World Baseball Classic fans wowed by outfielder Lars Nootbaar’s signature on-base celebration becoming a sensation in Japan: "Most Noot thing ever"

World Baseball Classic fans have their first cult hero of this year's tournament: St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar. Nootbaar, who is playing for Team Japan this year, has had his "Grind the Pepper" on-base celebration delightfully performed by a team of Japanese youth ballplayers.

After video of the young players made it to Japanese television, it quickly became an international sensation.

Nootbaar, a native of El Segundo, California, is playing for Japan in the World Baseball Classic as his team looks for its third tournament title.

While he is an American citizen, Nootbaar qualifies to play for Japan as he has a Japanese mother. He will be the first player to suit up for Japan in the WBC who has qualified for the team because of his ancestry rather than being a Japanese native.

But none of those officialdoms matter much to these Japanese children, nor does it to anyone around the world taking delight in the video.

The third-year Cardinals player has carved out a starting role in right field after playing 166 total games over his first two major league seasons. Nootbaar has hit just .231 through his first two major league seasons.

However, the 25-year-old found some added pop in his bat in 2022, hitting 14 home runs in 108 games after hitting five in 58 games in 2021. He's already developed quite a following in St. Louis due to his hard-nosed play, and now his reach has stretched far beyond the American Midwest.

Nootbar's following seems to be bringing Tokyo and St. Louis ever closer together. This begs the question: Do Cardinals fans root for Japan in the WBC? Mind you, superstar corner infielders Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado will be manning first and third base, respectively, for Team USA.

One thing is for certain, the World Baseball Classic does seem to be bringing the planet a little closer together — if at least for a little while.

Team Japan among World Baseball Classic favorites

Outfielder Lars Nootbaar #23 of Japan is introduced prior to the World Baseball Classic exhibition game

Japan is among the favorites in this year's World Baseball Classic. Japan won the first two WBC Tournaments in 2006 and 2009, and remains the only two-time champion. Japan also finished third in 2013 and 2017.

In addition to Nootbaar, Japan also features Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish and outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who was signed by the Boston Red Sox in December.