3/22/23 by Nick Antonakas
BOSTON – Japan continues to dominate the national baseball scene by winning the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the team’s third title. Japan was met with a tough opponent in Team USA, but were able to win the finals in dramatic fashion by a score of 3-2.
Japan’s star pitcher, Shohei Ohtani, struck out USA’s Mike Trout to win the extremely tight game. To add to the drama, Ohtani and Trout are MLB teammates and will both suit up for the Los Angeles Angels at the start of the MLB season.
“It was the greatest situation facing the greatest hitter, so it was great,” Ohtani explained to ESPN after the game. On top of getting the game-winning strikeout, Ohtani was crowned the tournament MVP after batting .435 and pitching to a 1.86 ERA.
Baseball fans, who were entertained by a great tournament, now look forward to the start of the MLB season on March 30th.