“Let’s not admire (America) for today”
The Japanese baseball team, which won the 2023 WBC, released a speech given by Shohei Otani to his teammates in the locker room before the WBC final game against the United States.
After Ohtani said, “I will tell you one thing from now on,” he continued his speech in a calm tone.
“Let’s stop admiring [the American players],” Ohtani said. “There’s Goldschmidt at first base, Mike Trout in center field, and Mookie Betts in the outfield.
” He emphasized, “Today, let’s throw away our admiration for them as we came to win because we cannot overcome them just by admiring them.”
Then he concluded his speech by shouting, “Let’s just think about winning,” and resolutely, “Let’s go.” His colleagues shouted in response to Ohtani’s words.
In the match against the United States that followed immediately, he defeated his opponent 3-2 to win the WBC championship.
Ohtani took the mound as a closer in the top of the ninth inning in this game and finished off the tournament perfectly. He defended his speech by stopping one inning from a one-run situation in the top of the ninth, leading Japan to its third championship in his first WBC appearance. He was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. 스포츠토토