"I'm Really Frustrated": Ohtani Bites His Lip as the Genius Tastes His First Real Failure and a Burning Desire to Win

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[Financial News] He has hardly tasted failure in recent years. He won the World Series two years in a row. Three years ago, he lifted the World Baseball Classic (WBC) trophy. He also claimed back-to-back MVP awards. His career has been so unreal that, if it were a comic book, people might complain it was over the top. But this WBC was different.
Even for a comic-book hero like Ohtani, there was no perfectly scripted happy ending.
The hero who launched a towering game-tying shot in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning had to walk off in the ninth with a routine flyout, then watch his national team pack its bags.
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Tournament favorite Samurai Japan was stunned by Venezuela, the dark horse from Latin America, suffering a shocking upset as they were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time in history.
On March 15 (Korea time) at LoanDepot Park in Miami, State of Florida, Venezuela scripted a thrilling comeback, defeating Japan 8–5 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 WBC.
No one swallowed the disappointment more deeply than Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In the 2023 final, he took the mound as the last pitcher, struck out Mike Trout, and roared in triumph. Three years later, in a twist of fate, he became the final batter who sealed his team’s quarterfinal exit.
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After the stunning defeat, Ohtani struggled to shake off the shock.
Speaking to Japanese media, he lowered his head and said, "I'm really frustrated. In the end, it felt like we were overpowered by them." He added, "I don't think we were outmatched across the board. There were plenty of elements that could have led us to a win, which makes this loss all the more disappointing," he said, biting his lip again. Even so, he never lost the composure of an ace. "The younger players will grow and come back stronger. I told my teammates, 'Let's meet again,'" he said, vowing to return for redemption.
The report card for manager Hirokazu Ibata, the man in charge, is equally painful. After losing to Taiwan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 in 2024 and surrendering the title, he now bears the stigma of overseeing the first team in Japanese baseball history to miss the WBC semifinals.
Manager Ibata admitted, "The reality is that we lost. As other countries continue to get stronger, Japan must grow even more," calling for deep reflection on both the pitching and hitting sides. In doing so, he effectively acknowledged that even Japan, the traditional powerhouse of Asian baseball, is no longer safe in the face of the explosive growth of the global game.
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While Japan wept, Venezuela threw a party. Omar Lopez, who earned his country’s first-ever win in a major international tournament against a full-strength Japanese squad featuring professional players, proudly declared, "Venezuela has always been a world-class powerhouse."
With this victory, Venezuela not only celebrated a place in the semifinals but also claimed a massive prize: a direct berth to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In this WBC, Olympic spots are awarded to the top two teams from the Americas region excluding the United States of America (U.S.). As the four semifinalists from the Americas narrowed to the U.S., Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, Venezuela automatically secured its ticket to LA.
For Venezuela, it was a perfect night in Miami, one in which they truly gained everything.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter