How did the players who participated in the previous tournament perform in the regular season?

The 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC™ will be held just before the start of the regular season, and due to the accelerated training schedule and the impact of fatigue from the WBC, there are many concerns about the performance of participating players once the season begins.

This time, we will introduce the performances of 13 players who were part of Pacific League League teams at the time of the last WBC in 2023 and represented Japan in that season. In addition, we will also look at each player's performance in the following years and consider the impact of the WBC.

All seven pitcher pitched well, with five of them improving ERA from the previous year.

pitcher who participated in the 2023 WBC and were members of Pacific League League teams at the time are as follows:

Hiroki Matsui pitcher, Akinori Sasaki pitcher, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitcher, Hiroya Miyagi pitcher and Syoichiro Yamazaki pitcher all improved ERA over the previous year. This suggests that many pitcher pitched better than the previous year, even though it was a difficult season to adjust.

　Yuki Udagawa pitcher Although the number of appearances ERA was also higher than the previous year, the number of games pitched increased significantly from 19 to 46, and the ERA 1.77 and strike out ratio was 10.25, showing an excellent pitch content. 20 hold He recorded two saves and contributed to a league championship, and can be described as having had a productive season.

In addition, Hiromi Ito pitcher compared to the previous year, his win number and ERA rate worsened, but his strike out rate improved from 6.48 in 2022 to 7.87 in 2023. In light of the fact that the strike out rate continued to improve in the following years, leading to the most strike out in 2025, we can see that it was a season of no small significance.

Among fielder, Kensuke Kondo won two titles. Most of the players are active as key players for their teams.

Next, let's take a look at fielder who played for Pacific League League teams at the time in the 2023 WBC.

Among fielder, Kensuke Kondo 's performance was particularly noteworthy. He played in every game for the first time in his career, and won three batting titles with 26 Home Run, 87 RBI, and an on-base percentage of .431. As his OPS of .959 shows, he showed off his overwhelming batting skills in his first year after the transfer.

Takuya Kai had a slump in 2022 with a batting average of .180, Home Run, and an OPS of .498, but showed signs of recovery in 2023 with a batting average of .202, Home Run, and an OPS of .602. Ukyo Shuto also increased his number of games played from 80 to 114, recording 36 stolen base and winning stolen base title for the second time in three years.

　Sosuke Genda only played in 100 games due to an injury sustained during the WBC, but still recorded a solid batting average of .257. Taisei Makihara 's batting average dropped from .301 the previous year to .259, and Hotaka Yamakawa ended the year with no Home Run due to injuries, but it is worth noting that many of the players continued to perform well as key players for their teams after the season began.

pitcher Yamamoto, pitcher, and pitcher have crossed the ocean and made their presence felt in the MLB.

We now turn our attention to each player's career after 2024. Yamamoto pitcher won his third consecutive pitcher quadruple crown and the Sawamura Award in 2023, respectively, and moved to the Dodgers the following year. Matsui pitcher also won the most saves for the second year in a row in 2023 and moved to the Padres in the off-season, and both continue to be major pitcher contributors on the MLB stage.

Sasaki pitcher also moved to the Dodgers in the offseason of 2024, when he recorded his first double-digit win save streak, and pitched well as a reliever in the postseason last season. Along with World Series MVP Yamamoto pitcher, he contributed to the team's first place finish in the world. The fact that the team produced three future major leaguers is also an interesting factor when talking about the previous team.

Ito pitcher not only won the most wins for two consecutive years starting in 2024, but also won the highest winning percentage in 2024, the most strike out in 2025, and the Sawamura Award, becoming one of the leading starting right-handers in baseball. Miyagi pitcher also came close to becoming the best ERA in 2024 with ERA 1.91, and in 2025, ERA 2.39, strike out a 9.88 winning percentage. He has been the ace of Orix Buffaloes after Yamamoto pitcher moved on.

While Udagawa pitcher and Yamazaki pitcher are struggling with breakdowns, it is worth noting that five of the seven pitcher members who were on the Pacific League roster as of 2023 have made great strides.

Many of the players have won titles in the two years since 2024 and are still active.

Among fielder, Yamakawa won the double crown of Home Run and RBI leader with 34 Home Run and 99 RBI in 2024, and was named Japan Series MVP in 2025. Kondo also had outstanding results in 2024 with a batting average of .314, on-base percentage of .439, and OPS of .960, earning his first batting hitter and the highest on-base percentage for the fourth time, as well as being named league MVP.

Shuto won stolen base title for three consecutive years with 41 stolen base stolen base in 2024 and 35 in 2025, and was also named Best Nine and Golden Glove Award winners in outfielder category for two consecutive years. Makihara also improved his batting average again, batting .283 in 2024 and .304 in 2025, and had a breakthrough season in 2025, winning the hitter title.

Kai made his presence felt in 2024 with a batting average of .256 and an OPS of .690, winning his seventh Golden Glove Award in two years. Genda also played in all 143 games in 2024, recording a batting average of .264, and showed his prowess on both offense and defense, winning the Golden Glove Award for short stop for the seventh consecutive year.

Yamakawa, Kondo, Genda, and Kai all played fewer games in 2025 due to injuries and poor performance, but they continue to play a key role as key players on the team. Considering the number of players who have won titles in the past two years, it seems fair to say that each player continues to perform at their best.

Will the players selected for the national team in this tournament also be able to achieve good results in the regular season?

The majority of Pacific League players selected for the 2023 WBC performed at the same level or better in the same season as they did the previous year. It is also notable that many players made great strides on the MLB stage or won Pacific League titles in the two years from 2024 onward, and it can be concluded that there were few cases in recent tournaments where participation in the WBC had a negative impact on the season.

Will the players participating in this year's WBC continue to perform well in the regular season, just as they did in the last tournament? We hope that the Japanese team will make great strides in the WBC, and we also have high hopes for the future success of each player.

Written by Ryota Mochizuki