Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata says he's stepping down after elimination in WBC

TOKYO (AP) — National team baseball manager Hirokazu Ibata has said he will step down following Japan's loss to Venezuela 8-5 in Miami in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic.

The newspaper Sports Hochi reported Ibata saying it was his “intention to resign.”

Japan is the defending champion and had won the event three times. It marked Japan's first failure to reach the WBC semifinals despite a team stacked with major league talent including Shohei Ohtani.

“The result is everything,” Sports Hochi reported Ibata saying. “Although we lost this time, I hope Japan will grow stronger and win next time."

Japan was 4-0 in play in Tokyo in Pool C — victories over Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic — before being eliminated by Venezuela in the loss in Miami.

The MLB players on the Japan team included: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Seiya Suzuki, Yusei Kikuchi, Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto and Tomoyuki Sugano.

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