Sports
Hernández: Yoshinobu Yamamoto's success rooted in a willingness to change
Yoshinobu Yamamato did what?
In the underground parking lot of Kyocera Dome after a recent exhibition game, Orix Buffaloes pitching coach Masafumi Hirai chuckled when recalling how he reacted to hearing that Yamamoto reported to spring training in 2018 with a new delivery.
“I was surprised,” Hirai said in Japanese.
The previous season had been viewed as a resounding triumph for Yamamoto, who dominated Japan’s minors and was elevated to the first team before the end of the year. The 5-foot-10 right-hander started five games for the Buffaloes, including one against Shohei Ohtani, who was in his final season in Nippon Professional Baseball.
“The No. 1 pitcher I faced this year,” Ohtani said at the time.
So why was Yamamoto overhauling his delivery? What was he thinking?
“To be honest,” Hirai said, “he drastically changed after performing well the year before, so my first thought was, ‘Is this OK?’”
Hirai wasn’t alone.
The changes Yamamoto implemented were opposed by virtually everyone in the Buffaloes’ organization, from the front office to the coaching staff.
Yamamoto was only 19.
He was just a little more than a year removed from being a fourth-round draft choice.
He lacked the status and track record required to subvert authority in a country in which the orders of superiors are expected to be followed without question.
Yet he didn’t budge.
The choice to defy convention at such an early stage of his career came to define Yamamoto, who signed a $325-million contract with the Dodgers over the winter and is scheduled to start for them in the second game of their two-game series against the San Diego Padres in South Korea next week.
“He really understands what he wants to do and what his goals are, and he pursues them without wavering,” veteran Buffaloes reliever Yoshihisa Hirano said.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Orix Buffaloes pitches during a Pacific League Climax Series Final game last October in Osaka.
(Sports Nippon / Getty Images)
Yamamoto failed to win a place in the Buffaloes’ rotation in 2018 and was initially sent to the minors but later became a key contributor in the bullpen, registering a 2.89 earned-run average in 54 appearances. In time, he became the best pitcher in NPB, winning three consecutive Pacific League most valuable player awards.
“He delivered results that were good enough to make us shut up,” said Hirai, the pitching coach.
Yamamoto’s change in mechanics was inspired not only to enhance performance but also to prevent injury. He switched from a more traditional delivery to one in which he straightened his pitching arm when cocking it back, as if he was preparing to throw a javelin. By effectively transferring his weight forward, Yamamoto was able to deliver pitches in a manner that decreased the stress on his elbow.
The technique and unorthodox exercises associated with them were developed by personal trainer Osamu Yada, who was introduced to Yamamoto by a longtime acquaintance. Yada remains by Yamamoto’s side to this day.
Yada’s training program includes a javelin and miniature soccer balls but no weights.
Yamamoto and Yada made another significant modification to his delivery again last year, exchanging a leg lift for a slide step toward the plate. By this point, Yamamoto had already won two Japanese equivalents of the Cy Young Award.
“A pitcher that good, you’d think he wouldn’t want to change,” Hirai said. “It’d be a different conversation if he was struggling.
“He’s doing it because he’s in search of something better.”
The Buffaloes made no effort to deter him this time. Yamamoto won another Sawamura Award. Over the winter, he was signed by the Dodgers to the most lucrative MLB contract ever awarded to a pitcher.
“He’s never satisfied,” All-Star left-hander Hiroya Miyagi said.
What Miyagi and others found refreshing was how Yamamoto’s self-assurance on the field never translated into arrogance off of it.
“He’s serious about baseball,” Miyagi said. “Outside of that, he’s like a high schooler.”
Yamamoto liked to tease his teammates, according to Miyagi. If a player made an error, Yamamoto would joke, “You better hit.” Miyagi said he often pitched the day after Yamamoto, which would result in Yamamoto kidding him about how he better not end the Buffaloes’ winning streak.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto greets fans prior to a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game between Italy and Japan at the Tokyo Dome last year.
(Toru Hanai / Associated Press)
Shunpeita Yamashita, a 6-foot-3 right-hander with a 100 mph fastball who could be Japan’s next great pitching export, said Yamamoto was always open to offering him advice. The 21-year-old Yamashita said he particularly appreciated how well Yamamoto communicated with the younger players on the team.
Photographs were recently posted on social media of the Buffaloes players in Dodgers shirts with their fingers forming interlocking “L.A.” symbols. The gear, it turns out, was shipped to them by Yamamoto.
