WATCH: Shohei Ohtani Ignites Crowd and Leaves Opponents in AWE During Batting Practice Before 2026 WBC

Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan will enter the 2026 World Baseball Classic as the defending champions, having defeated Team USA in the final in 2023.

WATCH: Shohei Ohtani Ignites Crowd and Leaves Opponents in AWE During Batting Practice Before 2026 WBC

Shohei Ohtani hit some dingers and left the crowd stunned during a BP (Image via MLB/X/@TalkinBaseball_)

On Friday, Shohei Ohtani once again stole the show. In a batting practice before the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), the two-way star would slug several balls over the outfield wall, which ignited the fans and left the opponents in awe.

Ohtani and his teammates are preparing to defend their WBC title. In 2023, Team Japan were crowned world baseball champions as they defeated Team USA in the final.

As they gear up for the title defense, they took part in an exhibition game against the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Before the showdown at the Vantelin Dome in Nagoya, Ohtani would take part in a live batting practice.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers star in town, the fans would pack the stadium. He would then put on a show for them as he kept on slamming the ball into the stands.

In a video shared by the X account Talkin’ Baseball, the 31-year-old would send the ball all over the park. The fans inside would lift the cameras to record every moment. Even the opponents were left stunned by him.

The video would feature views from inside the Dragons’ dugout. Like the supporters, some of them would record the shots of him. A few of them would have their mouths wide open while being awestruck by the performance of the MLB star.

The Japanese captain would receive a huge round of applause once his BP came to an end. Check out a video regarding this whole development below:

Ohtani, however, would not take part in the game. As this game took place before the WBC camps began, the MLB players were unable to participate in this.

Team Japan would go on to beat the Dragons 5-3 despite not having Ohtani in the lineup. Reigning NPB Central MVP, Teruaki Sato, would hit a huge 3-run home run.

The reigning National League MVP and other MLB stars will join the team on March 2 when they take on the Orix Buffaloes. This will be one of the two exhibition games they play before taking on Chinese Taipei on March 6.

Will Shohei Ohtani pitch in upcoming World Baseball Classic?

The 2026 World Baseball Classic is just around the corner. Next week, Shohei Ohtani and his teammates will begin the defense of their title and hope to go back-to-back. In the midst of this, there are some questions about whether Ohtani would pitch in this tournament.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via X/@BRWalkoff)

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar resumed his two-way role last year after not pitching in the entirety of the 2024 season. He went 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 47.0 innings in 14 regular-season starts in 2025.

As for the postseason, he had a 2-1 record in 4 starts, including the all-important Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched with a 4.43 ERA and had 28 strikeouts in the playoffs.

In December, the Dodgers expressed their desire not to see him pitch in this tournament. It was later confirmed that he would not take to the mound for Team Japan.

A few days back, Ohtani was asked about this decision and whether he would volunteer to pitch if there was another ninth-inning scenario against Team USA in the championship game rematch. The player would laugh off at this and express that if Mike Trout showed up, then he could be tempted to go out.

Hard to say it, but if (Mike) Trout shows up, it’s tempting.

Shohei Ohtani said through his interpreter Will Ireton

In the championship game in 2023, Ohtani would make a relief appearance in the 9th inning while his team were leading 3-2. After a double play, Team USA were down to their captain, Mike Trout.

During their first career matchup, Ohtani would get the better of Trout and stretch him out swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the game and seal the title for Japan.

This time, Trout is not a part of the team. Aaron Judge will lead Team USA as the captain in this edition. If the situation comes down to Judge, Ohtani might make his way to the mound in a clash of the reigning MLB MVPs.

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