Perry Minassian, general manager of the Los Angeles Angels, said in an interview with the local media on the 5th (hereafter Korean time), “There is no limit. I hope that he will show the world what a great player he is by hitting and throwing on the playground.” .

He added that he approved Shohei Ohtani’s participation in the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Ohtani expressed his intention to participate in the WBC early on, and the club readily agreed. According to Minassian’s general manager, Ohtani is scheduled to join the Japan national team on March 2nd after one appearance in an exhibition game.

More major league superstars are applying for participation in this WBC than in any other tournament. Ohtani and Yu Darvish (Japan), Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, Clayton Kershaw (USA), Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Sandy Alcantara (Dominican Republic), Freddie Freeman (Canada), Julio Urias (Mexico) ) were listed on the WBC final or preliminary list of each country. The final entry deadline is the 8th.

Of course, injured or recently injured players such as Bryce Harper, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Dylan Seads voluntarily gave up participating. However, on the 14th of last month, Acuna complained on his Instagram, saying, “As the major leagues created the WBC, which players get permission from the club and which ones don’t? I’m one of them.”

Acuna, a Venezuelan national, said throughout last season that he wanted to compete in the WBC, but the Atlanta club stood in the way. A major leaguer’s participation in the WBC requires the consent of the club. Recently, it is said that Yankees pitcher Luis Severino and Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo (above Dominican Republic) have been notified by their clubs that they cannot participate in the WBC.

In the case of Acuna, after returning on April 29 last year, despite digesting both the regular season and the postseason, the Atlanta club told them not to participate in the WBC due to concerns about injury. Acuna suffered a knee ligament injury in July 2021 and underwent surgery.

Then, why is Yankees’ Aaron Judge, the ‘home run king’, absent from the WBC? Judge hasn’t taken his stand on the WBC, at least since hitting 62 homers last year. Local media reports linking Judge with the WBC also go unnoticed.

It is widely known that he was born in Linden, California and is an adopted child. Even though they are of the same American nationality, last year’s National League MVP Goldschmidt participates, but the American League MVP jersey does not participate.

Judge has not had an injured colon in the past two years, except for taking a break for about 10 days in July 2021 due to corona confirmation. He played in 157 games last year, setting his own record for most games played in a season. He is still in good shape and preparing for the season in Tampa, Florida.

“What makes Judge special is that he trains hard,” Yankees hitting coach Dylan Lawson, who assists Judge in training, recently told the New York Post. It’s rare. He has both talent and hard work.”

Even though there are no injuries and training is going smoothly, the reason why I am not participating in the WBC is at least because the club does not want it. 메이저사이트 He was exhausted from hitting 62 home runs last year, so why let the WBC drain his stamina? Moreover, Jersey and the Yankees signed a nine-year, $360 million contract this offseason and are now in their first season. WBC ‘something like that’ is not a priority.

After appointing Trout as the captain of the U.S. national team in July of last year, national team manager Tony Riggins asked the selected players and clubs if they would like to participate, and when he received a positive answer, he announced it. Not only Trout, Goldschmidt and Kershaw, but also Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Trey Turner, Merrill Kelly and Adam Wainwright all got word of their participation in the WBC this way. I would have asked the judges and the Yankees if they would like to participate.

The WBC is currently the largest and highest level baseball national competition, but it is not free from the grip of each major league club, the organizer.