Shohei Ohtani is a back-to-back World Series champion. Now he seeks to become a back-to-back World Baseball Classic champ, too.
Ohtani committed to play for Team Japan in the 2026 WBC, where he hopes to help defend Japan’s 2023 title in the international tournament.
“Happy to play and represent Japan again,” Ohtani wrote in Japanese on Instagram.
Ohtani was the MVP of the 2023 WBC, where he batted .435 with a home run, eight RBI and a 1.345 OPS and pitched to a 1.86 ERA over three appearances, including two starts.
In an instant-classic showdown, Ohtani struck out Team USA’s Mike Trout, then a teammate with the Los Angeles Angels, for the final out of the 2023 championship game.
This week’s announcement continues a red-hot run for Ohtani, who is the two-time defending National League MVP in addition to leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to World Series titles in 2024 and 2025.
It is unclear if Ohtani will be joined on Team Japan by right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with whom he won the 2023 WBC and both World Series with the Dodgers.
Either way, there will be plenty of star power at next year’s WBC.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, the back-to-back American League MVP, is the captain of Team USA in what will be his first time participating in the WBC.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner, plans to pitch for the U.S.
And Mets shortstop Francisco is returning as the captain of Team Puerto Rico, whom he helped lead to the quarterfinal in 2023.
The World Baseball Classic is set to take place from March 5-17, with games happening in Houston, Tokyo, San Juan and Miami. The championship game will be held at loanDepot Park in Miami.
