All Stars
Miami, March 22 (PL) - Six Latin players are on the All-Star team of the V World Baseball Classic, with Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico sharing that honor.
The island celebrated the designations of Yoan Moncada, as best third baseman, and Miguel Romero (pitcher), while the Aztec squad included outfielder Randy Arozarena -Cuban representing the northern country- and flamethrower Patrick Sandoval.
The Venezuelans celebrated the inclusion of catcher Salvador Pérez, while the Puerto Ricans included second baseman Javier Báez, according to information released by the organizing committee.
Completing the honor roll are Yu Chang (1B, Taipei, China), Trea Turner (SS, United States), and the rangers Mike Trout (United States) and Masataka Yoshida (Japan).
The Japanese, the champions of the tournament, also added the stellar Shohei Ohtani as a flamethrower, although his greatest prize was the designation as Most Valuable Player (MVP).
The 28-year-old Ohtani, of the Los Angeles Angelinos, showed his skills in the most prestigious tournament among nations and was a key player in the seven victories achieved by the Samurai.
The Japanese entered this tournament as the best player on the planet almost by consensus and ratified this superlative essentially inscribed in an individual trophy, with the added bonus of closing with a strikeout over Mike Trout to decree the definitive farewell of the tournament.
At home plate with the bat in his hands and in the box as pitcher, the stellar athlete delighted the public in Tokyo, Japan, and Miami, United States, on his way to a new campaign in the Major Leagues.
The Asian finished the Classic with a solid offensive line of .435AVE/.606OBP/.739SLU, drove in eight runs and scored another nine with a home run, four doubles and 10 tickets received.
In addition, he made two starts, the first against China in the elimination round and the second against Italy in the quarterfinals. He had an ERA of 1.86 in 9.2 innings, with 11 strikeouts, only two wins, the same number of runs allowed and one save.
