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Baseball: Iguchi decides to skip World Baseball Classic+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)FUKUOKA, Jan. 7_(Kyodo) _ Chicago White Sox infielder Tadahito Iguchi said Saturday he has declined to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March, citing his position on the major league club. "Unfortunately, I've decided to withdraw from the squad. I informed manager Sadaharu Oh of my decision by fax yesterday," Iguchi said in Okinawa Prefecture, where he is in training. "This is the second year of my two-year contract with the White Sox. The team expects more from me than in the first year, so I would have to be in spring training," he said. Iguchi's withdrawal came after New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui announced his decision last week to focus on helping the Yankees win the World Series, rather than playing in the inaugural 16-nation tournament shortly before the regular season begins. Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and Texas Rangers reliever Akinori Otsuka are still on Japan's roster. Japan will face China, Taiwan and South Korea at Tokyo Dome on March 3-5 in the first round of the WBC. The top two teams will advance to the second round to be played in the United States. |