Ichiro will play with Japan at World Baseball Classic

Ichiro Suzuki has answered his country’s call.

The Seattle Mariners’ All-Star right fielder will play for Japan in the inaugural World Baseball Classic next March, said a person within Major League Baseball who requested anonymity because an official announcement had not been made.

The most famous athlete in Japan today has accepted an invitation from the country’s most famous athlete of yesteryear. Sadaharu Oh, the Japanese League home run king, will coach the national team in the March tournament involving international players and major league players competing for their home countries.

Japan will be home for the first round of the tournament, March 3-5 inside the Tokyo Dome.

A Mariners spokesman said Thursday that logistical details of whether Ichiro could work early spring training games in Arizona into his schedule were still being worked out.

Baseball plans to announce rosters for competing teams Monday during the annual winter meetings.

It was also reported that Mariners pitcher Joel Pineiro will play for Puerto Rico’s WBC team.

“I was dreaming of playing in a situation like this and now I am going to have that opportunity,” said Pineiro, who was 7-11 last season with a 5.62 ERA.

Organizers have yet to decide if they will limit the number of pitches to prevent injury.

“I think the limit should be from 80 to 85 pitches or five innings, in order to give starting pitchers an opportunity to win games,” Pineiro said.

Ichiro’s acceptance was first reported in Thursday editions of The Seattle Times.

A common belief within baseball is that players will remain with their national teams either until the tournament’s conclusion or their team’s elimination.

The World Baseball Classic ends March 20. The Mariners have 12 spring training games after that through April 1.