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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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Team Czechia has won all of one game in the last two World Baseball Classic tournaments, but one of its players has still proven to be one of the event's biggest stars.
Right-handed pitcher Ondřej Satoria went viral three years ago when he struck out Team Japan and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani on a 72-mph changeup. While that was the most attention-grabbing moment, he also punched out feared sluggers Kensuke Kondoh, Munetaka Murakami, and Lars Nootbaar in the same outing.
Three years later, Satoria faced the Japanese lineup again on Tuesday, albeit without Ohtani in the lineup. He showed out once again, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings against the Pool D winners and leaving the mound to a standing ovation from the Tokyo Dome crowd.
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Perhaps it was fitting, then, that the 29-year-old Satoria, who works as an electrician at home in Ostrava, declared on Tuesday that his time pitching in the WBC had come to an end. Czechia was eliminated from the competition after its 0-4 showing in pool play.
“I think it’s right, because I got famous here three years ago, and it totally makes sense to me to end it here on probably -- for us -- the biggest international stage where we can play,” Satoria said, per MLB.com. “I will definitely enjoy every moment that I can wear our jersey.”
Clips of Satoria striking out Ohtani racked up millions of views three years ago, and this time around, a single Jomboy Media clip of the righty leaving to a standing ovation generated over 550,000 impressions on X in only seven hours.
Satoria also told reporters after the game that he gets stopped for pictures and autographs whenever he walks around Tokyo these days.
“It’s like a reward for my whole life playing baseball because nobody knows me in Czechia," Satoria said, per MLB.com. "I’m just a regular dude from Ostrava, but here they respect me and have me sign balls. It’s really nice to be back here.”
While Satoria won't have a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame one day, it's been awfully cool for global fans to see a player without major league talent put his stamp on the game at the WBC.
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