Shohei Ohtani urged his Japan teammates not to be star-struck before they defeated the United States 3-2 to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
"Let's top admiring them", the Japan and LA Angels two-way star said about the talented USA squad in a pre-game clubhouse pep talk, "For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning."
Ohtani closed out the win for Japan by striking out his friend and Angels teammate Mike Trout to seal Japan's third WBC title.