MLB Twitter reacts to Lars Nootbaar hyping up Team Japan in pregame speech: "Hard not to get fired up watching this"

Lars Nootbaar has taken the world by storm with the way he is playing for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. He's batting .500 for the tournament with four runs and has been a big help, as Japan are 2-0 so far, beating China and Korea.

Nootbaar is doing it with the glove as well. He made a stellar defensive play in the outfield against Korea, going to a full extension to make the catch. He even fired up the team by giving a pregame speech before the game.

You can see how locked in Team Japan is when Lars Nootbaar talks. He has certainly made an impression on them. You have to mean a great deal to the club to be the guy giving the pregame speech.

There's so much history with this team, it has to be an honor to give a pregame speech. Japan is the only team to have multiple World Baseball Classic titles under its belt.

Baseball fans think this is an awesome moment. Nootbaar has gained a ton of fans so far in this tournament.

St. Louis Cardinals fans can't wait to see him roam the outfielder daily for them. Don't be surprised if Nootbaar has a breakout year this season with the way he's playing in the WBC.

Lars Nootbaar and Team Japan are looking dominant

Team Japan is off to a 2-0 start in the World Baseball Classic. They beat China 8-1 in the opener off the arm and bat of Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani threw four shutout innings, only giving up one hit and striking out five batters. He also went 2-4 at the plate, tallying two RBIs and two walks. It was awesome to see Ohtani thriving at the Tokyo Dome.

They had a tougher time in their second game. They beat Korea by a score of 13-4. South Korea jumped out on Japan in the third inning, putting up three runs. Japan answered back in the bottom of the inning, putting up four runs, and never looked back. The game ended 13-4, with Lars Nootbaar having a great game, going 2-4 with an RBI.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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