Oct 02 (Japan Times) - Yomiuri Giants captain Hayato Sakamoto was among the 28 players named Tuesday to the Japan national team for the upcoming Premier12, an international baseball event that doubles as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Sakamoto and four Giants teammates headline the roster for the Nov. 2-17 competition to be held in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea, while an additional five players, including pitcher Kodai Senga, were selected from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Hawks infielder Nobuhiro Matsuda, 36, is the oldest player named to Atsunori Inaba’s team. The team has three catchers — Takuya Kai (SoftBank), Tsubasa Aizawa (Hiroshima Carp) and Seiji Kobayashi (Yomiuri Giants).
Japan will play warmup games against Canada, another competing nation, in Okinawa on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to prepare for the 32-game tournament in which two of six spots in the 2020 Tokyo
