Ohtani’s respect for the Czech Republic was 100% sincere. As he boarded his charter flight to Miami, he donned a cap for the Czech national team rather than the Japanese national team. Thanks to this, Czech baseball came to experience Miami indirectly.
The Japanese WBC (World Baseball Classic) national team arrived in Miami on the 17th (Korean time) by chartered flight. The Japanese team headed for the ‘land of the final’, where the semi-finals and finals will be held, happily boarded the plane, taking commemorative photos with bright expressions on their faces. Japanese reporters greeted them at Miami Airport.
At this time, Ohtani’s hat was caught on camera. It was a hat with a Czech flag on it, not a Japanese one. It was a part that could confirm again that his heart toward the Czech Republic was never shown. Earlier, Ohtani said of the Czech national team, “Apart from the level of the players, I felt respect from the heart that I like baseball. I respected them as opponents and thought they were great players.”
Japan easily won 10-2 against the Czech Republic in Group B match on the 11th. The strong pitching staff, Japan’s pride, led by starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, defeated the ‘two-job’ players of the Czech Republic. However, the Czech Republic also had its own performance. They scored more than 2 points against Japan, the strongest team in Group B, and kept their goal of not losing in a cold game.
After the game, Ohtani paid tribute to the Czech national team and became a hot topic. Ohtani wrote the word “Respect” while posting a picture of the Czech national team on Instagram that day. Here, the Czech national team was greatly impressed. Head coach Pavel Hadim of the Czech Republic said ahead of the game against Korea on the 12th, “I couldn’t sleep because the players were thrilled.” 먹튀검증
After completing the first round schedule, the Czech players visited Ohtani once again before returning home to share their thoughts. Ondrize Satoria, the man who struck out Ohtani, and others visited the Tokyo Dome and presented uniforms signed by all members of the Czech national team.
Also, on the 17th, the Czech Baseball Association posted a video of Otani wearing a Czech hat and entering Miami on Instagram, writing, “It is a great honor.” It was Ohtani that made me fall in love even today.