Yoshinobu Yamamoto's biggest title achievements: From Olympic gold medal to World Series title

In terms of notoriety, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has taken a back seat compared to his teammates, such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and compatriot Shohei Ohtani. However, a fact that shouldn't overlooked is that Yamamoto has been on an unprecedented run of brilliance.

It started in 2019 with the WBSC Premier12. Yamamoto was included in Team Japan's roster and duked it out against the 12 highest-rated nations in the world. The tournament was on its second iteration, and for the grand final, Japan took on bitter rivals and first edition winners, South Korea. In front of a thrilled Tokyo Dome crowd, the home nation won the final 5-3.

The pandemic season dampened Yamamoto's momentum by just a notch, earning him only the title of Pacific League strikeout leader.

2021 was the start of the unparalleled run of dominance for Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The hurler won the Olympic gold medal in baseball at the Tokyo Olympics. The Okayama native also started off a trifecta of Triple Crowns, Pacific League MVPs, Eiji Sawamura Awards, Best Nine Awards, Pacific League Golden Glove Awards, Pacific League ERA, strikeouts and wins titles and best battery awards that continued until 2023.

Yamamoto finally won the Japan Series with the Orix Buffaloes in 2022. The club previously fell short after being outclassed by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in six games. They then exacted revenge against the Swallows with the same series score a year in the aforementioned year.

The following year, Yamamoto helped lift Team Japan to its third World Baseball Classic. After collecting every accolade imaginable in NPB, the Buffaloes ace chose to take his talents to MLB.

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers left no stone unturned when they signed the biggest names in baseball in Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and reigning Pacific League MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Being one of the last vestiges of a depleted Dodgers starting staff, Yamamoto had a productive first season for LA. He compiled a 7-2 record with a 3.00 ERA across 90.0 innings in the regular season.

Yamamoto also proved the worth of his high price tag after his performance in the World Series. In Game 2 against the New York Yankees, Yamamoto pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up just a solo shot to Juan Soto while walking two and striking out four. The Dodgers took the game 4-2.

To cap it all off, "Yoshi" won his first-ever World Series in his first season stateside.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's mouthwatering NPB stats

Having been named the best pitcher and player in the Pacific League for three consecutive years, NPB fans knew it was just a matter of time before Yoshinobu Yamamoto took his act to North America.

After being just the second-ever professional baseballer and the first NPB pitcher to win three consecutive Triple Crowns, Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers in Dec. 2023.

When all was said and done, to say that Yamamoto's stats in NPB are stellar would be an understatement. In seven NPB seasons, the pitcher posted a 70-29 record in 172 games. He also owned a miniscule 1.82 ERA with 922 strikeouts over 897 innings.

To conclude his career in Japan, Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the first pitcher in this millennium and the first since 1972 to throw multiple no-hitters in the league's history after shutting out the Chiba Lotte Marines on Sept. 9, 2023.