In a storybook ending, Japanese relief pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout at the World Baseball Classic for Japan's championship. Ohtani had given a pregame pep talk in Japan's clubhouse urging his teammates to "stop admiring them" and to "reach the top." The two biggest stars on the planet faced each other in the World Baseball Classic for the first time, with Japan joining the Dominican Republic as the only unbeaten champions of baseball's premier national team tournament. Ohtani and Trout had hugged behind the batting cage during pregame workouts, and Ohtani pitched to Trout in the ninth inning, striking him out for Japan's third championship in the tournament.

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