TEMPE, AZ — He’s the iron man of pitching, stretching the human element to limits beyond comprehension, so it only made sense that World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the first pitcher to step onto the mound Saturday in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ spring-training opener.
“When you think about it,’’ Joel Wolfe, Yamamoto’s agent, told USA TODAY Sports, “what can’t he do?’’
Let’s see, in the past 12 months, he led the Dodgers in the regular season with 30 starts and 173.2 innings, going 12-8 with a 2.49 ERA.
In the playoffs, he became the first pitcher to throw consecutive complete games since Curt Schilling for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, and the first to pitcher to end a World Series game by retiring 20 consecutive batters since Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956.
In the World Series, he was the first pitcher to start a World Series game one night and pitch on no days’ rest the next since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2001 against the New York Yankees.
And here was Saturday, back on the mound, dominating the Los Angeles Angels in their Cactus League debut, yielding three hits and one earned run with three strikeouts, throwing 22 of his 30 pitches for strikes.
“I was already feeling good in practice,’’ he said. “I was looking forward to the feeling, the delivery, and those things.’’
When he walked off the mound, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts patted him on the back and told him, “Good luck in the WBC.’
Oops. Yamamoto reminded him that he will make one more start Friday. He then is scheduled to fly to Japan and help Team Japan in its quest to win consecutive World Baseball Classic titles.
How in the world can you describe what this dude is doing?
“Easy,’’ said Wolfe, who was among the sellout crowd at Tempe Diablo Stadium watching the game, “he’s a freak. There’s nobody like him. He doesn’t follow the typical standards and limitations of other people.’’
It would certainly be understandable for the Dodgers to try to persuade Yamamoto to pass on the WBC. The tournament’s history is littered with pitchers who either broke down or struggled in the ensuing season. Yet, the Dodgers didn’t interfere a bit. They actually encouraged him, knowing how much this means to Yamamoto wearing his country’s colors, and the pride he takes in trying to lead Japan back atop the international baseball world.
“For me, and for all of us,’’ Roberts said, “you’re just believing in the player. He knows what it takes to get ready for a season. He takes care of himself. For me, it’s an easy way to kind of think and wrap my head around, believing in him and trusting him.
“From the day we signed him, how intentional he is about his work and body care. He’s not going to put himself in harm’s way.’’
When Yamamoto was asked Saturday if he had thoughts at all about skipping the WBC, he started laughing so hard, he never answered.
Yamamoto said he already spoke to the Dodgers about his workload in the WBC. He’s scheduled to start in the opening series with their first game March 7 in Tokyo against Chinese Taipei.
The reality is that the Dodgers began planning a detailed spring-training schedule for Yamamoto two weeks after the World Series concluded, with the Dodgers’ trainers and conditioning employees keeping in contact virtually every day. He took only one month off before he began training again in December.
“They were so deeply immersed in everything that he does,’’ Wolfe said, “it wasn’t like they were just winging it. They planned how spring training was going to go, the WBC, load management, and planning out the season. It’s all been carefully orchestrated.’’
Yamamoto still doesn’t consider him a hero, and blushes when folks call him a Dodgers legend, but make no mistake about it — he would love to become the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young Award, and add a few more to his trophy case as he begins the third year of his 12-year, $325 million contract.
“He wants to be great,” Roberts said. “He wants to win a Cy Young. He hasn’t done that yet, so that’s a carrot. But I think he prides himself on being consistent and being really good. Every time he takes the ball, he expects to win, we expect to win.’’
Says Wolfe: “He’s so driven, but to him, personal goals are secondary. He just wants to win. You saw it in the World Series. The guy’s literally willing to do anything and everything to win. Think about how young (27) he is, too. He’s just getting better and better and stronger and stronger, and learning more and more about the hitters. He just keeps developing.
“This guy is the Michael Jordan version of pitching.’’
He’s proving why teams were tripping over each other trying to sign him two years ago, and with a full-scale bidding war, the New York Mets were actually told to stop raising their offer when Yamamoto made his intentions known that he wanted to pitch for the Dodgers.
Teams who heavily scouted Yamamoto in his last season in Japan watched him lead Japan to the WBC title in the spring of 2023. He then went on to win his third consecutive Eiji Sawamura Award (Japan’s version of the Cy Young) by leading the league in victories, ERA and strikeouts. And for a curtain call, he carried the Orix Buffaloes to Game 7 of the World Series by throwing 138 pitches and striking out 14 batters in their Game 6 victory.
“Here’s a guy who was about to be posted, get what we thought would be a $100-million-plus deal, so you think maybe he’d throttle it down a little,’’ Wolfe said. “Even we were saying, ‘Hey, don’t get hurt. Be careful.’ But that wasn’t him. He just kept that throttle going.’’
So, considering Yamamoto’s resume in Japan, why should anyone be shocked watching him throw a complete game in Game 2 of the World Series, pitch six shutout innings in Game 6, pitch 2⅔ innings in relief in their 5-4, 11-inning victory in Game 7, and win the World Series MVP with a 3-0 record and 1.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts?
Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, called it the “greatest accomplishment I’ve ever seen on a baseball field.’’
And for Yamamoto, well, it brought simple tranquility.
“I was able to get into the offseason with a great feeling,’’ Yamamoto said when he arrived into camp, “and I was able to go into the offseason with more calmness.’’
Yamamoto’s chill attitude and extraordinary work ethic is why Roberts refuses to freak out over his WBC participation, saying there simply are no hard-core facts that his early ramp-up could lead to an injury or poor performance.
“I think I’m confident because there’s no exact science on ramping up early,’’ Roberts said. “Could it affect him later this year? Absolutely,’’ Roberts said. “But it could also not affect him.
“I don’t live in that world, I really don’t. … It’s up to all of us to be mindful of workloads, short-term and long-term.’’
So, the looming question now is that, after throwing 211 innings last season, winning his second consecutive World Series title, along with the World Series MVP, what can Yamamoto possibly do for an encore?
“I think we were all blown away from what he accomplished in the World Series,’’ Wolfe said, “but you do wonder what’s next. Who knows? But knowing him, I’m sure he’ll find something.’’
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