The 2026 World Baseball Classic didn’t go Samurai Japan’s way. After jumping out to a 5-2 lead against Venezuela in the third inning, Japan couldn’t hold on, falling 8-5 and crashing out in the quarterfinals for their earliest exit in tournament history.
Still, there is little shame in the loss as Venezuela went on to win the entire tournament, edging both Italy and Team USA en route to their first WBC title. It’s worth mentioning that Team Venezuela’s star setup man throughout the competition was Andres Machado of the Orix Buffaloes. Congratulations!
Much will be made of why Japan fell short this time. The pitching staff was clearly thinner than the group that won it all in 2023, with absences from key arms like Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga, and Tatsuya Imai leaving less margin for error.
Japan was also adjusting to the pitch clock and PitchCom, both of which still have not been adopted in NPB, while manager Hirokazu Ibata drew criticism for his handling of the bullpen in the loss. Ibata has since stepped down, and Japan will now turn toward a new manager as it begins looking ahead to the next cycle.
There is a lot for Japan to reflect on in the coming years, but for all of the Samurai’s shortcomings, the reality is that Venezuela was simply the better team.
Now, we quickly turn our attention back to Nippon Professional Baseball as the regular season is right around the corner on Friday, March 27. This season, the SoftBank Hawks will look to defend their Japan Series crown and kickstart another dynasty, but they’re sure to face stiff competition from the Nipponham Fighters in the Pacific League, as well as the Hanshin Tigers and DeNA BayStars over in the Central League.
Here are the opening day starters for each team:
Tigers: Shoki Murakami
BayStars: Katsuki Azuma
Giants: Kazuyuki Takemaru (Rookie)
Dragons: Yuya Yanagi
Carp: Hiroki Tokoda
Swallows: Kojiro Yoshimura
Hawks: Naoyuki Uwasawa
Fighters: Hiromi Itoh
Buffaloes: Hiroya Miyagi
Eagles: Kosei Shoji
Lions: TBA
Marines: Kaito Mouri (Rookie)
Here are the preseason standings as of March 22, with just one day of games remaining:
1. Giants (10-4-1)
2. Tigers (9-4-1)
3. Fighters (8-4-2)
4. BayStars (8-5-3)
5. Buffaloes (7-5-1)
6. Dragons (8-6-3)
7. Lions (7-7-1)
8. Swallows (7-8-2)
9. Hawks (6-9-1)
10. Hiroshima (6-11-0)
11. Marines (4-10-2)
12. Eagles (3-10-5)
