‘Includes NPB batting champion’ as Japan aims for second straight APBC title

Japan’s roster for the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) has been announced as they look to win their second consecutive title.

Head coach Hirokazu Ibata unveiled the 26-man roster at a joint press conference with the managers of the participating APBC nations in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday.

The most notable addition is Shugo Maki (25-Yokohama DeNA Basestars). Maki appeared in all 143 games this season, batting .293 with 29 home runs, 103 RBIs and an OPS of .867. He ranked fourth in the Central League in batting average, third in home runs, and fifth in OPS, and was the only player in all of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with more than 100 RBIs.

Markey is a big bat who has hit 20 or more home runs in three straight seasons after hitting 22 in his rookie campaign in 2021 and 24 last year. Markey also played in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, hitting two home runs in six games (3-for-15, 2 RBI).

Maki is the only member of the WBC team to make the APBC roster. “International competition takes time to get used to, so I wanted to make sure we had at least one player with WBC experience,” Ibata said. “(Maki) has been batting fourth in every game for his team this season,” Ibata said, indicating that Maki will bat fourth for the national team.

The APBC is open to players 24 years of age or younger (born on or after January 1, 1999) or in their third year of eligibility (born after 2021), with up to three players 29 years of age or younger (born on or after January 1, 1994) as wild cards.

The three wild cards are left-handed pitcher 카지노사이트 Kazuto Taguchi (28-Yakult Swallows), right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai (28-Seibu Lions), and catcher Shogo Sakakura (Hiroshima Toyokapp).

The tournament, which will feature four teams from South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Australia, will be held Nov. 16-19 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.