planet are you on? The USA can't win all the time and more than half the country cared less about that game, most were busy watching NCAA womens basketball LOL! Lets not even get into football, and definitely not basketball. Again congratulations to Japan and those players that will be leaving Japan to make the big money and play under the same contract rules when they play in the states. Americans love their sports but we don't die or think the world has ended if our team did win, we just gravitate to the next sport that is in season. I don't know what commentators you listened to but Alex Rodriquez and Big Pappy had nothing but praise for team Japan. Evidently you have selective hearing, and a reading disability, because most American fans had nothing but praise for team Japan, even the ones who posted on this site. You basically admitted you don't know what you are talking about and listened to what others told you to believe you wrote "*Anyway well done Japan but* as people pointed out, the commentators are awful.

Amazing how the Us goes on about being the best at Baseball, Basketball and Hockey but never seem to win much.

I suppose they have their American football.

Anyway well done Japan but as people pointed out, the commentators are awful.

@rainyday I agree and you are Correct they are all professionals but still that was not Americas best! If you look at the years end the reason why those guys were there is MONEY they have made it through their "GUARANTEED" major league contracts worth millions! Had this been a 3 game series I think it would be a different, outcome.

The Japanese roster is full of Japanese superstars while the US not.*

This is just stupid nonsense. Literally every guy in the US team's starting lineup today was an MLB all-star:

Mookie Betts (6 time all star, 2018 AL MVP)

Mike Trout (10 time all star, 3 time AL MVP)

Paul Goldschmidt (7 time all star, 2022 NL MVP)

Nolan Arenado (7 time all star)

 Kyle Schwarber (2 time all star, NL home run leader 2022)

Trea Turner (2 time all star, NL batting champ 2021)

J.T. Realmuto (3 time all star)

 Cedric Mullins (2021 all star, 30-30 club member)

Tim Anderson (2 time all star, AL batting champion 2019)

That was a good game!