![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/03/22/ap23081107578916_wide-9d423454986ed095ed81f751de602203e45d4025-s1400-c100.jpg)
Shohei Ohtani fans his Angels teammate as Japan tops U.S. 3-2 for baseball title : NPR
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/03/a0dbd-16784530372357-1920.jpg)
Top 5 plays by Lars Nootbaar as he electrifies the crowd with an incredible catch for Team Japan
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/03/84b42-16794633269946-1920.jpg)
Japan teammate and Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar bows down to Shohei Ohtani's generational brilliance
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/ba/8ba49abc-0d78-5d47-836a-5561cfecb3cc/641b63ed11cf4.preview.png)
Lars Nootbaar 'excited' for future battles against Shohei Ohtani: Cardinals Extra
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://www.newsday.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3ANTE3M2E5YzYtYjVhOS00%3ANTYxYmQ1%2Fwbc-baseball-japan.jpeg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Shohei Ohtani's Japan teammates, like Lars Nootbaar, are also fans - Newsday
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3968,h_2232,x_0,y_170/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/theplayertribune/01h03e5527xmkhp07cja.jpg)
Can You Believe This Right Now? by Lars Nootbaar
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/dnews.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/70/970853f1-824a-51fc-9e6d-ff4cdbc8907f/641aab0b8166c.image.jpg?resize=749%2C500)
Ohtani fans teammate Trout, Japan tops U.S. for WBC championship, Sports
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/t_16x9/t_w1024/mlb/ofj8engxc2hcghwfzflr)
Lars Nootbaar makes history with Team Japan
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9JBpZ_LUTsc/maxresdefault.jpg)
Lars Nootbaar stars for Japan, could break out for Cardinals
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://a57.foxsports.com/statics.foxsports.com/www.foxsports.com/content/uploads/2023/03/1408/814/03.21.23_Shohei-Ohtani-16x9-copy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Shohei Ohtani's 'unicorn' essence on full display in WBC
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5b0869bb-85e0-403b-bc00-3da7d72cd727_1300x1660.jpeg)
Sweep in St. Louis vs. Nootbaar
![Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, fast friends playing for Japan in](https://9b16f79ca967fd0708d1-2713572fef44aa49ec323e813b06d2d9.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/1140x_a10-7_cTC/aptopix-wbc-baseball-us-japan-1679493853.jpg)
Joe Starkey: Tell me again why Shohei Ohtani isn't the greatest baseball player of all time