Baseball: Nootbaar’s mom hopes he can get Japan WBC skipper airborne

Kumiko Nootbaar, the mother of St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars, is hoping her son can help propel Japan to its third World Baseball Classic championship next month -- and send manager Hideki Kuriyama flying.

Lars is the first player named to represent Japan in the WBC solely through his ancestry. Now Kumiko dreams her son will come full circle and join the championship celebration on March 21 by tossing Kuriyama skyward in the Japanese “doage” ceremony.

“The United States doesn’t have a doage culture. It would be amazing if he can win it all and toss skipper Kuriyama in the air,” she said ...