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TOKYO (AP) — Japan completed the naming of its 30-man roster for the World Baseball Classic on Thursday. This includes the St. Louis Cardinals Lars his Nutevar outfielder and the Boston Reds his sox Masataka Yoshida.
Nootbaar’s mother is Japanese, but he grew up in California and does not speak Japanese. He is the first player to play for Japan in his WBC who qualified because of his ancestry.
Japan announced its first 12 members last month. MLB players include Los Angeles Angels Shohei Ohtani, San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, and Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki.
In an interview at a Cardinals event in St. Louis a few weeks ago, Nutvar said he doesn’t speak Japanese but is studying with his mother, Kumi Enokida.
“I’m going to try a little (to speak),” he said. Singing the Japanese national anthem. I’m repeating it. We are it.”
The Japanese national anthem is called “Kimigayo” and the lyrics are derived from ancient poetry.
Japan has won the WBC twice since 2009 and is managed by Hideki Kuriyama. Japan won his opening event in 2006. The Dominican Republic won him in 2013 and the last time he did it was won by the USA in 2017.
The World Baseball Classic will be held March 8-21 in Japan, Taiwan and the United States. There will be 20 national teams participating, with the Asian powerhouses being Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia.
Latin America includes the largest contingents in Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua.
Entries in the US and Canada.
Japan will play their first match against China in Pool B at the Tokyo Dome on March 9. The top two teams in Pools A and B will meet him in the single-elimination quarterfinals on March 15-16 in Tokyo. The winner will advance to the semi-finals in Miami on March 19-20.
The final will be held in Miami on March 21st.
Japanese players with jersey numbers:
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