Samurai Japan added the first major league player to its roster for the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday, when Houston Astros outfielder Norichika Aoki signed up for his third WBC.
The move was a boost for manager Hiroki Kokubo's team and likely a welcome addition for Japanese fans, for whom winning the WBC is a much greater attraction than it is for many in the United States, something that can be said of most of the nations vying for the crown.
So far, Aoki has been the only MLB player to answer Kokubo's call. Reliever Koji Uehara, who recently signed with the Chicago Cubs, has declined to play, rumors have swirled that the Texas Rangers will try to keep pitcher Yu Darvish out of the fray and Miami Marlins reliever Junichi Tazawa seems to still be persona non grata for national team officials above Kokubo, stemming from his 2008 decision to spurn the NPB Draft and head for the majors.