Shohei Ohtani told his Japan teammates to 'stop admiring' Team USA in a rousing pregame speech

The World Baseball Classic might not hold the same level of prestige that the World Series does to the general public, but this tournament definitely matters to the players.

We’ve seen how players from all over have reacted to playing in the World Baseball Classic, and Shohei Ohtani is clearly no different. On Tuesday, ahead of Japan’s tilt against the United States in the World Baseball Classic final, Ohtani had a message for his teammates and countrymen.

In a rousing pregame speech to his Japan teammates, Ohtani told his peers to “stop admiring” the United States, because if they want to surpass them, they have to put those feelings away and just win.

Ohtani’s pregame speech:

“Let’s stop admiring them. … If you admire them, you can’t surpass them. We came here to surpass them, to reach the top. For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning.” https://t.co/Y12PQ6EBHL

— Dylan Hernández (@dylanohernandez) March 21, 2023

Quite an inspiring pep talk! It’s awesome to see the respect and admiration both teams have for one another at the end of an incredible tournament.