WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - CZECHIA VS JAPAN

March 10, 2026

Ondrej Satoria

Tokyo Dome

Team Czechia

Postgame Press Conference

Japan 9, Czechia 0

Q. How do you think about your last dance in these games and what's your emotion?

ONDREJ SATORIA: First, thank you so much for coming. I can say I really didn't expect something like that. Like you say, it was my last dance, and I can say I really didn't expect that it's going to be something like that. I'm really happy for that. I'm really happy for that that I keep honor over Czech Baseball in this game and for my name.

Q. First of all, not only kept Japan scoreless, but you came off the field and people were cheering for you. I know what you said baseball is like in the Czech Republic, so to have over 40,000 people cheering for you and even after the game, the Japanese players clapping, what was it like for you, this night?

ONDREJ SATORIA: Thank you for this question. I mean, it was like a best ending for me what I could wish, you know, because playing against Samurai Japanese is always special. Always special here in Tokyo Dome. I really love this stadium because it has a really nice aura here.

Yeah, it was like a best ending.

Q. What a performance tonight. Two questions for you. What did Pavel say to you when he took you out of the game? And second, your father was here today and he taught you baseball in Ostrava. What does that mean to you?

ONDREJ SATORIA: Can you repeat the first question about Pavel, please?

Q. What did Pavel say to you when he took you out of the game in the fifth?

ONDREJ SATORIA: Before the game? Just thank you, thank you for playing. It was such an honor to watch me in this game.

And the second question, I mean, it was special for him because now he can saw what we felt like three years ago. You know, playing against the Samurai Japan in front of such crowd, you know, and it was really a pleasure for me. He maybe cried more than me after final out, and my brother was here, too. So yeah, it was kind of special to have my family here.

Q. What will you do now after baseball?

ONDREJ SATORIA: Yes, for sure, thank you for this question. I got a lot of activities to do. They are waiting for me, especially bouldering and hiking. I really like bouldering. So I will definitely do it after baseball. And I will continue playing for my home club Ostrava, and I will cheer for the guys in Czech on the sofa with a beer in my hand, and yeah, that's it.

Q. Will anything change for you or your goals change now after this experience?

ONDREJ SATORIA: That's a good question. I mean, no. I will be like same electrician like before. I will work in the same company. My plan is be a good father and be a good boyfriend to my girlfriend, and I don't know, I don't know what else.

Q. Why do you think now was the time to retire?

ONDREJ SATORIA: Thank you for this question, it's a really good one. I mean, I'm retiring because I know that the Czech Baseball is in a good hands. We've got like a lot more guys like Michal Kovala, so you will see. You will see next tournament or next qualification what we got. I think you will be quite surprised.

Q. Your team had a great camp in Japan in Miyazaki prefecture rebound and you got a big applause from Japanese fans and also Team Japanese players. So how do you feel about the Japanese fans and Team Japan, and also, what do you want to tell them?

ONDREJ SATORIA: To the fans, especially, thank you for coming and thank you for cheer to us like for a whole week in every game. It means a lot for us because we are not professionals, and we are playing for people who cheer for us.

So especially like applausing the guys from Samurai Japan National Team, and they applaud like for my pitching, it means like everything for me because I watched this guy during the Nippon professional league, and now I can shake their hands like with Miyagi and Takahashi. I had a picture with them, and yeah, I'm really happy.