‘Nasty’: Word of Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s stuff quickly spreading through Dodgers camp
-
Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. — It took only one bullpen session for Yoshinobu Yamamoto to capture the imagination of his new team. It impressed Gavin Lux, who settled into the batter’s box to track pitches when Yamamoto first got off the mound from the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ spring training complex on Friday afternoon. It impressed fellow starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who stood nearby. And it impressed those who weren’t even there to watch it.
“I heard it was nasty,” one coach said. “I heard he was just dotting everywhere.”
Yamamoto obtained the largest contract ever given to a starting pitcher this offseason, a 12-year, $325 million deal that came on the heels of three consecutive MVP awards in Japan. Any concerns about transitioning from Nippon Professional Baseball to the major leagues were upstaged by the alluring traits that made Yamamoto the most coveted arm in this year’s free agent market: That he’s only 25, that he’s extremely dedicated, that his repertoire is devastating, and that his command — the way he “dots” the corners of the strike zone — is so advanced.
His new teammates have already been drawn to his distinct workout regimen, focused on flexibility and devoid of traditional weights. Some of them have also joked about learning to throw his javelin. But it’s Yamamoto’s upper-90s four-seam fastball — thrown with lots of backspin and very little downward action, providing the illusion that it is continually rising as it crosses home plate — and devastating splitter that have turned heads at Dodgers camp. That he unleashes such hellacious pitches at 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, while delivering them with what amounts to a slide step, has only added to the fascination.
“I’ve seen people like that,” said Glasnow, who’s listed at 6-8, 225 pounds. “I just think he’s really wiry and really strong. I don’t know if size necessarily matters. I think he can just collect himself very efficiently and there’s no wasted movements in his mechanics. With a leg kick or not, I think about the way he distributes his weight and I don’t know if he necessarily needs a leg kick. He just moves so well. You can just tell he’s so athletic, so I’m not surprised at all. I think once I saw him throw I was like, ‘Duh he throws a hundred.’ He’s just so explosive.”
Only three pitchers listed at 5-10 or shorter — Whitey Ford, Steve Stone and Mike Marshall — have ever won a Cy Young Award. But Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon and Tim Lincecum combined for six Cy Youngs from 1997 to 2009 at 5-11. And Lincecum has been volunteered as a reasonable comp for Yamamoto by several Dodgers coaches and players largely because of the way they both generate momentum with their lower half.
“It comes out of his hand really good; he spins it great,” fellow starting pitcher Walker Buehler said of Yamamoto. “I’m just kind of curious to get my eyes on the whole picture of it.”
More than 70 photographers, videographers and fans lined up along a rope to watch Yamamoto merely play catch with Buehler on Friday. Two days later, Shohei Ohtani stood behind Yamamoto, his locker neighbor in spring training, as he navigated through his second bullpen session.
The Dodgers hope to line Yamamoto up to start at some point during their two-game opening series in South Korea on March 20 and 21, but it’s too early for their rotation plans to be solidified.
Yamamoto said he has noticed “more flexibility” through his first spring training in the United States, as opposed to the tighter schedules he experienced while training with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He began getting acclimated to the smaller, slicker major league baseball during the World Baseball Classic last March and trained with it this offseason. As spring training progresses, he’ll prepare himself to start slightly more often than once a week.
“I don’t have the experience throwing on shorter rest,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “But I did everything I could do in preparation — adjusting mechanics and a lot of different other things.”
The Dodgers won’t abide by a strict six-man rotation this season, largely because they don’t want to restrict themselves to a seven-man bullpen. But they seem determined to use the off days in their schedule and the depth in their minor league system to consistently give Yamamoto at least five days off — as opposed to the traditional four — in between starts. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the starting rotation is “going to be fluid.”
A lot of it will hinge on how Yamamoto adapts.
“There’s life assimilation,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “There’s assimilation at the park, between starts. There’s figuring out the right rest and how to adapt more to a major league schedule that we can’t know the answer to right now. We have to be around him, watch how he’s recovering and do it in the most thoughtful way we can because obviously he’s going to be a big part of what we do in 2024 and he’s going to be a big part of what we do for a lot of years. We’re viewing this year as one to get him acclimated and figure it out. We don’t know exactly what that means yet. But we’re going to be partners with him in figuring it out.”
Yamamoto’s numbers in Japan were almost incomprehensible, the last three seasons specifically. He posted a 1.42 ERA in 557 2/3 innings from 2021 to 2023, accumulating 587 strikeouts and 110 walks. He faced 659 batters this past season and only two of them hit home runs. Dodgers vice president of player personnel Galen Carr and the team’s international scouts had spent years raving about Yamamoto to the Dodgers’ decision-makers. Friedman took two trips to Japan to see him in person in 2023.
“It’s easy to appreciate what he has accomplished,” Friedman said, “but it takes it up a whole other level when you watch the way he competes, when you see his routine and just what a freak athlete he is.”
-
Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti didn’t think he needed to say it. Following Saturday’s 38-15 loss at Ohio State, do his upstart Hoosiers still belong in the 12-team playoff?
