WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - UNITED STATES VS BRAZIL

March 6, 2026

Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto

Yan Gomes

Daikin Park

Team Brazil

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Yan, what were your memories of the qualifiers for the 2013 tournament? And do you have any regrets about not actually playing in the actual tournament?

YAN GOMES: Memories, a lot of screaming and crying. It was a huge moment for Brazil baseball in general. Him and I were both on that team. We have a couple on the coaching staff that were here. It was a pivotal moment in Brazilian baseball.

Do I have any regret? None at all. It was a career decision. The hardest thing was sending a text out to them saying, hey, guys I have to think about my career now. And they completely understood. It is great to come back around and be here again.

Q. With all of the young players ya'll have, kind of what is it like to be a little bit of a mentor to them, especially going into an environment like this in a ballpark like this?

YAN GOMES: It is an exciting time. You have to take that in. This is not something that you get to do every day. We got to come together in Brazil and play a lot of, train a lot and get really close to each other. So a lot of them are going to get this experience together. It is going to be a great moment.

On the mentorship part, it's just try to tell them, it is still 60 feet. They've got to throw you the ball in the strike zone. You still got to run 90 feet and turn left if you are good. Other than that, it is the same game. You have to get three outs.

What changes? Obviously the atmosphere and the perspective of what are you going to take from this game. It is going to be an insane experience for these guys. I hope they get to enjoy it.

Q. What will it mean to hear your anthem blare through these speakers and just the fact that Brazil is here playing in this tournament against Team USA today?

DANIEL YUICHI MATSUMOTO: We are very proud of, you know, being able to be here, representing our country. And I am sure that when the national anthem plays in the beginning of the game, it is going to be a very, very emotional and special time. So we will do our best to have a good game.

Q. So in South America, it is only Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil right now representing. Of course we know Venezuela is the strongest ones doing it. How is Brazil expanding the love for baseball inside the country?

YAN GOMES: I think it is public knowledge MLB has taken an interest in Brazil. I think it is a huge step in the right direction. I think the growth of bringing, like, an investment and bringing an MLB facility and academy toward Brazil, it is going to motivate a lot of kids.

There's a lot of hungry and motivated kids to play sports in Brazil. It is an extremely proud country. And when a place like the MLB comes and invests in them, it is a really cool moment.

We got to spend a lot of time there already, and it is really cool. It is a really huge step in the right direction just like, you know, many of the countries have had. And I think you are going to be surprised at the talent that is growing from Brazil.