Samurai Japan batting coach Atsunori Inaba on Thursday visited Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish and asked his former teammate to consider playing again for Japan's national team.
After winning the first two World Baseball Classics in 2006 and 2009, Japan was unable to get a single major leaguer for the 2013 tournament, when former manager Koji Yamamoto's team crashed out in the semifinals against Puerto Rico.
Inaba, who has become Samurai Japan's batting coach since retiring last season, met with Darvish and new Rangers reliever Kyuji Fujikawa in the Texas clubhouse.
"It was a personal request," Inaba said. "The team won't reach its potential unless major leaguers come and join us."