THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 23, 2023 at 13:13 JST
Pitcher Shohei Ohtani after defeating the United States 3-2 at the World Baseball Classic final at LoanDepot Park in Miami on March 21 (USA Today Sports via Reuters)
Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani is on a career path that may someday lead him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame but one memorable item will have beaten him there.
The museum in Cooperstown, New York, announced on March 22 that the cap that Ohtani tossed in the air in celebration after striking out Mike Trout to clinch Japan’s victory at the World Baseball Classic will soon be on display there.
The cap is one of several Samurai Japan items that the prestigious museum, located in the birthplace of baseball, has acquired from Japan's national team, which won its third WBC title with a 3-2 victory over Team USA on March 21.
The Japanese national team also donated a bat Masataka Yoshida used in the tournament; a pair of batting gloves that Munetaka Murakami wore in the championship game; a helmet worn by Murakami in the tournament; the jersey starting pitcher Shota Imanaga sported in the championship game; and the pullover that Japan’s skipper Hideki Kuriyama donned in the final.
These artifacts “will forever tell the story of a team and a tournament that captivated the baseball world," the hall said on its website.
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