Three years ago, Samurai Japan fielded a team in the World Baseball Classic that might as well have been called the Future Dodgers.
Playing both ways was Shohei Ohtani, who was employed by the Angels at the time.
The rotation also included Roki Sasaki of the Chiba Lotte Marines, who was considered the most talented player the country had produced since Ohtani. Behind Sasaki was a two-time Pacific League MVP from the Orix Buffaloes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The golden age of Japanese baseball was here, and the team captured the moment by winning the tournament.
Today, the three players mentioned above are Dodgers.
Ohtani is now a two-time National League MVP. Yamamoto was the MVP of the World Series last year. Sasaki became an October hero as the team’s last-resort closer.
The Dodgers have cornered the market on premium Japanese talent.
What’s less clear is how this development could help them in the future.
The current version of Samurai Japan doesn’t have another Ohtani (who does?) or Yamamoto. The team might not even have another Sasaki.
There was a time when Hiroto Takahashi looked as if he was next in line. He was electric when appearing in the previous edition of the WBC as a 20-year-old. Pitching in relief against Team USA in the tournament final, he struck out Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt in succession in a scoreless fifth inning.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
