Senga Kodai, who will wear the New York Mets uniform through ‘opt-out’ this winter, has decided not to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) after much consideration.
Japan’s ‘Tokyo Sports’ reported on the 28th (Korean time), “Senga Kodai, who transferred from the Softbank Hawks to the New York Mets through overseas FA (free agent) qualifications, will not be participating in the WBC to be held in March.”
Senga wore a Softbank uniform through the 2010 training player draft. And after changing his position as a starter, he won double-digit victories for 7 consecutive years, participating in 224 games over 11 seasons in Japan, recording 87 wins, 44 losses, 20 holds, 1 save, and an ERA of 2.59.
Senga, which has been seeking to enter the major leagues for a long time, included an ‘opt-out’ clause in the process of signing an extension contract with Softbank in 2022, and knocked on the door of the big leagues through this. And last year, he made his dream come true by signing a five-year, $75 million (approximately 92.6 billion won) deal with the Gyeol-ul Mets.
Head coach Hideki Kuriyama, who leads the Japanese national team, said, “Players who transferred to the major leagues this winter will not be selected for the national team.” International competition performance is important, but considering the position of an individual player, it is because they know that the performance in the first year of entering the big leagues is more important.
Nevertheless, Sengawa Yoshida Masataka (Boston Red Sox) always hoped to play in the WBC. Coach Kuriyama couldn’t break the player’s stubbornness, and Yoshida decided to compete in the WBC. Senga also discussed participating in the WBC as a substitute if the Japanese national team advances to the semifinals through a conversation with coach Kuriyama. However, Senga is expected not to wear the national team uniform.
‘Tokyo Sports’ said, “Samurai Japan (the name of the Japanese national team) has made an important decision.” “Coach Senga and Kuriyama have discussed it several times, and Senga has always hoped to participate in the WBC. However, they decided not to call Senga during the tournament. The final decision has been made. Senga has already informed director Kuriyama of his intention not to attend.” 메이저놀이터
The media said, “Coach Kuriyama, who hates taking away the future of players due to injuries more than anyone else, ran the simulation until the end and repeatedly worried about risks.” It was a judgment made out of concern that it would affect the performance after the opening.”
Meanwhile, Senga, who failed to qualify for the WBC, will focus on his major league debut and will be in spring training.
