The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a difficult start to the 2024 season, and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is one member of the squad who may be secretly happy that the team is embroiled in controversy. Not only did Yamamoto have a terrible start to his Major League Baseball career, but more troublingly, since taking the field following his signing of a $325 million, 12-year contract to leave Japan in the winter, he has appeared to be completely out of his league.
Eduardo Perez, an ESPN analyst and 13-year MLB veteran, was present for Yamamoto’s debut start, which ended in a 15-11 Padres loss after he gave up five runs on four hits and a walk in one inning.
Only twice did he cause a swing-and-miss out of 43 pitches. Perez, “shocked” by issues over Yamamoto’s potential effectiveness with this Dodgers team, left with a ton of questions.
“My understanding was that there wasn’t much assurance in the beginning,” Perez said to ESPN’s Buster Olney during the “Baseball Tonight” program. After hitting a powerful hit for a base hit on the first pitch, (Xander) Bogaerts swung at the next one and appeared hesitant to hit the fastball. lacked mastery of the curveball. had almost no control over the splitter. She merely threw pitches without conviction, and the cutter was the one pitch over which she truly had command.
Perez did provide some solace for Dodgers supporters by mentioning that the start happened in front of two of the greatest Japanese players of all time, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Koji Uehara. Yamamoto was clearly experiencing nervousness. Still, the Dodgers supporters are not exactly comforted by it. The fact that the new nine-figure pitcher is unable to control his nerves is concerning for a team that has trouble winning in the postseason.
Deconstructing Yamamoto’s windup, which has been reduced to a step-and-throw maneuver, is one of his main problems. It seems to have taken away Yamamoto’s element of deceit as he gets closer to the plate, but the Dodgers decided that was vital to reduce the number of stolen bases.
The topic of tipping his pitches was also discussed. To thwart sign-stealers, Yamamoto has been adjusting the positioning of his gloves. It might be detrimental for Yamamoto to try to incorporate minor advice from different sources at this time.
“I wonder if he feels uneasy about (pitching) at this moment. He’s listening to a lot of people tell him whether or not to tip. Perez stated, “I think he needs to go back to being who he has always been and throw pitches with conviction.”
Yamamoto’s overall picture is a little bleak. Yamamoto had a difficult spring training, going 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA, prior to this bad start.
While it is sense that he would adjust his pitching in the major leagues, Yamamoto has consistently made these modifications.
Additionally, it appears as though they are showing a player whose confidence has already been damaged. Perez described that as a “shock.”
“I hope they understand that adjustments will be made throughout his career, because the Dodgers are committed to this guy for 12 years, and that’s something that you definitely have to take into account,” Perez stated.
But given that he struggled in Spring Training—his ERA was over 8.00—I’m surprised that they made changes before he even threw a pitch.The jury is still out on whether or not this was a wise signing, but for now, it’s time to gather around and return to the fundamentals.
