Three years ago, the World Baseball Classic gave fans a transitory, enchanted moment that those who were inside loanDepot Park and those who watched telecasts around the world will never forget.
It felt like a dream, to see Shohei Ohtani trot in from the bullpen to take the mound for the ninth inning for Samurai Japan, knowing that he might be facing his Los Angeles Angels teammate, Mike Trout, a former American League Rookie of the Year and three-time AL MVP, with the game on the line.
And as it turned out, he did, striking out Trout to secure Japan’s third WBC title in what has become the single signature moment of the WBC and international baseball.
In the intervening years, Ohtani has gone to the cross-town Los Angeles Dodgers, signing a 10-year, $700 million contract, won two World Series, and three consecutive MVP Awards, while Trout, now in the autumn of his career, has yet to appear in a Fall Classic.
But while Trout may not be the player he once was, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge has assumed the mantle that Trout so long held, that of “Best American Player in the Game,” having surpassed the 50-homer mark and winning the AL MVP award each of the last two seasons and the 2025 AL batting title. Unsurprisingly, Judge has already been named the captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and will be charged with leading what will likely be the WBC’s most talented team back to the final.
Samurai Japan and manager Hirokazu Ibata certainly want Ohtani and his Dodgers teammates, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki, back with the team, but so far, Ibata doesn’t know if those three — representing two of Japan’s best starters and their best bat, as well as another starter — will be in the lineup.
Ohtani has 153 homers and 333 RBIs since he struck out Trout on that March night in Miami, Yamamoto hasa. 2.63 ERA,a 154 ERA+, and 306 strikeouts against 81 walks in 263 2/3 innings over his two seasons in Major League Baseball, and Sasaki developed into a solid bullpen option during the 2025 playoff run.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has expressed, albeit subtly, that he doesn’t want the three players to join Japan for the WBC. After two consecutive seasons where the Dodgers won the World Series, that extra October workload adds up. But nonetheless, Roberts understands what those three players mean to Samurai Japan.
“I think Shohei obviously has the weight of the world on his shoulders as far as expectations, being probably the face of baseball, certainly when you’re talking about the world,” Roberts said after Game 7 of the World Series. “Yoshinobu is one of the top pitchers in all of baseball. I think he’s shown that this postseason and this year. And Roki, Roki’s a young player who really had a tough time early, and found a way to kind of get back to being healthy and really contribute in a huge way. … I know the people in Japan are very proud of their players, and we’re just very lucky to have ’em.”
Speaking to the media before Japan’s series against South Korea, Ibata was asked whether Samurai Japan had opened discussions with the Dodgers about those three players participating in the upcoming WBC.
“I can honestly answer in South Korea. But if Japan hears about it, there could be chaos. I’ll do my best,” Ibata said according to the Chosun Daily, a South Korean online English-language newspaper.
Following his being named the 2025 NL MVP, Ohtani addressed the issue of whether or not he would play for Samurai Japan, indicating that talks between the Dodgers and Japan are ongoing.
“Since I can’t be directly involved in the discussion, I’m currently waiting for word,” Ohtani said on the conference call. “I think a decision will be made soon.”
Without Ohtani, the game’s biggest global superstar, the WBC certainly loses a bit of the shine that it took so long to build. For years, a plurality of fans in the U.S. and American players dismissed the World Baseball Classic as a distraction from the Major League Baseball season at best and a hit-and-giggle sideshow that only increased the player’s chances of getting injured at worst.
The Ohtani vs. Trout at-bat finally stifled those fans that have, over the years, dismissed international baseball as less important and less worthy of fan attention.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic can build what the 2023 tournament showed fans in the U.S. and abroad: that baseball, and international baseball, can provide signature moments that rival any other competition.
But it can’t do that without its biggest star.
Ohtani, for his part, confirmed his interest in again representing Japan in a humble, deferential way, with seven simple words.
“I would be honored if I’m selected.”
Photo: Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, center, celebrates with teammates after defeating the United States in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
