Yoshinobu Yamamoto came to the big leagues last winter on a big contract after becoming the NPB’s most dominant starting pitcher. The expectation was for a long-term impact with the Dodgers, but Yamamoto made an immediate impact, being a key part of the team’s winning streak.
Yamamoto played for the Orix Buffaloes in the NPB from 2017 to 2023, winning the Japan Series in 2022. When he won the World Series with the Dodgers he became champion in the two largest baseball leagues in the world.
In Japan, he was selected to the All-Star Game five times and won the prestigious Eiji Sawamura Award three times, which recognizes the best pitcher in the Japanese League.
On the international stage, Yamamoto already has everything there is to win. In 2019, the right-hander was part of the Samurai Japan team, which won the second edition of the WBSC Premier12. Two years later, he was instrumental in Japan’s gold medal run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Yamamoto completed his international triple, winning the World Baseball Classic in 2023 with Japan.
With several years left in his career, Yamamoto only needs to be selected for the MLB All-Star Game and win the Cy Young, the MLB equivalent of Eiji Sawamura, to complete one of the most impressive resumes in the history of the game. modern baseball.
