Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed him a genuine ace earlier this season, but the 26-year-old struggled to establish his identity early in major league baseball until his meeting with utility man Kike Hernandez in October changed everything.
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Yamamoto was given a Game 1 nod as a rookie and was tasked with facing one of the most dynamic lineups in baseball. The National League Division Series matchup was called the funniest playoff duel in the San Diego Padres, the already injured and the hottest team in the game.
The right-hander couldn’t be held back on the mound, lacking the specific calm of the big league stars. Yamamoto allowed five runs with four hits, including a two-run home run to Manny Machado.
“There are a few things we think we’ll dig into because I think he had some of his gloves (it’s) given some pitches at 2 base,” manager Dave Roberts said following the ‘ 7-5 victory. “We clean it up. It’s part of baseball. So it’s about us that clean it up and not give him the pitch he’s trying to throw.”
Hernandez noticed Yamamoto’s attitude following his disappointing first playoff out.
“He was a bit down after Game 1,” Hernandez told Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
The utility man decides to have a conversation with newcomer Yamamoto at Starbucks, on the bottom floor of the hotel.
“I just wanted to choose his brain,” Hernandez said.
The conversation revealed that Yamamoto had doubts about who he was as a major league pitcher and addressed the uncertainty of how to make the most of his pitching arsenal.
“I felt he wasn’t convicted much on the pitch he was throwing,” Hernandez said. “And he said he felt a bit overwhelmed.”
It was near the end of their one-on-one conversation that Hernandez offered right-handed advice.
“I said, ‘You’re already one of the best pitchers on the planet,'” Hernandez said. “But it felt like there was still more out there and he had to commit to the pitch he was throwing, so that he could come out and do his best.”
Yamamoto returned to the mound of NLDS Game 5 with a new attitude. The right-hander did not give up on running to the Padres lineup, which was dubbed as a problem for most pitchers. Five scoreless innings from Yamamoto were a direct result of Hernandez’s veteran leadership.
The meeting with Hernandez is clearly a turning point for Yamamoto, and the Ace, which takes less than two months in the 2025 campaign, is already a legitimate competitor for the Cy Young Award.
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Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Immagn Image
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