Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels landed in the Gateway to the West to start a three-game series with the last-place St. Louis Cardinals. So that means that Ohtani got to reunite with his World Baseball Classic teammate on the other side.
Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar, who also starred for Team Japan in the WBC, reunited at Busch Stadium on a sunny Tuesday night. Nootbaar and Ohtani were happy to share a handshake and an embrace in the outfield.
“Pepper Grinder [handshake emoji] ShoTime,” the Cardinals’ team account tweeted.
Pepper Grinder 🤝 ShoTime pic.twitter.com/Dn0dKhKr34
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 2, 2023
The superstar Ohtani quickly went viral on Tuesday night as photos of him and Nootbaar were shared all over Twitter.
Shohei Ohtani catching up with his Team Japan teammate Lars Nootbar pic.twitter.com/rV79Tw2Exs
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 2, 2023
Lars Nootbaar and Shohei Ohtani reunited!
(via @Cardinals) pic.twitter.com/ihVtlXLCOu
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 2, 2023
Shohei Ohtani | Lars Nootbaar
World champions reunited. 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/3RBAeqCxfM
— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) May 2, 2023
Shohei Ohtani and Lars Nootbaar reunite in St. Louis 🥹
(📸: @Cardinals) pic.twitter.com/J0tbL6CMFB
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 2, 2023
Later, the media interviewed Nootbaar on reuniting with Ohtani. The Cardinals outfielder claimed he tried to get together with Shohei after he got into town yesterday. But according to Nootbaar, “He said he was sleeping.”
Lars Nootbaar and Shohei Ohtani will reunite at Busch Stadium this series for the first time since Team Japan's WBC title.
LN: "I asked him if he wanted to go eat yesterday, he said he was sleeping."
Noot and Nolan Arenado agreed, his WBC BP was impressive. #STLCards #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/iCcpJbU6nk
— Joey Schneider (@joeyschneider95) May 2, 2023
Shohei Ohtani remains one of the best athletes on Earth. He is off to yet another awesome start at the plate and on the mound. Ohtani is scheduled to pitch against Nootbaar and the Cardinals this week. He is the probable starter in Wednesday’s matchup for the Halos at Busch Stadium. Both the Angels and Cardinals are looking to gather up some momentum, the latter especially after an awful start to the year. But Shohei and the Angels are hoping to keep that pressure applied.
