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The Yoshinobu Yamamoto era of the Los Angeles Dodgers is about to begin. The team and its fanbase are only a few weeks away from the Japanese phenom's MLB debut. The 25-year-old starter has been hyped as one of the most promising young pitchers outside of the MLB. However, it won't be long now before North American fans will get to see him ply his trade on a weekly basis.
The young Japanese pitcher has already been training with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the team prepares for the upcoming season. The first official workout of the offseason for the Dodgers began on Friday, with the team's pitchers and catcher reporting for camp, Yoshinobu Yamamoto included.
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Footage of a bullpen session of the potential star pitcher has emerged and since circulated across social media. It's safe to say that the footage has left some fans feeling uninspired and even unimpressed in some cases.
Many baseball fans have turned to social media to take shots at the young pitcher and the video of his bullpen session. A number of fans from other clubs have taken the time to troll the rookie, claiming that their team's star player will be launching home runs off of him. Some of the players mentioned and shown in gifs include Fernando Tatis Jr., Mike Trout, and even Alek Thomas.
While it may be unfair to criticize the rookie pitcher after seeing just one short video of him during practice, it's unsurprising given the Dodgers' offseason. Many MLB fans will be looking for the Los Angeles Dodgers to fail this season, given the number of moves they made this offseason, including landing Shohei Ohtani.
Regardless of the video fans are trolling, Yoshinobu Yamamoto enters the MLB with a proven track record
Although some rivals have criticized the bullpen video of Yamamoto, his success in the NPB makes him one of the most intriguing pitchers entering the 2024 regular season. After inking a 12-year, $325 million to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, Yamamoto will need to perform out of the gates.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto accomplished nearly everything during his time in Japan, winning the Pacific League MVP twice, the Eiji Sawamura Award (similar to the Cy Young Award) three times, and the Japanese Triple Crown three times as the leader in wins, ERAs, and strikeouts.