Even the groundskeeper was enamored with Yamamoto, as Yosuke Iwata described him as one of the least-demanding superstars he encountered in his 19 seasons with the team.
“Some pitchers are like, ‘If the mound isn’t like this, I can’t pitch,’” Iwata said.
Yamamoto was never like that.
“He never acted big,” Iwata said. “He never changed. Even when he performed well, he didn’t change.”
Iwata said he wanted Yamamoto to succeed in the major leagues. Many players said the same. They all sounded certain he would.
After Yamamoto was hit hard in a recent spring-training game, Buffaloes players noted the high standards to which he holds himself. They pointed to his capacity for unflinching self-examination. They mentioned his unmatched feel for his own body.
In short, they vouched for his ability to change. If he could make adjustments when no one wanted him to, they reasoned, he should be able to make them now.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Star receiver Puka Nacua will fully participate in voluntary offseason workouts, the Rams are getting closer to another contract adjustment with quarterback Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead hope backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo decides to put off retirement and return for a third season and possible Super Bowl run.
McVay and Snead addressed those topics and the NFL draft on Tuesday during a videoconference with reporters.
Nacua led the NFL in receptions last season but also was involved in a string of off-the-field incidents the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit. Those situations put the brakes on any immediate discussion between the Rams and Nacua about a massive extension for the fourth-year pro.
In March, Nacua began a rehabilitation program in Malibu, but he was present for the first day of workouts on Monday.
Nacua, 24, “looks great” and is “doing really well,” McVay said. McVay declined to detail discussions he’s had with the All-Pro, who was a finalist for NFL offensive player of the year.
“He and I have a great relationship,” McVay said. “Feel really good about kind of the direction we’re going.”
Stafford, 38, led the Rams to the NFC championship game last season and is the reigning NFL most valuable player. According to overthecap.com, he is due to carry a salary-cap number of $48.3 million this season.
But Stafford has no doubt demanded, and will receive, a raise and a possible additional year in a deal that the Rams acknowledged two years ago is essentially a year-to-year situation.
“Progress has been made,” Snead said of negotiations.
There is no timeline, Snead said, “but don’t expect any drama, per se.”
Garoppolo, 34, has backed up Stafford for two seasons, and he has been invaluable.
Last year, with Stafford sidelined for training camp because of a back issue, Garoppolo ran the offense and prepped the defense with a skillset honed during a 12-year career that included a Super Bowl appearance. Stafford joined workouts before the season and remained healthy throughout, but Garoppolo was perhaps the most valuable insurance policy in the NFL.
Last season, Garoppolo played on a one-year contract and earned $4.5 million, according to overthecap.com.
McVay expressed confidence in fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett, but said he was hopeful that “when the time is right,” Garoppolo will “change his mind,” and return.
“You leave the door open,” McVay said when asked if there was a point that Rams would press Garoppolo to return. “I don’t think you want to press. What you don’t want to do is ever force a guy to play if in his mind he’s ready to move on.
“But you don’t want to minimize that, ‘Hey, if you do decide you want to play, let’s make sure it’s here with us.”
The Rams have the 13th pick in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday in Pittsburgh. They have one pick in the second and third rounds, one in the sixth round and three in the seventh.
Receiver, offensive line and edge rusher are among the positions the Rams could address with their first top-15 pick since they selected quarterback Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
“There’s a lot of possibilities,” McVay said. “We don’t control what happens in those 12 picks before, and so what we’ve done is a lot of contingency planning and a lot of conversations, and feel really good about that.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
PGA TOUR CEO ADDRESSES LIV GOLF’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE, PLAYERS POTENTIALLY RETURNING
With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
MATT FITZPATRICK HAS PERFECT RESPONSE TO USA RYDER CUP FANS AFTER PGA TOUR VICTORY
The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
-
New York53 minutes agoTrump’s Immigration Crackdown Pervades Long Island Suburbs
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoChris Simms projects Detroit Lions first-round NFL draft pick
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSan Francisco sets $3.4B price tag for public takeover of PG&E
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoGame Day Guide: Stars at Wild | Dallas Stars
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMay a steadying presence as Cards hold off Marlins in Miami
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoTyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe flex in Boston: Takeaways from Celtics-76ers Game 2
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoMotorcyclist seriously injured in Denver hit-and-run crash – AOL
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoBrock: 2 drafts fits at edge rusher for Seattle Seahawks