No baseball was being played on the field Wednesday afternoon, yet it was another momentous winter day at Dodger Stadium. The hot stove kept everyone warm despite the cold during the press conference introducing Los Angeles’ newest starting pitcher, Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto, a native of Bizen, Okayama, Japan, turned 25 years old this past August and is living his best Major League life, something many players dream of. The Dodgers have kept an eye on his progress through the years. And many more of the world’s eyes were on him earlier in the year during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The right-handed hurler debuted with the Orix Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league on August 20th, 2017, three days after his nineteenth birthday.
While shorter than many of his pitching counterparts at 5 feet and 10 inches, weighing 176 pounds, Yamamoto can still hold his own. He boasts an overall win-loss record of 70-29, over 897 innings pitched with a 1.82 ERA and an impressive 922 strikeouts over the last seven years.
Even more outstanding, from 2021-2023, Yamamoto won the Sawamura Award three times (the Cy Young equivalent) and earned Pacific League MVP the same number of times. He has also thrown two no-hitters in his young career and participated in at least three championships – the 2020 Olympics, the 2022 Japan Series, and the 2023 WBC.
The ace from Japan has a never-ending list of stats to his credit. Over the last three seasons combined, he has gone 49-16 with an overall 1.44 ERA. During the 2023 regular season, he had 16 wins and six losses, striking out 169 and only walking 28 to accrue a 1.21 ERA.
Dodgers’ president and CEO Stan Kasten had high praise for the new ace when talking to SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson after the initial press conference.
“It’s nothing for him to go over 100 or even 120 pitches. That’s his game. He likes to stay in there for a long time. That’s the kind of pitcher we need,” Kasten said of his young new star.
After donning his new jersey displaying the number 18 for the first time as a Dodger, he addressed the media amassed in the Centerfield Plaza at Dodger Stadium. He began his speech in English before transitioning to his native Japanese and communicating through his interpreter. The first words he uttered as a Dodger were full of gratitude.
“Good afternoon. My name is Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the LA Dodgers. I am beyond ecstatic to become a member of this historic franchise and cannot express how much it means to me to be able to call Los Angeles my new home,” he told the gathered media in English.
There were many questions about his decision-making process to join the Dodgers franchise. He emphasized that the winning atmosphere was the driving force. Los Angeles is not just interested in winning right now but has plans to continue pushing toward that goal in the years to come. Considering his contract extends for the next 12 years, if he does not exercise his opt-outs, Yamamoto will be a key player in those goals.
When asked about his biggest challenge transitioning from the Japanese league to the MLB, he confidently answered through his interpreter:
“Coming over to a new country and making sure that he can adjust to that four or five-day schedule from the once-a-week. Just kind of everything in general, from the food that he’s got to eat, and where’s he’s going to be living, and commuting to the stadium and everything. It’s all going to be a new beginning for him, so he’s really looking forward to tackling those challenges.
In addition to the adjustments, he will be making and striving to win in the coming season, Yoshinobu humbly summed up his goals with a promise to the fans:
“From today, moving forward, I promise to all the fans of LA that I will focus my everything to become a better player and to become a world champion as a member of the Dodgers. I will stop simply admiring the players that I’ve looked up to, but rather strive to become the player others that want to become.”
The Boys in Blue have always been trailblazers, beginning with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier to all the different cultures impacted in the years since. From “Fernandomania” when pitching ace Fernando Valenzuela was on the mound to fellow Japanese right-hander Hideo Nomo. While not the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball, Nomo is credited with paving the way for future Japanese pitchers in the MLB.
By securing both Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to bolster the team this off-season, the Dodgers have once again proven they are not just a world-class organization, they have a world-class mentality as well.
Let’s go Dodgers!