Japan national baseball team explained

Japan national baseball team
Country: Japan
Federation:Baseball Federation of Japan
Confederation:Baseball Federation of Asia
Manager:Hirokazu Ibata
Wbsc Max:1
Wbsc Max Date:8 times; latest in December 2021
Wbsc Min:3
Wbsc Min Date:December 2012
Wbc Apps:6
Wbc First:2006
Wbc 1St Times:3
Wbc 1St Most Recent:2023
Olympic Apps:6
Olympic First:1992
Olympic 1St Times:1
Olympic 1St Most Recent:2020
Olympic 2Nd Most Recent:1996
Premier Apps:2
Premier First:2015
Premier 1St Times:1
Premier 1St Most Recent:2019
Wc Apps:15
Wc First:1972
Wc 2Nd Times:1
Wc 2Nd Most Recent:1982
Ic Apps:15
Ic First:1973
Ic 1St Times:2
Ic 1St Most Recent:1997
Ag Apps:7
Ag First:1994
Ag 1St Times:1
Ag 1St Most Recent:1994
Ac Apps:25
Ac First:1954
Ac 1St Times:17
Ac 1St Most Recent:2017

The, also known as, is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and is a baseball powerhouse.

The team has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since the first demonstration tournament in 1984, through when baseball was discontinued following the 2008 Beijing Games. Until 2000, the team was made up exclusively of amateur players. Since the 2000 Summer Olympics, the team has been composed of players from Nippon Professional Baseball. The team that played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic included Japanese players from Major League Baseball as well.

The team won the 2006 Classic. It played at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, as it had qualified through the Asian Baseball Championship in 2007. Unlike the WBC roster, the Olympic team was composed exclusively of NPB players (though it included one amateur player, who was drafted during the tournament's progress). Japan participated in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, finishing third.

Team Japan won the 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament. At the Olympics in 2021 it faced Israel, Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic, and won gold. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Japan was able to defeat the defending champion United States to become the champions. Their 2023 win was their third World Baseball Classic championship, and have the most championships.

Current roster

Source:[1]

Nickname

The team has been nicknamed .[2] Like other national teams in Japan, the nickname is usually prefixed with the surname of the manager. However, in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the team used Samurai, a symbol of Japan's history, instead of Hara, the surname of their manager. In 2012, it was adopted officially.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[3]

Legend

2024

Regional competition

Asian Baseball Championship

See main article: Asian Baseball Championship. Japan have dominated the Asian Baseball Championship since its inception, and have competed in every year. Japan have never missed out on placing in the top 3 in any tournament, and is the only team to have achieved this feat. Japan also holds the record for most consecutive Asian Championships, having won four times in a row on two occasions.

Asian Games

See main article: Baseball at the Asian Games. In all four Asian Games to include baseball, Japan have placed in the top 3 in every tournament, though they have only won the tournament once in the first event held in Hiroshima in 1994.

International competition

World Baseball Classic

See main article: World Baseball Classic.

2006

Japan won the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, defeating Cuba in the Final.

2006 WBC roster

2009

Japan also won the 2009 World Baseball Classic, hosting the Pool A games in the Tokyo Dome. Japan started the tournament opener with a 4–0 win over China. Japan then secured advancement into the second round with a 14–2 win in seven innings over arch-rival South Korea. The game was shortened due to the WBC's mercy rule. Japan then played South Korea again to determine seeding for the second round. In the rematch, the Koreans shut out Japan 1–0, making Japan advance as the Pool A runner-up. In Pool 1 of the WBC quarter-finals, Japan defeated Cuba 6–0, but lost to Korea again 4–1. In the elimination match that followed, Japan secured a spot in the semi-finals with a 5–0 win over Cuba. Japan defeated South Korea in the Finals 5–3 partly because of an Ichiro Suzuki base hit in the 10th inning.

