On the 16th, Softbank Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo visited the team's facility in Chikugo, Fukuoka. On the same day, it was announced that four players (Yutaka Matsumoto, Yutaka Kondo, Shuto, and Dai Makihara) have been selected for the Japanese national team for the 6th World Baseball Classic in March. The manager, who has led the team to consecutive league championships, once again emphasized "Japan first baseman."
Kondo plays right field for his team, but there is a good chance he will play left field for the Japanese national team. Manager Kokubo, who also led the Japanese national team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, commented, "Due to team circumstances, he is in right field, but I think he will train in left field once he joins the team. I will do so with the country as my top priority." He is fully committed to backing the national team not only for the upcoming season, but also for it to become the world's best.
He himself served as the national team manager from October 2013 to March 2017. Players competing in the WBC tend to have more difficulty preparing for the season, as they are unsure whether they will get playing time or not, but he firmly stated, "If they are selected for the national team, whether they are substitutes or starting line-up, Manager Ibata will assemble members who will do their best for the country. I don't intend to develop players who will use that as an excuse. I don't believe that The Hawks will have players who say, 'I didn't get many at-bats,' becoming their main players." In 2025, four players who know the taste of being number one in Japan will wear the Japanese flag.
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