Eight years ago, A's two-way prospect Shotaro Morii was just a 10-year-old student with a dream of playing baseball. That year, he arrived to Japan's MLB Cup, a tournament featuring over 1,700 fourth- and fifth-grade ballplayers, where he and his team eventually won it all.

Shotaro Morii at the MLB Cup in 2017.

Last week, Morii returned to witness the finals of the 2025 MLB Cup and chat with the young players. This time, though, he came in a bright gold Athletics jersey after making his Minor League debut this past summer.

"Back then, I was really just purely enjoying baseball. Being here brought back all those memories," Morii, who signed for $1.5 million last year, said at the event. "We prepared for an entire year for that tournament, so remembering those feelings and how much fun

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