Japanese World Baseball Classic Article
Discussion in the Open Talk forum
About
This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.
By Patrick Gordon
December 24, 2005
Chiba Lotte manager Bobby Valentine publicly challenged the Chicago White Sox just days after winning the Japan Series, stating that his club could possibly defeat the Major League champions in a seven-game series.
No one listened.
Now, with the inaugural World Baseball Classic a little more than four months away, all Valentine has to look forward to is seeing the top Japanese players' face-off against the best America, and the rest of the world for that matter, has to offer.
"It will be a very tough competition," said Japan World Baseball Classic manager Sadaharu Oh. "The level of play will be very high and there will be teams that want to beat us, so we know we have to go with a strong team."
Oh unveiled the nation's 30-man roster for the tournament in early December, with current major leaguers Ichiro Suzuki, Tadahito Iguchi and Akinori Otsuka all selected to participate.
The wildcard remains however New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui, who has yet to decide if he will play. However, Oh believes the temptation to represent his country will be too much for Matsui to ignore.
"I'm 100 percent sure he will join us," said Oh. "I spoke to him recently and told him we really want him to be a part of our team."
If Matsui does participate, he will start in Oh’s outfield along side Ichiro and 2005 Pacific League batting champion Kazuhiro Wada. Outfielders Tatsuhiko Kinjo (Yokohama), Hitoshi Tamura (Yokohama) and Norichika Aoki (Yakult) were also selected by Oh to participate.
Meanwhile, Central League MVP and Hanshin standout Tomoaki Kanemoto, who batted .327 while cracking 40 homers and 125 RBIs and Chunichi right fielder Kosuke Fukudome were curiously passed over and not selected.
Behind the plate, Oh wanted Kenji Johjima to perform catching duties but the ex-Fukuoka catcher decided his time would be better spent working with his new teammates in Seattle while sharpening his English skills.
Therefore, Yomiuri catcher Shinnosuke Abe, who batted .300 with 26 homers and 86 RBIs, will start while Motonobu Tanishige (Chunichi) and Tomoya Satozaki (Lotte) add depth to the position.
Michihiro Ogasawara (.282, 37 HR, 92 RBIs) and Nobuhijo Matsunaka (.315, 46 HR, 121 RBIs) will likely alternate between first base and the designated hitter position while Iguchi, a member of the World Champion White Sox, will start at second base and work with either Munenori Kawasaki (.271, 4 HR, 36 RBIs) or Toshiaki Imae (.310, 8 HR, 71 RBI) at shortstop.
Imae, the Japan Series MVP, batted .310 last season with eight homeruns and 71 RBIs while Kawasaki, known more for his defensive skills, hit .271 with four homeruns and 36 RBIs for the Hawks.
At third base, Yakult’s Akinori Iwamura (.319, 30 HR, 102 RBI) looks to be the probable choice to start for Oh’s squad with Hiroshima’s Takahiro Arai (.305, 43 HR, 94 RBIs) the likely choice to perform backup duties.
Oh’s pitching staff will be led by Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. The former first-round pick hurled 215 innings last season and went 14-13 while finishing with a 2.30 ERA. The flame throwing righty has a varying repertoire of pitches, including a mid-90s fastball, a slider and a nasty forkball.
Behind Matsuzaka is Yomiuri ace Koji Uehara (9-12, 3.32 ERA), Lotte submariner Shunsuke Watanabe (15-4, 2.17 ERA), Hiroshima’s Hiroki Kuroda (15-12, 3.17 ERA) and Fukuoka’s Toshiya Sugiuchi (18-4, 2.11 ERA) round out Oh’s rotation.
Otsuka, Fukuoka’s Kyuji Fujikawa (7-1, 1.37 ERA) and Yakult’s Hirotoshi Ishii (4-3, 37 Svs.) will helm Oh’s bullpen which is believed by some experts to be his best asset.
However, the talent selected by Oh may not be enough for Japan to compete with the likes of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the United States.
“I'm not sure how far they are going to go in the tournament,� said Gary Garland, writer and founder of Japan Baseball Daily. “But I don't think they are going to win it all, that's for sure.�
Japan will host Korea, Chinese Taipei and China when Pool A play begins on March 3rd at the Tokyo Dome.
“If the Japanese team pulls off the upset and takes the tourney, it will be for them what the Miracle on Ice was to the U.S. during the Cold War,� added Garland.
(www.NortheastBaseballReview.com)