Bungeishunju's sports magazine 'Sports Graphic Number' issue 1140 <MLB Opening & WBC Omnibus: Shohei Ohtani Made the World Get Serious.> on sale Thursday, March 26!

Comment from Kohei Tamura, editor for Number issue 1140

Shohei Ohtani previously said in an interview with Number:

'I feel like I'm able to adapt to the environment. As the thinking on batting and pitching changes with the times, I have a sense that I'm able to do what I want to do while properly adapting to those changes.' (Issue 1116)

The 6th WBC, where Samurai Japan's dream of a consecutive title was cut short with a quarter-final loss, became a tournament that made us feel the 'change' in Major League Baseball. Compared to the previous tournament three years ago, various things have changed, such as the speed of play, the strike zone, rules, equipment, and the use of data. While having Ohtani, who stands at the pinnacle of the current 'environment', I suspect the Japanese national team, composed mostly of NPB players, was in a difficult situation with the world's largest adaptation gap within the team.

This is also vividly detailed in the 'Head Coach Makoto Kaneko's Diary' published in this issue. It is a valuable document where Coach Kaneko chronicles the struggles of Samurai Japan from the Miyazaki camp in February to the game against Venezuela on March 14.

Furthermore, pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, who agreed to an interview after the tournament, stated, 'Major League Baseball is evolving about five times faster than the Japanese baseball world.' He mentioned seeing players, especially from Central and South America, being more thorough than Japanese players in their approach to diet, sleep, and basic training. A glimpse of this could be seen in the meticulous baseball played by WBC champion Venezuela.

With the globally sensational WBC over, the 2026 MLB season is set to begin. Through the reporting in this issue, it became clear that Ohtani is indeed raising the level of Major League Baseball, with rivals denied the MVP award by him fired up with a competitive spirit, and the Blue Jays, competing with the Dodgers for the world title, pioneering their own path of reinforcement. This feature is designed to help you understand Ohtani's and Japan's current position in the baseball world.

--- 'Sports Graphic Number' Issue 1140 MLB Opening & WBC Omnibus: Shohei Ohtani Made the World Get Serious. --- 【CONTENTS】 SPECIAL FEATURES [WBC Final Report] Text by Ayako Oikawa Venezuela's Strategy that Shut Down America

[WBC Documentary] Text by Yuta Ishida Shohei Ohtani 'Even in Defeat'

[Special Interview] Text by Keizo Konishi Yusei Kikuchi 'To Catch Up to the Majors'

[Towards the Final Year of the Contract] Text by Koji Sasada Seiya Suzuki 'What I Do Won't Change'

[To be world champions for the first time in 33 years...