Plenty has been said and written about Team USA’s persistent “tributes to the military” throughout the World Baseball Classic. While that isn’t the point I want to focus on now, there are two players on the team with an actual, legitimate connection to the armed forces.

Paul Skenes originally enrolled at the Air Force Academy hoping to fly fighter jets. A dual-threat pitcher and catcher, Skenes emerged as a star on the baseball field and eventually transferred to LSU for his junior season (had he remained at the Academy, he would have needed to commit to the Air Force first, and starting a pro career would have needed to wait). The Pirates selected him with the 1st-overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Griffin Jax also joined the Falcons baseball team after enrolling at the Academy. Trained as a paratrooper, Jax eventually settled into a role as an acquisitions officer working primarily with “civilian contractors like SpaceX and Boeing”, according to a 2021 story from MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park.

Jax pitched well enough for the Falcons for the Twins to use a 3rd round pick to select him in 2016, the highest-drafted player to ever come out of the Academy. The Twins had done their homework, as Park notes, and were prepared to accommodate Jax finishing his senior season at the Academy. He made a handful of minor league appearances that summer, before returning to campus for the 2017 season. The belief was that he’d be able to join the Air Force Reserves upon graduation, rather than serving two years of active duty.

Policy changes after the 2017 election ultimately changed those plans. Jax was required to serve two years of active duty, which he did largely from a base in Cape Canaveral, Florida, while also splitting his time with the Twins. Due to Air Force rules, Jax actually played two seasons in the minors for the Twins without pay, too. Then, things changed again in April 2018 with news that baseball would return to the Olympics. Jax was selected to the US training/qualifying roster, which allowed him to serve his active duty while training to play for his country. By the Fall of 2019, his commitment was complete. When he made his debut in 2021, he became the first Air Force graduate to reach the big leagues.

Skenes and Jax have both had excellent careers on the mound. Both were solid additions to the Team USA roster for the WBC. Both appear to also be good people.

The Falcons happened to be in Texas during the WBC for a series against Baylor University. Skenes and Jax hosted the entire team in Houston for the USA vs. Mexico game during pool play. The group was shown on the broadcast at one point, all wearing their Air Force jerseys.

Skenes started the game with 4.0 shutout innings, striking out seven, while allowing just one hit and one walk. Jax finished the 8th inning, getting both batters he faced out.

A pair of stars in Japan’s NPB and from the Samurai Japan team in the WBC are expected to be made available to MLB teams via the posting system after the 2026 season, according to a report from ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.

Right-hander Hiromi Itoh has spent the last five seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters, with an overall record of 55-41 with a 2.87 ERA over 828.0 IP. Itoh is the reigning Sawamura Award winner in the NPB (roughly their equivalent to the Cy Young Award, but it is only issued to one player (instead of one from each league) and isn’t guaranteed to be awarded annually (players must meet certain statistical criteria to qualify)).

Castillo compares Itoh to Sonny Gray in part because of his size (Itoh stands 5’9”, while Gray is 5’10”), but also because of his varied arsenal of pitches. Tatsuya Imai should also be noted here, especially considering he just came over from Japan this offseason (and stands 5’11”). Itoh and Imai share comparable strikeout rates in Japan — Itoh has 755 SO in 836.0 IP, or 8.1 K/9, while Imai has 1045 SO in 1077.2 IP, or 8.7 K/9. The 27-year-old Imai (he’ll be 28 in May) signed a three-year, $54 million deal (with an opt-out after the first season) with the Astros this winter.

Third baseman and corner outfielder Teruaki Sato has played for the Hanshin Tigers for the last five seasons, slashing .263/.326/.493 with 145 2B, 22 3B, 124 HR, and 34 SB while going to four NPB All-Star Games and collecting a Gold Glove at third base. Sato won the Central League MVP Award this past season, hitting .277/.345/.579 with 34 2B, 40 HR, and 102 RBI. Castillo compared him to Ryan O’Hearn (though, without any explanation). Sato’s ceiling feels higher than that.

Carlos Beltrán will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in late July. The outfielder will also reportedly have his No. 15 retired by the New York Mets at some point this summer. The club has not announced a date for those ceremonies.

Beltrán spent 20 years in the majors, with seven of them coming with the Mets. Beltrán was a .280/.369/.500 (129 OPS+) hitter during his Mets tenure, with 208 2B, 149 HR, 559 RBI, and 100 SB. He went to five All-Star Games, won three Gold Glove Awards, and a pair of Silver Sluggers during his time in Queens.

Signed by the Montreal Expos as an undrafted free agent in 1987, Joe Siddall appeared in 73 games over parts of four seasons in the majors, hitting .169/.244/.225 (25 OPS+) in 158 PA with six XBH (5 2B, 1 HR). The Ontario, Canada, native moved into broadcasting once his playing career concluded, first working on the Blue Jays’ radio broadcasts before taking over for Gregg Zaun on Sportsnet’s “Blue Jays Central” pregame studio show.

Siddall has frequently appeared on the Blue Jays’ broadcasts in recent seasons, serving as a backup for Buck Martinez. Siddall has now been named as Martinez’s replacement, with the legendary play-by-play man announcing his retirement just before the start of spring training.

Hirokazu Ibata announced his intent to step down as Samurai Japan’s manager when speaking with members of the Japanese media on Saturday night following Japan’s 8-5 loss to Venezuela. Ibata was named the manager of Team Japan in October 2023. The team has since lost the Premier12 final to Taiwan, and this is the first time in six WBC tournaments that Japan has been eliminated before the semifinals.