Samurai Japan announces Roster for Games vs Europe

One day before the players for the European selection get announced, the roster for Samurai Japan got released on Monday. 26 players are on the team of manager Hiroki Kokubo. The world number one will face Team “Europe” in a Global Baseball Matchup on March 10 and 11 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

All 12 teams of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) are represented on the squad. Hiroshima Carp and the Softbank Hawks each have four members. 19 of the 26 players faced a Major League Baseball All-Star team headed by Robinson Cano in an exhibition series last November.

The roster includes Ryosuke Kikuchi, Tetsudo Yamada and Yohei Oshima, which finished in the top four for the batting title in the Central League. While Pacific League batting champion Yoshio Itoi is missing, Ginji Akaminai and Yuki Yanagita are on the team, providing a strong offense. Highly touted prospect Shintaro Fujinami leads the pitching staff, which misses Kenta Maeda, Chihiro Kaneko and Shohei Otani.

Still, even though some players are missing on the team, Samurai Japan is fielding a strong squad and is going to be highly favored in the two games against Europe.

Roster Samurai Japan:
Pitchers: Shintaro Fujinami (Hanshin Tigers), Shoichi Ino (Yokohama Bay Stars), Kazuhisa Makita (Seibu Lions), Katsuki Matayoshi (Chunichi Dragons), Takahiro Matsuba (Orix Buffaloes), Yuki Matsui (Rakuten Eagles), Yuji Nishino (Chiba Lotte Mariners), Daichi Osera (Hiroshima Carp), Hirokazu Sawamura (Yomiuri Giants), Shota Takeda (Softbank Hawks)

Catchers: Tsubasa Aizawa (Hiroshima Carp), Hikaru Ito (Orix Buffaloes), Seiji Kobayashi (Yomiuri Giants), Motohiro Shima (Rakuten Eagles)

Infielders: Ginji Akaminai (Rakuten Eagles), Kenta Imamiya (Softbank Hawks), Ryosuke Kikuchi (Hiroshima Carp), Nobuhiro Matsuda (Softbank Hawks), Sho Nakata (Nippon Ham Fighters), Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants),Tetsuto Yamada (Yakult Swallows)

Outfielders: Yoshihiro Maru (Hiroshima Carp), Yohei Oshima (Chunichi Dragons), Yuhei Takai (Yakult Swallows), Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Yokohama Bay Stars), Yuki Yanagita (Softbank Hawks)

Coaching Staff: Hiroki Kokubo (manager), Toshihisa Nishi, Arihito Muramatsu, Kenichi Wakatabe, Atsunori Inaba, Akihiro Yano