RAFU STAFF AND WIRE SERVICE REPORTS
Nearly 30 years ago, an unknown pitcher from a team oddly named the Buffaloes showed up in Los Angeles.
Not only were the Dodgers changed forever, but the game of baseball suddenly became truly global, opening opportunities for players from Japan and the rest of Asia, who had been widely considered unlikely to successfully compete in the American major leagues.
In the decades since Hideo Nomo was a sensation, some of the best players ever to don a uniform have followed from Japan, among them Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui and Shohei Ohtani.
In fact, Ohtani is believed to have had a weighty hand in attracting the latest Japanese star – from Nomo’s former team – to the Dodgers. Orix Buffaloes pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has agreed to sign a 12-year, $325 million contract with Los Angeles, MLB.com reported Thursday.
The 25-year-old right-hander – who led Japan’s Pacific League in wins, ERA, strikeouts and winning percentage the past three seasons for the Orix Buffaloes – will join Japanese two-way superstar Ohtani as a member of the Dodgers.
Yamamoto’s reported deal with the Dodgers, pending a physical, is by far the largest for a Japanese player ahead of his MLB debut, eclipsing the $155 million, seven-year contract the New York Yankees gave to Masahiro Tanaka.
The contract also represents the most guaranteed dollars ever given to a pitcher, surpassing Gerrit Cole’s nine-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.
The Dodgers, who beat teams including the Yankees and the New York Mets to Yamamoto’s signature, are expected to pay a posting fee of around $50.6 million to the Buffaloes.
The news comes a week after the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a record contract worth $700 million over 10 years.
Ohtani is said to have taken part in the team’s pitch to attract Yamamoto to Chavez Ravine, along with Dodger All-Stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith.
Ohtani and Yamamoto were also teammates on Japan’s 2023 World Baseball Classic-winning roster.
The Dodgers have also added another potent arm to their pitching roster, acquiring Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow via a trade and contract extension.
As dominant as the 100-win Dodgers were in the regular season in 2023, their lack of pitching depth was laid bare in the postseason, where they were eliminated in the first round.
Looking to win their first World Series since 2020, they will open the 2024 season with a two-game series in Seoul from March 20 against Yu Darvish’s San Diego Padres.
Yamamoto had a 16-6 record with a career-best 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts over 164 innings in 23 games this year. On Sept. 9, he became only the third pitcher in the history of Japanese pro baseball to throw no-hitters in consecutive years.
Yamamoto has a 70-29 career record with a 1.82 ERA in seven years, all with the Buffaloes. The Okayama Prefecture native has been both PL MVP and winner of the Sawamura Award, for Japanese baseball’s top starting pitcher, the past three seasons, helping Orix win three league pennants over the same span.
He contributed to Japan winning the Tokyo Olympic baseball gold medal on home soil in the summer of 2021.
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On Thursday, Ohtani was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years, joining a distinguished group of multiple-time winners.
Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods and LeBron James are among the sporting greats who have received the award more than once since its inauguration in 1931.
The accolade is the latest among several for Ohtani in a year that saw him become Major League Baseball’s first two-time unanimous league MVP before securing the most lucrative contract in professional sports history.
The Japanese superstar is set to make his National League debut next year with the Dodgers, after six seasons for the American League’s Angels.
“Shohei is arguably the most talented player who’s ever played this game,” Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said after the signing.
Ohtani previously collected the AP award in 2021, the first time he was a unanimous choice for MVP.
He started this year by spearheading Japan’s World Baseball Classic championship in March, clinching the trophy with his dramatic strikeout of U.S. star and Angels teammate Mike Trout.
He went on to lead the AL in home runs with 44, batted .304 with 95 RBIs, and posted a 1.066 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Those numbers helped him earn the Silver Slugger Award as the AL’s best offensive player at designated hitter.
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Japanese left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui is nearing a multi-year agreement with the Padres, MLB.com reported Tuesday, citing a source.
The 28-year-old, who has recorded 236 saves with a 2.40 ERA in 10 seasons, all with the Rakuten Eagles in the Pacific League, will join compatriot Darvish at the Padres should the deal materialize.
The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals have also been reported as showing interest in acquiring Matsui, one of Japanese baseball’s top closers, who is seeking a move to the U.S. majors this offseason as an international free agent.
The Padres finished third in the National League West this year. They hired Mike Shildt as their new manager this offseason after he spent the past two seasons as a senior adviser with the club.
The Eagles’ first-round draft pick ahead of the 2014 season, Matsui led the PL in saves for the third time this year, topping the category for the second year in a row with a career-best 39.