Shohei Ohtani a déclaré dans une interview, avec une pointe de frustration : « Nous avons beaucoup de jeunes joueurs, donc il y a encore une chance. Nous avons promis de nous revoir. » Il a également déclaré qu’il aimerait rejoindre à nouveau l’équipe du Japon, notamment aux Jeux olympiques de Los Angeles en 2028.
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Par ogasawarabaseball
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— About the Venezuela national team.
“We were able to show our strengths, but in the end they overpowered us.”
— You performed well, including hitting the home run that tied the game.
“Yamamoto gave up a run, but we were able to get it back early. After that we scored four runs and the atmosphere felt really good, but from there… Their pitchers were excellent. They connected their hits when they needed to, and when an opportunity came, they produced extra-base hits. I think they were a really great team.”
— About being eliminated in the quarterfinals.
“To put it simply, it’s really frustrating. It was a close game, and I think it was a game we had a chance to win. It’s not like we were completely overpowered the whole time. There were moments here and there where we had the elements needed to win.”
— How will you move past this frustration?
“Well, it just ended, so it’s hard to already be thinking about the next tournament. But we have many young players, so I believe there will definitely be another chance. We want to work together as a team toward that. We were all saying, ‘Let’s meet again,’ so hopefully we can come back stronger.”
— Teruaki Sato and Shota Morishita performed well. What did you think of the two of them?
“They’re both really excellent hitters. I think Morishita had a tough situation after Suzuki stepped down the way he did, but he did a great job filling in.”
— Japan lost in the quarterfinals and missed out on a second straight WBC title.
“Of course it was a great experience, but anything short of winning the championship feels like a failure in the end. Everyone worked hard aiming only for the title, and the manager and staff were all focused on that as well. It’s very disappointing to end this way, but there will definitely be another chance, so I want to work hard toward that.”
— Did you talk with Suzuki, who had to leave the game unfortunately?
“Yes, we talked during the game as well about how he was feeling. He hasn’t had any imaging done yet, so right now we can only go by how he feels. First of all, I just hope it turns out to be something positive and that it won’t affect his season.”
— Is the only way to get over this frustration through the WBC? Venezuela has already qualified for the Los Angeles Olympics—do you want revenge there?
“Of course, in international games I’d like to challenge them again—call it revenge if you want. I don’t know yet in what form I’ll be able to play next time, including myself, but whenever the next opportunity comes, I want to focus on that.”
— What did you gain personally from this period playing with many younger players?
“Rather than something I personally gained, I felt there were a lot of really solid players. Even with many young players, my impression was that the overall level—both pitching and hitting—has definitely been rising. I feel that way every year. There are many players whose future I’m excited about. Including new players who will come in, if the overall level of baseball continues to rise, that would make me very happy.”
Kudos to both teams for making it interesting.
Sorry Shohei. This tournament is about the vibes. Japan doesn’t have it. USA doesn’t have it. All hail our new vibe overlords DR.