Although it is not yet official, the St. Louis Cardinals' Lars Nootbaar is poised to play for Japan in March's World Baseball Classic, with manager Hideki Kuriyama saying Wednesday he is thrilled at what the outfielder's inclusion will mean.
Nootbaar, 25, whose mother is Japanese, has played 166 games with a .231 career batting average, 19 home runs and 55 RBIs for St. Louis. He would be the first Japan player in the WBC who qualifies for selection based solely on ancestry.
"Even those nurtured in different countries' baseball can connect on a person-to-person level," Kuriyama said during an online media availability. "They can be companions."