In 2023, St. Louis Cardinals’ outfielder Lars Nootbaar became the first Japanese-American to play for Samurai Japan, where he teamed with Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
They not only played together, but also won the WBC title, beating Team USA 3-2 at LoanDepot Park in the championship game. This was Japan’s third WBC title, and the country has won the majority of the titles handed out over five editions since in 2006.
Nootbaar, 27, only played in the 2023 WBC. He’s in his fifth season with the Cardinals where World Baseball Network caught up with him before the Cardinals’ game against the New York Mets on April 18.
“That was a lot of fun. It was probably the most fun I’ve had playing baseball,” Nootbaar told World Baseball Network. “Hopefully I get the chance to do it again because like I said that’s the most fun I’ve had playing baseball.”
He had four RBIs, two stolen bases, seven runs, and seven hits in 26 at-bats, which is a .269 batting average in the 2023 WBC. His teammate, Shohei Ohtani, led team Japan with eight RBI and a .435 batting average in 23 at-bats.
“It was awesome. It was my first time really meeting him and hanging out with him. He’s a humble dude and really special,” Nootbaar said of Ohtani.
Moreover, Nootbaar is a left-handed hitter and he takes extreme pride in all areas of his game, including speed and defense. Nootbaar has played all three outfield positions in his career with the majority of his games — 216 of 369, to be exact — coming in right field. He has thrown out 20 runners in his career and has made nine errors with a .988 fielding percentage. Nootbaar has also saved 12 runs in his career per fangraphs.com.
“I think it’s just a lot of reps and taking batting practice very seriously. That’s something that our assistant coach Willie McGee told me early on in my career, that Jon Jay is so big on, is making sure you get live reads because that’s really the only way you get better as an outfielder,” Nootbar said.
Nootbaar’s career numbers are 48 home runs, 157 RBI, 26 stolen bases, and a slash line of .246/.351/.424 in 1,252 at-bats.
Photo: Lars Nootbaar of Japan hits a single in the seventh inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Korea and Japan at Tokyo Dome on March 10, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)
