"I can't believe a pitcher didn't receive the Cy Young Award..." 461.5 billion won't be wasted! Dodgers monster pitcher's great challenge, Korean players cheer for him, too
"I can't believe a pitcher didn't receive the Cy Young Award..." 461.5 billion won't be wasted! Dodgers monster pitcher's great challenge, Korean players cheer for him, too
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"I think focusing on each game and doing my best helps me get a great award."
Yamamoto Yoshinobu (LA Dodgers), a Japanese monster pitcher in his second year in the Major League, looks higher.
Yamamoto was known as the ace of the Orix Buffaloes in the Japanese pro baseball league. He made his debut in 2017 and played as a must-winner in the 2018 season, playing 54 games (53 innings) with four wins, two losses, one save, 32 holds, and an ERA of 2.89.
His stellar performance started in earnest from the 2021 season. He displayed impressive performance in 26 games (193 ⅔ innings) in the 2021 season, 18 wins and 5 losses and 206 strikeouts, 1.39 ERA, 15 wins and 5 losses and 205 strikeouts, and 1.68 ERA in 26 games (193 innings) in the 2022 season, and 16 wins, 6 losses and 169 strikeouts, and 1.21 ERA in 23 games (164 innings) in the 2023 season. He won the Sawamura Award for the first two consecutive years, including five tours of pitchers for the first time in the Japanese pro baseball league. He was also named the MVP of the Pacific League for the third consecutive year.
After the 2023 season, Yamamoto declared his major league challenge and signed a whopping 325 million-dollar, 12-year contract with the Dodgers. Last year's regular season was somewhat disappointing. Due to injuries sustained in the middle of the season, he pitched in 18 games (90 innings) with only seven wins and two losses and an earned run average of 3.00. However, he pitched in four games (18 ⅔ innings) with two wins and an earned run average of 3.86 in the postseason, adding to Dodgers' victory in the World Series. Notably, he became the winning pitcher by pitching six ⅓ innings of one hit (one homer), two strikeouts and one run with four strikeouts.
He got off to a good start to the season. He has played in four games (22 innings), with two wins, one loss and 28 strikeouts with 1.23 ERA. He ranks third with strikeouts, fifth with ERA, and 10th with most innings.
Yamamoto started the game against the Chicago Cubs of the Tokyo Series on March 18 (Korea time) and became the winning pitcher with three hits, one strikeout, four strikeouts, and one run in five innings. Then, he recorded a win against the Detroit Tigers on March 29 against the Detroit Tigers with five hits (two homers) with two strikeouts and 10 runs without allowing two runs, three hits with three strikeouts in six innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 5, and two hits with one strikeout and nine strikeouts in six innings against the Cubs on April 12.
Dodgers Nation, which specializes in Dodgers news, recently said, "Yamamoto has quickly established himself as the team's ace. "He started four games and pitched five or more innings. His recent performance shows that Yamamoto is highly likely to be mentioned as a candidate for the National League Cy Young Award."
MLB.com selected Yamamoto as its dark horse for the Cy Young Award before the opening of the season. Asian players as well as Japanese pitchers have never won the Cy Young Award. In 2006, Taiwanese pitcher Wang Jianming ranked second in the American League Cy Young Award in the New York Yankees. His best performances were Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres) in 2013 and 2020, and Ryu Hyun-jin in the 2019 National League Cy Young Award.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Yamamoto said, "I haven't heard that a Japanese pitcher won the award yet. So I'm looking forward to it. I think focusing on each game and doing my best can help me get this great award. I want to do my best every day."
Fuji Television reporter Yuji Suzuki, who played with Yamamoto in the Orix Buffaloes, said, "I started to look like Yamamoto in Japan," and Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman said, "He's amazing. He's overwhelmed right now. I can't help but admire his outstanding pitching skills. It's really amazing, and he's the best pitcher on our team this year."
Dodgers Nation said, "The biggest fear for the opponent is that 26-year-old Yamamoto will grow further in the Dodgers." 메이저놀이터