For those watching Pools A & B of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the energy in both Taichung and Tokyo is palpable. Both stadiums are absolutely bumping for all nine innings of every game. But no player has captured the imagination of either stadium like Lars Nootbaar has enamored the Tokyo Dome with him in just two games.
The Cardinals centerfielder has been a bona fide star so far in the World Baseball Classic. He went 2 for 4 with two walks and two runs in the first game and 2 for 4 with another two runs and an RBI in the second. He also made a sterling defensive play from centerfield in each. It’s helped to contribute to an 8-1 win over China and a 13-4 win over Japan’s arch-rival Korea, putting Japan atop Pool B in the early going.
Nootbaar has even gotten into the spirit of Japan’s rivalries, staring down Korea’s Yun-sik Kim after being plunked in the back in the sixth inning of Japan vs. Korea.
Lars Nootbaar with the stare after getting drilled #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/Ex9ylbREfr
— Ben Fadden (@BenFaddenSD) March 10, 2023
Nootbaar is representing Japan because he is Japanese on his mother’s side, and so far he’s representing it well. Although Shohei Ohtani is the player people are turning out in droves to see – the Tokyo Dome has had just over 40,000 fans in each of Japan’s first two games – Nootbaar is quickly rising to must-see status.
MORE: World Baseball Classic 2023 standings, scores & schedule
His pepper grinder celebration has made it into the baseball fan zeitgeist in Japan, thanks in no small part to the Ohtani Bump (TM) with fans bringing grinders into the stadium to celebrate alongside Samurai Japan.
NOOOOOT 🇯🇵
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 10, 2023
Japan is on the board after this Lars Nootbaar RBI single!
📺: WBC on FS1 pic.twitter.com/RpccZ2meEb
The outfielder’s diving catch against China is already memorialized in a card.
.@Topps Now baseball captures Lars Nootbaar’s catch for Japan in the #WBC. #stlcards pic.twitter.com/2pGzeTBpxg
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) March 10, 2023
And both big catches were made before Japan was able to pull away in either game.
Lars Nootbaar lays out for the catch!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 9, 2023
📺: FS1 and the FOX Sports App pic.twitter.com/zGeyHSdPe7
Lars Nootbaar!! GO HEAD!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 10, 2023
Fantastic catch in CF for Japan!
📺: WBC on FS1 pic.twitter.com/yuRmobqMtR
Ahead of Japan’s game against top rival Korea, Nootbaar gave the pregame speech through a translator.
#カーネクスト2023WBC東京プール
— 野球日本代表 侍ジャパン 公式 (@samuraijapan_pr) March 10, 2023
第2戦・韓国戦の円陣声出しは #ヌートバー 選手!
▼侍ジャパン試合速報https://t.co/GKopEqeVfS#侍ジャパン #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/cLlF7PKBqj
“We got six games left as brothers, and as family,” he said. “Last night, first game nerves are over with. Today we play loose and we play free.”
He then thanked fans after the game in Japanese to raucous cheers in the Tokyo Dome.
Lars Nootbaar has the fans fired up 🔥
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2023
Japan is 2-0 at the World Baseball Classic 🇯🇵
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/n2vMGkSjmw
His words translated to “I love Japan. Thank you everyone.”
Why is Lars Nootbaar playing for Japan?
Nootbaar is the first ever American-born player to play for Japan.
He is Japanese on his mother’s side, and he elected to represent that in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
Lars Nootbaar will realize a family dream this week at the #WorldBaseballClassic.
— MLB Players Media (@MLBPlayersMedia) March 7, 2023
The @Cardinals outfielder will suit up for Team Japan. 🇯🇵@WBCBaseball | @samuraijapan_pr pic.twitter.com/W0IX2qcOw4
How did Lars Nootbaar prepare for the World Baseball Classic?
Nootbaar is the first American-born player to play for Samurai Japan, but this is something he’s wanted for a long time.
Even as a child, Nootbaar said he wanted to represent Japan.
