TOKYO (AP) — National baseball team coach Hirokazu Ibata said he will resign after Japan lost 8-5 to Venezuela in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic in Miami.
According to “Sports Hochi”, Ibatata said “he intends to resign.”
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Japan is the defending champion of the event, having won it three times. This marked the first time Japan failed to reach the WBC semifinals, despite the team boasting major league talent such as Sho Ohtani.
“The result is everything,” Ibata said, according to “Houchi Sports”. “Although we lost this time, I hope Japan can become stronger and win next time.”
Japan went 4-0 in Group C in Tokyo, beating Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic before being eliminated by Venezuela in a loss in Miami.
MLB players on the Japanese team include: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, Yuki Kikuchi, Masataka Yoshida, Munyuki Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto and Tomoyuki Sono.
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Associated Press MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb