AP
WBC Japan Baseball
Japan's Shohei Ohtani, center, smiles during a group photo session along with other team members before their practice session ahead of the World Baseball Classic games in Tokyo, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
As featured on
It’s officially named the World Baseball Classic. But for the Group C games in Japan, simply call it the world according to Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani’s life-size image is all over the Tokyo Dome, and racks of Ohtani jerseys — about $125 each — dominate the adjacent merchandise center. Japan begins play on Friday against Taiwan with South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic also in the group. Japan is the defending champion and is expected to claim one of the two spots for the quarterfinals in the United States.