In an interview, Nootbaar also detailed how Ohtani’s interpreter Ippei Mizuhara got him to play for Japan.
Nootbaar said ahead of the WBC he was practicing the language and the Japanese national anthem, which cameras have seen him singing ahead of games.
“I am going to try (to learn) a little bit (of Japanese),” Nootbaar said at the end of January, per The Japan Times. “Obviously, it’s going to be tough to learn a language in a month. I’m going to try my best. My mom is singing the Japanese national anthem in the house. I’m repeating it. We’re just doing the little stuff like that.”
What Lars Nootbaar’s teammates think of him playing for Japan
Nootbaar’s Cardinals teammates spoke on Nootbaar’s immediate fame in Japan during USA’s press before Pool C begins Saturday.
FAGAN: Japan’s pepper-grinder celebration, explained
“It looks like they love him,” said Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado of Nootbaar. “They should. He plays hard. He plays really hard. But he’s really proud to represent his Japanese heritage. And he’s taking it super serious. And I saw a video of him screaming at the fans and they screamed back at him so you know he’s feeling it right now and you’ve got to give him credit. They’re a good team.”
Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright added on.
“We’re having so much fun watching Lars, and (South Korea second baseman Tommy Edman) too,” he said. “And our guys who have been on TV so far. But Lars is an exciting player. He’s always the guy trying to pump the crowd up and pump our fanbase up and pump the team up.”
Wainwright also talked about how big players like Nootbaar are for the game of baseball.
“We’re just putting baseball on the map in a lot of different countries,” he said. “And Lars is doing that in Japan right now. He’s representing himself and their country of Japan really well. He’s representing (the Cardinals) and the game of baseball.”
Japan, of course, doesn’t need baseball put anywhere on its map. But Nootbaar’s status could well draw in some increased Cardinals viewership from overseas next year. Angels hats are peppered all throughout the Tokyo Dome during these games. Don’t be surprised to see Cardinals hats crop up throughout the quarterfinals, which will also be played in Tokyo.
Why is Lars Nootbaar called Tacchan?
When Nootbaar was welcome to Samurai Japan, members of the team greeted him in shirts that read “Tacchan.”
MORE: Shohei Ohtani puts on a show in WBC debut, remains perfect baseball weapon
Nootbaar’s middle name is Tatsuji, so Tacchan is a play off of that. The “-chan” suffix is one of affection in this derivation of Nootbaar’s middle name.
According to The Japan News, Nootbaar loved the gesture.
Lars Nootbaar and Shohei Ohtani
One of the most beloved pairings of teammates of the early World Baseball Classic has been Nootbaar and Ohtani.
It was evident they were getting along when Ohtani “borrowed” Nootbaar’s pepper grinder celebration. But the two are, in a word, hilarious together.
#大谷翔平 #ヌートバー #Nootbaar #ohtani #Nootani #shohei the catch and the reaction both nice pic.twitter.com/I2fFb17k7l
— 3M (@ptrpr_m) March 10, 2023
Sandy where you at
— 大谷翔平 ¹⁶⚾ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁶ (@shoheisaveus) March 10, 2023
Ohtani and Nootbaar are BFFS now pic.twitter.com/bLIzSRqKYM
A popular video shows Samurai Japan's two most famous major leaguers, Ohtani and Nootbaar, delivering an "American reaction" to today's #WBC2023 game. This video was posted a little over and hour ago and already has nearly 1 million views. pic.twitter.com/nP7VDrlAzW
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) March 10, 2023
Shohei and Lars are so similar they are meant to be 😭😂
— 大谷翔平 ¹⁶⚾ Ohtani Shohei ¹⁶ (@shoheisaveus) March 4, 2023
pic.twitter.com/jWDeAR8kN5
Japan has something truly special with its team. Nootbaar and Ohtani, of course, already had MLB in common. But not only has Samurai Japan embraced him, the entire country seemingly has. He’s been a key part of Japan’s team at the top of the order and in the outfield, and Japan – one of the favorites entering this year’s World Baseball Classic – is living up to its billing.