New Headline: Shohei Ohtani's Exit from Japan's WBC Signals Rising Stars' Dominance in MLB
Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani was left to answer questions after Japan's shocking loss.
MIAMI — They started to trudge of the clubhouse at 1:23 a. m. Sunday, their heads down, eyes glazed, mostly staring straight ahead.
The large contingent of reporters, perhaps 100 in all, waited behind a rope in the mixed zone in the corridor of loanDepot Park, and at 1:31 a. m. , Shohei Ohtani came out of the door and stopped to talk.
It was a strange sensation for Ohtani, a feeling he knew that was inevitable, but he wasn’t prepared for it right now. The pain was raw. For the first time in years, after winning two World Series titles and two MVPs with the Los Angeles Dodgers , Ohtani finally lost.
Japan, the three-time and defending WBC champion, who had won 11 consecutive games since 2017, was eliminated. The Japanese were stunned by Venezuela, 8-5 , and for the first time in the tournament’s 20-year history, they will not be in the semifinals. Ohtani, the game's biggest global star, was left answering questions while he could hear Venezuela still celebrating down the hall.
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