"If U.S. fails, we will lose our championship value." Shameful response

*This content was translated by AI.

"If the U.S. fails, the value of our victory will drop." Dream Team's embarrassing response to the crisis of extortion [2026 WBC]

The U.S. national baseball team, which was called the Dream Team, is on the verge of eliminating the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) light speed. A pretty unfamiliar response came from Japan at a time when baseball's beauty was revealed that the underdog team could also cause an upset at any time.

Japanese media Shueisha dealt with the U.S. national team on the 11th (Korea Standard Time) under the theme of "Three losses that will come to 'Samurai Japan (referring to the Japanese national team)" if the U.S. is eliminated in the first round of the WBC.

Earlier, the U.S. national team, led by coach Mark Derosa, lost 6-8 to the Italian baseball team in the final 4th game of Group B in the first round of the 2026 WBC at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas.

It was an extraordinary event itself. The U.S. was dragged 0-8 until the sixth inning, and the process was not good either. It was followed by six points late, but eight runs were fatal in the first round of the WBC, where runs were important. According to the WBC 1st round regulations, teams with tied winning rates will be ranked in the order of winner win, minimum run rate, and minimum earned run rate.

Therefore, the U.S. has no choice but to pray for Italy to win the Italy-Mexico match at 7 a.m. on the 12th or for Mexico to win Italy with more than five points.

The same goes for Japan, which found this situation interesting. But the perspective is rather unique. Shueisha said, "For the Japanese national team, the biggest rival has collapsed. The elimination of the U.S. in the first round is likely to be a boon to the Samurai Japan seeking to win, but the situation is not that simple."

It is very interesting to see Japan's loss on the premise of winning the WBC. Shueisha cited three factors, saying, "If you look back on the entire competition, there are a lot of deduction factors in Japan."

"First, the buzz and narrative of the finals tournament disappears," Shueisha said. "Currently, WBC goes beyond simply determining the world's No. 1 spot, and the composition itself of "How Japan challenges the United States, the dominant country of baseball," is a key attraction."

Recalling Ohtani's remarks on the final round of the last tournament, he said, "If the United States is eliminated early, the biggest confrontation of the tournament, which is a rematch of the final of the last tournament, will be eliminated. Even if Japan is on a roll, its box office and international buzz may decrease somewhat," he added.

It doesn't stop there. Shueisha said, "If Japan wins the second time, the evaluation may fall relatively," adding, "WBC has a strong impression of being a true 'world champion' when it beats the United States, which has the world's strongest power." "If we win first place in a tournament without the U.S., it is difficult to avoid the view that we won the championship without competing with our strongest rivals," he said.

It's simply a clueless point. It is true that the United States has the power to be called the world's strongest, but fans are enthusiastic about baseball because it is a sport where such a team can collapse at any time. In that sense, it was not even polite to the Italian national team, which did its best to win.

Moreover, it was revealed that after the defeat against Italy, the U.S. national team misunderstood that it had confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals and had a toast in advance. The title of "Dream Team and Baseball Jongjuguk" was so complacent that it was embarrassing.

The third reason Shueisha mentioned last shows starkly how they are looking at the WBC. The WBC, which is actively sponsored by Japan, was called the Baseball World Cup and advocated the expansion of the base of baseball and the festival.

It was an ostentatious display. "There are negative factors in the business side as well," Shueisha said. The U.S. national team, which includes major league players, plays a role in greatly increasing the interest of broadcasting rights, sponsors, and overseas media," he claimed. He added, "If the U.S. is eliminated early in this competition, which is held exclusively on Netflix, global viewing fever and global interest in Japan's game in the second half of the competition may decrease."

It's not an incomprehensible remark. However, Shueisha said, "There are fewer opportunities to let the world know the charm of Japanese baseball. In addition, the showcase opportunity, which is valuable to NPB players, has disappeared," he said, lowering the value of the tournament and the championship by himself.

"The value of the WBC lies in not only winning, but also grasping one's skills through real games with the top players in the major leagues. If you lose the opportunity to compete with the United States, there will be fewer stages to measure how competitive Japan's pitching and mobility are at the world's best level," he said.

It is interesting that everything presupposes Japan's victory. Shueisha said, "It's interesting that the U.S. elimination in the first round shows one side of a turbulent tournament. But a really valuable scenario for Japan is to beat the strongest team head on and become the best in the world. "The easy match table has more tangible and intangible assets to lose than I thought to like," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.