Nutobar, who couldn’t raise his hands in the air, showed a new “American Dream” at the WBC

At the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which decides the world’s top baseball team, the Japanese national team beat the U.S. team 3-2 to reach the top of the standings for the first time in 14 years. Lars Nutber, who qualified for the WBC because his mother was Japanese and started all seven games as the No. 1 pitcher, was lifted up after the games by manager Hideki Kuriyama, Yu Darvish, and Shohei Otani. However, perhaps because he was unfamiliar with the game, Nutobar could not raise both hands, so he grabbed the hands of the players and flew in the air, his awkwardness drawing laughter from those around him.

I can’t put it into words,” he said. I am honored and grateful to be on the team. I made the best decision of my life.”

After the game, Nutber was interviewed on the field alongside his father, Charlie, and mother, Kumiko. The game was tied 1-1 in the second inning when Nutobar grounded out to first base.

Nutobar, who had been promoted to the majors in the ’21 season and had established himself as the Cardinals’ mainstay in the outfield, was selected for the national team because of his experience as a minor leaguer in the ’20 season, when the COVID-19 crisis prevented him from playing in the games themselves and he had to work hard from the morning. The previous year, when he was a minor leaguer, Nutobar had to work from morning till night because of the Corona disaster.

Along with his work, Nutber went to a baseball-specific training facility called “Driveline” in Seattle and Arizona to improve his level as a baseball player. The facility is designed to improve the movements of individual players based on movement analysis in order to help them perform better. Not only do many Major League Baseball players go there, but Shohei Otani, Shota Imanaga, and Shintaro Fujinami are also said to go there in their off-days. The video of Nutobar’s swing is used at the top of the “Driveline” website.

In the case of hitters, based on the players’ swings, the angle of the bat that easily produces home runs and hits and the swing that produces them are studied individually, and the players train individually to acquire these movements. In an article titled ” CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE,” the article states that “Nutever, who came in 2020, was able to increase his swing speed by 4 mph and earn his debut in the majors in 2021,” and next to the article is a photo of Nutever taken in July ’21, shortly after he was promoted to the majors. Next to the article was a video of Nutever’s swing taken in July 2009, shortly after he was promoted to the major leagues.

A sports reporter with experience in the U.S. revealed, “Nutber has been a member of DeNA since this season.

Trevor Bauer, who will be joining DeNA this season, is a solid major leaguer with double-digit wins in the majors five years in a row, and he is one of the players who has been going to this facility. Like Otani, there were many pitchers who came to this facility, but none of the fielders were that famous.
In other words, Nutobar is introduced as the most promising player who “had been an unknown player in the minors, but by learning the methods of this facility, he suddenly grew up to be an active player in the major leagues. With Nutobar as the top Japanese representative who has now become the world’s number one, this video may naturally serve as an appealing material for the facility.

Nutobar was awarded the title of “World’s Best” as a representative of Japan. If his success continues after the start of the major league season, he may become a target for many major leaguers.