'Awesome' Ohtani → Praise for 'Korean Baseball' "Respect for Korean Korea" Japanese special note, "Korea is a really good team, especially a sophisticated batting lineup." [WBC]

*This content was translated by AI.

Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers), the "God of Baseball," showed respect for Korean baseball.

The Korean national baseball team lost 6-8 to the Japanese national baseball team at Tokyo Dome on the 7th in the second round of Group C in the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals.

Ohtani also performed best against South Korea. Ohtani, who started as the No. 1 designated hitter on the day, made two hits in two at-bats (one home run), one RBI and two walks, including a superior solo shot in the third inning, showing a strong performance of getting on base at the previous batter's box.

Ohtani, who played two games until the against South Korea / vs. Korea, had a batting average of 0.833 (5 hits in 6 at-bats) and two home runs and six RBIs in this tournament.

After the game, Japanese media Sponichi Annex made headlines, saying, "Otani expressed his respect for Korea."

Before the game, Ohtani met with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Kim Hye-sung on the ground and greeted him with a bright expression. He also shared a warm hug with Jamei Jones (Detroit Tigers), who shared a team-up when he played for the Los Angeles Angels in the past.

In an official press conference after the game, Ohtani showed respect for the performance of the Korean national baseball team.

Ohtani said, "It was a great game. It was a game that would not be strange no matter who won."

The media said, "Otani said, 'Korean players play baseball as sophisticated and detailed as Japanese players. I got the impression that it was a very good lineup. I think it's a great team that really makes my hands sweat,' he said with respect.

Ohtani is loved by Korean fans as well as Japanese fans. Ohtani's love for Korea is also special. Ohtani visited Korea in March 2024 to play the Seoul Series of the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Tour.

At that time, Ohtani left a hand-heart greeting with Taegeukgi before entering Korea on his personal social network service (SNS). Although his nationality is Japan, it was unusual to greet him with a finger heart along with an emoticon of the national flag. And in Korean, "I'm waiting!"It also left a message.

In addition, at an official press conference after entering Korea, Ohtani said, "I was a high school student (at the time of 2012), but I only went to Korea and Taiwan. Since then, Korea has been one of my favorite countries. He also said, "I'm very happy and special to be able to come back to Korea and play through baseball like this."

Now, if Japan wins the remaining match against Australia, it will confirm its advance to the quarterfinals early as No. 1 in Group C. Ohtani said, "As was the case in the last tournament, there must be a few tough games in the short term. I think winning such a game makes the team more united and stronger. In that sense, winning against South Korea / vs. Korea means a lot," he said, promising the next.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.