Baseball: Manager Ibata hopeful Kikuchi will pitch for Japan at 2026 WBC

Baseball: Manager Ibata hopeful Kikuchi will pitch for Japan at 2026 WBC

Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata voiced hope that Yusei Kikuchi will pitch for Japan at the World Baseball Classic in March next year after holding talks with the Los Angeles Angels lefty on Monday. "He was almost unstoppable toward the end of last year (playing for the Houston Astros)," Ibata said in Tempe, Arizona, where the Angels are holding spring training. "It'll be great if he can pitch for Japan." Read full story here

Baseball: Hirokazu Ibata hopeful Yusei Kikuchi will pitch for Japan at 2026 WBC

TEMPE, Arizona (Kyodo) -- Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata voiced hope that Yusei Kikuchi will pitch for Japan at the World Baseball Classic in March next

Defying wars and trade fights, baseball still forges bonds between U.S., Japan

In the wake of history's bloodiest war, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, de facto ruler of a war-devastated Japan, witnessed what he considered "the greatest act of diplomacy, ever."