Sawt Falasteen - Japan fans pepper US-born Nootbaar with love at World Baseball Classic

The 25-year-old outfielder -- the first player born outside Japan to represent the country at the tournament -- mimics twisting a pepper mill after each hit to show he wants to "grind out" a win for his team.

The celebration has become a smash hit during Japan's games in Tokyo, with Nootbaar's team-mates jumping on the bandwagon and fans bringing pepper grinders to the stadium.

Nootbaar was born and raised in California, and speaks little Japanese, but he qualifies to play for Japan through his mother Kumiko.

Underlining how Japanese fans have taken him to their hearts, one Tokyo ramen restaurant has been selling "Nootbaar noodles", while a cooking utensil shop said sales of pepper mills had gone up by 15 percent.

Only superstar Shohei Ohtani got louder cheers as Japan won five games out of five to reach the semi-finals in Miami.

"I hear that pepper grinders around the country, the sales have gone up quite a bit this past week," Nootbaar, who visited Japan often as a child, said before their 9-3 quarter-final win over Italy on Thursday.

"The fans have embraced me, the team has embraced me, which has been so great for me to be able to be myself. I didn't really expect it to turn out this way."

Nootbaar made his debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball in 2021 but he was almost unknown in Japan before the World Baseball Classic.

He became a fan of the Japan team when players from the national youth side -- including future New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka -- stayed with his family during a trip to California when he was nine years old.

He said it was "a dream come true" to represent Japan and he has fully repaid manager Hideki Kuriyama's faith with a series of feisty performances.

- Dream come true -

Nootbaar thrilled the Tokyo crowd with his hard-running, never-say-die attitude, getting valuable hits, stealing bases and launching himself to make spectacular catches.

The crowd serenaded him with cries of "Noooot!" every time he stepped up to bat, and he said it was "easy to play hard with the fans because they love the game".

"It's something I've dreamed of since I was a little kid, playing in front of these big crowds, passionate crowds in important games," he said.

Japanese TV shows have already discussed the sense of loss fans will feel now that Nootbaar and his team-mates have left for Miami to face either Puerto Rico or Mexico in the semi-finals.

Japanese companies will almost certainly be lining up to offer Nootbaar endorsement deals and enterprising firms have started cashing in on his popularity.

"We actually had some of the young guys go buy a pepper grinder, so we'll probably have one in the dug-out today," Nootbaar said before the quarter-final.

"It's been really cool to see the fans and the team enjoy that."

Japan have a proud record in the World Baseball Classic and are looking to win the title for a record third time.

Nootbaar said it was "disappointing" to be leaving Tokyo but he hopes the love affair can continue.

"I'm sure when we make it to Miami, there will be a lot of fans there too," he said.

"It won't be the same but I'm hopeful that sometime I can come back and play in front of these fans.

"It's been a great experience."

A.AbuSaada--SF-PST