Japan national baseball team
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The Japan national baseball team is the national team of Japan. It has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since the first demonstration tournament in 1984. Until 2000, the team was made up exclusively of amateur players. Starting with the 2000 Summer Olympics, the team has been comprised of players from Nippon Professional Baseball. The team playing in the 2006 World Baseball Classic also includes Japanese players from Major League Baseball. In the Classic, the team played in Pool A and placed second, advancing to round two. They went on to win the Classic.
[edit] 2006 World Baseball Classic roster
Manager
- Sadaharu Oh (王貞治) - Japan's home run king.
Pitchers
- Kyuji Fujikawa (藤川球児) - Hanshin Tigers
- Soichi Fujita (藤田宗一) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Hirotoshi Ishii (石井弘寿) - Tokyo Yakult Swallows; deactivated on March 9 due to shoulder soreness.
- Hiroyuki Kobayashi (小林宏之) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Tomoyuki Kubota (久保田智之) - Hanshin Tigers
- Takahiro Mahara (馬原孝浩) - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks; replaced Ishii in 2nd Round.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂大輔) - Seibu Lions now playing for the Boston Red Sox
- Akinori Otsuka (大塚晶則) - Texas Rangers
- Naoyuki Shimizu (清水直行) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Toshiya Sugiuchi (杉内俊哉) - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Koji Uehara (上原浩治) - Yomiuri Giants
- Tsuyoshi Wada (和田毅) - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Shunsuke Watanabe (渡辺俊介) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Yasuhiko Yabuta (薮田安彦) - Chiba Lotte Marines
Catchers
- Ryoji Aikawa (相川亮二) - Yokohama BayStars
- Tomoya Satozaki (里崎智也) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Motonobu Tanishige (谷繁元信) - Chunichi Dragons
Infielders
- Takahiro Arai (新井貴浩) - Hiroshima Toyo Carp
- Toshiaki Imae (今江敏晃) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Akinori Iwamura (岩村明憲) - Tokyo Yakult Swallows now playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
- Munenori Kawasaki (川崎宗則) - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Nobuhiko Matsunaka (松中信彦) - Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
- Shinya Miyamoto (宮本慎也) - Tokyo Yakult Swallows
- Tsuyoshi Nishioka (西岡剛) - Chiba Lotte Marines
- Michihiro Ogasawara (小笠原道大) - Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters now playing for the Yomiuri Giants
Outfielders
- Norichika Aoki (青木宣親) - Tokyo Yakult Swallows
- Kosuke Fukudome (福留孝介) - Chunichi Dragons
- Tatsuhiko Kinjoh (金城龍彦) - Yokohama BayStars
- Ichiro Suzuki (イチロー) - Seattle Mariners
- Hitoshi Tamura (多村仁) - Yokohama BayStars now playing for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
- Kazuhiro Wada (和田一浩) - Seibu Lions
[edit] Olympic record
- 1984 - Finished in 1st place (demonstration sport)
- 1988 - Finished in 2nd place (demonstration sport)
- 1992 - Bronze medal winner
- 1996 - Silver medal winner
- 2000 - Finished in 4th place
- 2004 - Bronze medal winner
[edit] World Baseball Classic record
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