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Shohei Ohtani’s Leadership Fuels Japan’s WBC Title Defense

Shohei Ohtani has helped reshape Samurai Japan’s culture entering the WBC. “We initially had an atmosphere where younger players didn’t feel they could speak to veterans,” Ohtani said in 2026. In 2023 he urged teammates, “If you admire them, you can’t surpass them.” Japan did just that when Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to seal its third title in WBC.