2009 WBC roster

2013: The end of the championship streak

Japan, the two-time world defending champions, entered the 2013 World Baseball Classic, hosting Pool A games in the Fukuoka Dome, facing off against Cuba, China, and newcomers Brazil. Despite their first loss against the Cuban team, they secured their position for the second round in 2013 World Baseball Classic Pool 1 to face off the Netherlands and Chinese Taipei. The Japanese team narrowly won against Chinese Taipei 4–3, before proceeding to face off against the Dutch team, winning against them twice before proceeding to the semi-final round, along with the Netherlands, as they faced off against Puerto Rico. Despite Japan's efforts, they eventually lost 3–1 against the Puerto Rican team right after Alex Ríos scored two additional runs from a home run. Japan finished third in the 2013 WBC, as their two-time championship streak ended. The Japanese team bowed out to both the crowd and the Puerto Rican team as a gesture of respect.

2013 WBC roster

2017

In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Japan hosted Pool B games in the Tokyo Dome. They finished first round play with a 3–0 record and advanced to the second round.[4] After batting .364, outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh was named the Pool B MVP.[5] In the second round, Japan hosted Pool E games in the Tokyo Dome and again finished pool play with a 3–0 record, advancing to the championship round. However, Japan lost to the United States 2–1 in the semifinal. They finished the tournament in third place. Pitcher Kodai Senga was named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team.

2017 WBC roster

Olympic Games

See main article: Baseball at the Summer Olympics.

2008

2008 Summer Olympics roster

2021

Baseball was featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics.[6] Six national teams are competing in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. It will be held from July 28 to August 7, 2021.[7]

2020 Summer Olympics roster

Baseball World Cup

See main article: Baseball World Cup.

Intercontinental Cup

See main article: Intercontinental Cup (baseball).

Premier12 Tournament

2015

Team Japan came in third in the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Tournament.

2019

Team Japan won the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, which was held from November 2 to 17, 2019.[8]

International tournament results

World Baseball Classic

Qualification record
YearRoundPosition
2006Final 1st536021No qualifiers held
2009Final 1st725016No qualifiers held
2013Semifinal 3rd524427Automatically qualified
2017Semifinal 3rd614724Automatically qualified
2023Final 1st705618Automatically qualified
Total3 titles5/5308257106----

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics recordQualification
YearRoundPosition
1964Exhibition only0126No qualifiers held
1984Finals1st 413311Invited
1988Finals2nd 412717 1984 Summer Olympics
1992Bronze Match 3rd637022 1991 Asian Baseball Championship
1996Finals 2nd547759 1995 Asian Baseball Championship
2000Bronze Match4th454229 1999 Asian Baseball Championship
2004Bronze Match 3rd726023 2003 Asian Baseball Championship
2008Bronze Match4th453628 2007 Asian Baseball Championship
2020Gold Match 1st502515Qualified as hosts
Total 6/63119310176

Baseball World Cup

See main article: Baseball World Cup.

Intercontinental Cup

See main article: Intercontinental Cup (baseball).

Asian Baseball Championship

See main article: Asian Baseball Championship.

Far Eastern Championships

See main article: Baseball at the Far Eastern Championship Games.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2023 List of Players Announced on 3/1/2023. March 1, 2023 . Japan Baseball . . en . March 1, 2023.
  2. Web site: Samurai Japan sets roster for 2013 World Baseball Classic. 21 February 2013.
  3. Web site: Japan in the WBSC Ranking (Men's baseball) . . 12 August 2021.
  4. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/world-baseball-classic-friday-recaps-1.4019094 "World Baseball Classic: Cuba, Japan advance to 2nd round" – CBC Sports – Baseball – MLB
  5. Web site: Tsutsugoh named MVP of WBC '17 Pool B. .
  6. Web site: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/ja/sports/baseball-softball/. ja:野球・ソフトボール 競技紹介. ja-JP. Olympics.com. August 4, 2021.
  7. Web site: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/ja/results/baseball-softball/olympic-schedule-and-results.htm. ja:オリンピックスケジュール&結果 – 野球・ソフトボール. ja-JP. Olympics.com. August 4, 2021.
  8. Web site: Two teams from WBSC Premier12 2019 to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Baseball. WBSC.org. December 19, 2018 . February 13, 2019.