Breaking Down Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Underwhelming MLB Debut
Two months after the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Japanese superstar pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, 325-million-dollar contract, he finally made his long-awaited MLB debut. On Thursday in Seoul, South Korea, Yamamoto was underwhelming, to say the least. In just one inning of work, he gave up five runs, four hits, walked, and hit a batter. He has been one of the most highly regarded prospects to come out of Japan, so this was shocking to many fans around the world. Especially Dodgers fans. However, it’s just his first game, and fans should expect a lot more over the next 13 seasons.
In seven seasons in the NPB, Yamamoto went 75-30 with an absurd 1.72 ERA and 0.915 WHIP. He was a five-time all-star and won three straight Eiji Sawamura Awards, their equivalent to the Cy Young. His fastball tops out around 99 miles an hour and has devastating off-speed stuff including a splitter. Looking at all of this, many fans are already overreacting, asking “Why did he perform so badly in his debut?” He was also not great in spring training, sporting an 8.38 ERA in 9.2 innings over three starts. Even though he struggled in his debut and in spring training, such early criticism is extremely unfair to Yamamoto.
Don’t forget, that Yamamoto is only a rookie. Even though he was extremely dominant in Japan, it’s going to take him some time to adjust to hitters in the MLB. With hyped-up signings and prospects, especially in big markets like Los Angeles, every move you make is looked at under a microscope. Some players let the limelight get to their head, like former Yankee Joey Gallo, while others take it and run with it, like Gallo’s EX-teammate Aaron Judge. Yamamoto is one of the most hyped-up international players to ever come over to the MLB, second to his teammate Shohei Ohtani. He is only 25 years old with nasty stuff and has 13 years to prove how good of a pitcher he is. It was his first start in the MLB, Yamamoto will be just fine.
