The sixth World Baseball Classic is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2026, and many people are already wondering whether Shohei Ohtani will participate again.

Ohtani himself has expressed his desire to play, but considering the risks of injury and the enormous insurance costs involved, his participation is far from guaranteed.

In that sense, the timing of the fifth WBC in 2023 was incredibly fortunate.

At the time, Ohtani was still with the Los Angeles Angels, an organization where his voice carried significant weight, and his salary had not yet reached the unprecedented level it would later command.

Another important factor was that his teammate Mike Trout had committed to playing for Team USA as captain, which further motivated Ohtani to join the tournament.

But perhaps the biggest reason was the presence of Hideki Kuriyama.

Kuriyama had been the manager who encouraged Ohtani’s two-way career from the very beginning during their time with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

At a time when many people strongly opposed the idea of a player both pitching and hitting professionally, Kuriyama believed in Ohtani and protected that vision.

Then, in 2022, after stepping down as Fighters manager, Kuriyama became manager of Japan’s national team for the WBC.

There was probably no manager in the world who understood Ohtani — and how to use him — better than Kuriyama did.

That trust allowed Ohtani to fully commit himself to the tournament.

And ultimately, in one of the most unforgettable moments in baseball history, Ohtani struck out Trout in the final inning of the championship game to secure Japan’s victory.

Before the tournament began, Ohtani spoke about what the experience meant to him:

“To be able to stand on a stage like this with the manager who has supported me for so long is something truly special. If we can win a championship together, there’s nothing better than that.”

For Ohtani, winning the WBC was more than just a world title.

It was the ultimate expression of gratitude to the mentor who had believed in him from the start.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Following Shohei Ohtani: A Beat Reporter’s 10-Year Soul Notebook, p.386