“Is that a serious question?” Cignetti responded defiantly. “I’m not even going to answer that one. The answer’s so obvious.”
Cignetti then smiled and nodded yes with a wink before exiting the postgame podium.
Tuesday will reveal whether the playoff selection committee agrees.
Indiana’s potential inclusion — or exclusion — figures to be the most controversial playoff storyline ahead of the final week of the regular season.
Before traveling to Columbus, the fifth-ranked Hoosiers (10-1) had been one of the most dominant teams in the country, reaching double-digit wins for the first time in program history.
They also became the first team since 1998 to start 8-0 without trailing once. All but one of the Hoosiers’ wins came by at least two touchdowns.
But the Hoosiers, who face 1-10 in-state rival Purdue next weekend, will finish without a top-25 win. Indiana’s strength of schedule ranked just 106th coming into the Ohio State game.
The Hoosiers scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take their first lead over Ohio State in five years.
But the Buckeyes rolled the rest of the way, holding Indiana to just 53 yards in the first half, its lowest total in a first half in 10 years, according to ESPN Research.
Ohio State led 31-7 before the teams traded meaningless touchdowns in the final two minutes. Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who was second nationally in QBR (88.1), completed just 8 of 18 passes for 68 yards while taking five sacks.
“We couldn’t protect the quarterback,” Cignetti said. “Every time we dropped back to pass, something bad happened. … It was like a nightmare.”
Special teams proved to be nightmarish for the Hoosiers, as well.
Just before halftime, Indiana punter James Evans mishandled the snap and was tackled at the Hoosiers’ 7-yard line. The Buckeyes punched the ball in the end zone three plays later to take a 14-7 lead into half.
Then, following an Indiana three-and-out to begin the third quarter, Ohio State’s Caleb Downs returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to ignite the onslaught. Indiana fell to 1-71 all time against AP top-five opponents, according to ESPN Research.
“We didn’t handle the noise very well,” Cignetti said of playing in Ohio Stadium. “We didn’t play our best game today. But I think a big part of that was because of them.”
The Hoosiers did get some help later Saturday afternoon.
Florida knocked off Ole Miss 24-17, effectively removing the ninth-ranked Rebels (8-3) from the playoff conversation. But both the Big 12 and ACC could have multiple teams vying for playoff consideration.
Still, Rourke said he believes Indiana’s overall body of work should show that the Hoosiers are worthy of an at-large playoff bid.
“I hope so. We trust ourselves against anybody,” said Rourke, adding that he hopes to get a rematch with Ohio State “at some point” in the playoffs.
“Next week is a big game,” Rourke said. “We’ve got to go handle Purdue, and then move on take one game at a time.”
-
Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
SMU clinched a spot in the ACC championship game after a 33-7 win over Virginia on Saturday, becoming the first team in league history to make the title game in its first season.
The Mustangs do not have an opponent yet. Miami (10-1, 6-1) must beat Syracuse next weekend to clinch its spot. A loss means Clemson, which has already finished league play at 7-1, would make it to Charlotte.
SMU came into the league off great success in the American Athletic Conference, winning the league a year ago. But no team has done what the Mustangs have done in Year 1, making the transition from Group of 5 to Power 4.
The ACC championship game has been around since 2005, and now in the 20th anniversary of the game, SMU has made history.
“It’s hard to win 10 games, it’s hard to do something that’s never been done before,” coach Rhett Lashlee said. “No one’s ever moved from a small conference to a power conference and gone to the championship game in their first year. Just really proud of our guys.”
SMU joined the ACC in its quest to return to a power conference, and in doing so, agreed to take no television revenue from the ACC for nine years. They were a team on a mission from the very start, eager to prove they belonged on this level.
SMU has been a different team since turning to Kevin Jennings as its starting quarterback after three games. Jennings is 8-0 as a starter and has helped SMU to a 7-0 ACC record — the only team that is undefeated in league play. Against Virginia, Jennings went 25-of-33 for 323 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Lashlee signed a contract extension with the school Friday, reaffirming his commitment to being with the Mustangs for the long term. Despite its ACC dominance, SMU remains on the outside looking in, based on the latest College Football Playoff selection committee rankings.
If SMU wins the ACC, the Mustangs would be a lock to make it into the CFP. Another loss could mean the end of their playoff hopes. SMU closes the regular season against California next Saturday.
Lashlee grew emotional discussing how far his team has come this season.
“I’m really proud of them. I had this thought Friday, I’m going to miss a lot of these guys,” Lashlee said before pausing to gather himself. “It’s a fun group. They love playing together. They love playing for each other. They love playing for SMU. They don’t care who gets the credit. I think that’s why they win. It’s special. I’m just a lucky guy who gets to be their coach.”
-
Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein was carted off the field and taken to a hospital with an air cast on his left leg in the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Louisville.
Holstein appeared to have his leg rolled up on when Cardinals defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte sacked him on the second drive of the game.
Nate Yarnell, who started when Holstein missed last week’s game against Clemson with a concussion, replaced him Saturday.
Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, won the starting quarterback job over Yarnell during fall practice and helped lead the Panthers to a 7-0 start.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway