Samurai Japan is returning to the World Baseball Classic stage with many of the same players who powered its 2023 title run, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto.
Fernando Tatis Jr. sees all that, but he isn’t blinking.
“They’re nasty, but we’re gonna beat them,” Tatis told reporters at Padres camp on Tuesday.
The San Diego superstar is set to make his WBC debut this year for a Dominican Republic team that is loaded in its own right. He was ineligible for the 2023 edition while serving an 80-game PED suspension.
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Representing his native country in the World Baseball Classic is something Tatis said he has envisioned since he was young. Sharing the experience with his father, former big leaguer Fernando Tatis Sr., who is the team’s hitting coach under manager Albert Pujols, makes it even more meaningful.
“It’s definitely what you look forward to as a kid,” said Tatis, who was born in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. “I’ve always wanted to do it. I just feel it came at the right time. I’m really happy it’s going to happen. I just know it’s going to be a beautiful experience.”
The Dominican Republic will be looking to bounce back from disappointing finishes in each of the past two World Baseball Classics. After winning it all in 2013, the Dominican team was eliminated in the second round at the ’17 WBC and didn’t advance past pool play in ’23.
If the Dominican Republic hopes to take the crown this year, it may very well need to get past Japan in the latter stages of the tournament. Such a matchup would carry added motivation for Tatis, considering Ohtani and Yamamoto both play for the Dodgers, who have developed a heated rivalry with Tatis’ Padres in recent years.
Intra-clubhouse bragging rights would be on the line, too, with Padres reliever Yuki Matsui also returning for Team Japan. Meanwhile, fellow Friars Manny Machado and Wandy Peralta will join Tatis in playing for the D.R.
The Dominican Republic begins play in Pool D of the World Baseball Classic on March 6 against Nicaragua at 7 p.m. ET at loanDepot park in Miami. Venezuela, the Netherlands and Israel round out Pool D, alongside the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
Japan is part of Pool C, which will play at the Tokyo Dome and also includes South Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Czechia.
The top two teams in each of the four pools will advance to the quarterfinals in Houston and Miami on March 13 and 14.