Kike Hernandez tips his hat to Dodgers ace with a nod to his NPB roots

Ahead of their game against the Texas Rangers, Kike Hernandez paid a touching tribute to teammate and Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Before the game, Hernandez sported an Orix Buffaloes cap, a nod to Yamamoto's team back in Japan's NPB.

During the latter stint of Yamamoto's career with the Buffaloes, the team went on a dominant run. Orix claimed three consecutive Pacific League pennants from 2021 until 2023, which includes a Japan Series title in 2022.

Kike Hernndez wearing an Orix Buffaloes cap (kikehndez/Instagram)

"Buffaloes hat for @yoshinobu_yamamoto start!' - Kike Hernandez

Yamamoto's time with the Buffaloes resulted in the hurler being arguably the best pitcher in NPB. He became a five-time All-Star, a Japan Series champion, won three consecutive Japanese Triple Crowns, three consecutive Eiji Sawamura Awards, and three consecutive Pacific League MVPs.

Apart from the plethora of accolades, Yamamoto also pitched two no-hitters during his NPB career, and in the process, became the first pitcher in the two-league system of the NPB to hurl no-hitters in consecutive seasons.

For his run of utter superiority, he earned a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2024 campaign.

In international play, Yamamoto has also seen his fair share of success after winning the 2019 WBSC Premier12, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Dodgers career

Ever since he stepped foot on the West Coast, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has established himself as the Dodgers' ace. In his first season with the squad, he compiled a 7-2 regular season record with a 3.20 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 90 innings.

In addition, Yamamoto stepped up when it mattered most as he posted a 3.86 ERA across 18 and 2/3 innings and four starts during the team's postseason run. It can be recalled that most of the team's starting rotation during this time was hit with the injury bug, forcing skipper Dave Roberts to utilize a bullpen committee to finish out games.

At the time of writing, the 26-year-old star has compiled an impressive 1.23 ERA and a 2-1 record across four starts to begin the 2025 campaign.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago