Japan’s national team, Samurai Japan, will be aiming for back-to-back titles in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Excitingly, even the two-way great has expressed his desire to play in next spring’s 6th World Baseball Classic.

Until recently, there had been a cloud of uncertainty over Ohtani’s participation in the WBC. With the tournament aiming to grow baseball globally, the WBCI views Ohtani as a one-of-a-kind player and is eager for him to participate. However, Samurai Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata sounded somewhat frustrated recently by the lack of clarity surrounding the Dodgers star.

On the 16th, following two warm-up games against South Korea, Ibata revealed, “We will release (the player list) around September. The players you are thinking of are on it.”

The 51-year-old revealed that he had put forward a request to the WBCI but hadn’t received a response yet.

“I keep telling them to wait and wait… but it will be too late for us (the domestic players). I want an answer as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the delayed response from Shotime had many thinking that the Dodgers or Shohei Ohtani is holding back. But in reality, MLB and the Players Association, which each own half of the WBCI, are just taking their time to balance the number of major leaguers on each of the 20 teams. They want to ensure fairness among all 30 MLB clubs.

Only recently, after being awarded the NL MVP for the second straight season, Lakers legend and Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson praised the Dodgers star.

“Shohei is the greatest, greatest baseball player in the world.”

The WBCI sees Ohtani as a key figure for the tournament. In fact, they hope he can help spread baseball’s popularity globally. But then, there’s something bothersome to the Dodgers, especially manager Dave Roberts.

“Personally, I would prefer that Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and others not participate in the WBC. Pitchers in particular are carrying a heavy burden.”

It’s no secret that the Dodgers are aiming for a three-peat. Naturally, it makes sense why the manager is concerned that playing in the WBC could affect Shohei Ohtani’s preparation as a pitcher. He came back on the mound after 663 days. With WBC scheduled in March, Roberts cannot risk his star. After all, there will be another 162-game grueling season after that!

While Roberts would be fine with Ohtani serving as a DH, Samurai Japan’s projections show that the 31-year-old is likely to start the game as a pitcher.

That’s something Roberts won’t easily agree on. He would ultimately allow Ohtani to participate only on one condition.

If he only “concentrates on batting.”

If we go back to the 2023 WBC final, Samurai Japan, led by Shohei Ohtani, faced the United States. Trailing by only one run in the ninth inning, Ohtani took the mound as the seventh pitcher. He struck out his former Angels teammate, Mike Trout, and sealed Japan’s first world championship in three tournaments.

Although we have yet to know the ultimatum from the officials, Shohei Ohtani himself issued an update recently.

“It’s not through the team yet, or rather, we can’t communicate with each other personally. We’re all waiting for a call.”

This season, the Dodgers kicked off their campaign against the Cubs at Tokyo Dome on March 18. They battled through a long grind all the way to the World Series finale on November 2. With their sights set on a third straight World Series title, the team wants to recover fully to start next season in peak form. Expectedly, they will approach WBC participation with caution.

How Shohei Ohtani is honoring the Dodgers’ multi-million-dollar investment with a winning mentality

Los Angeles Dodgers’ SP/DH Shohei Ohtani is earning a staggering sum on his 10-year, $700 million contract.

Ohtani’s brilliance on both sides of the ball is more of a testament to his relentless perseverance.

After leading the Dodgers to a World Series win in 2024, he made sure he was ready to return for another October run in 2025. Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten revealed that Shohei Ohtani takes his promise to bring a World Series title to Los Angeles seriously. He aims to deliver year after year for the length of his contract.

“After we won last year in Yankee Stadium, he came up to me—and he was saying it to everyone—‘Nine more to go, Stan.’ And then this year, as soon as it was over, the first thing he said was, ‘Eight more to go.’ He’s fixated on that, and he keeps working toward it,” Kasten expressed on the Starkville podcast along with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville.

Moreover, if Shohei Ohtani’s addition, alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s arrival, helps the Dodgers attract more international free agents this offseason and beyond, it’s a win-win for everyone.

The reality is that Ohtani’s contract essentially pays for itself through Japanese fan interest and market share. He was the biggest off-field investment in MLB history for a reason. And the Los Angeles market made it possible for all.