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Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan hailed Yoshinobu Yamamoto's rise to stardom and recalled training alongside him before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 28-year-old first met his Japanese counterpart in the 2020 Olympics, where Team Japan beat Team USA for the gold medal. Ryan revealed that they trained together after that and he remains a huge fan of Yamamoto.
When Yamamoto was posted on the MLB market in the winter of 2023, Joe Ryan had already completed two full seasons in the major leagues. Nonetheless, the Twins pitcher was still impressed with Yamamoto when he trained with the Japanese ace.
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Looking back at the times he spent training with Yamamoto as well as playing against him, Ryan hailed the Japanese star's ability on the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast, saying (12:10 onwards)
"I was throwing at UCLA, I was there for a couple of weeks and Yamamoto was training there while he was figuring out who to sign with. So before he was signing, he was showing me the javelins and we were tossing those on the field. It was just fun to watch his whole routine and go through it. He was great, he was the man.
"When they came to Minnesota last year, it was good to see him. He's a beast, it's just awesome to see his success. I mean, the mechanics, the routine, it's all super great."
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is now in his second season with the Dodgers and is one of the most exciting young pitchers in the country. He holds a 4-2 record with an MLB-best 0.90 ERA and 49 strikeouts over seven starts this year.
Will Smith hails Yoshinobu Yamamoto's form after winning Pitcher of the Month award
Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the first Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher since Clayton Kershaw to win the NL Pitcher of the Month award for his performances through March and April. Speaking on his terrific form this season, catcher Will Smith says (via Dodgers Nation):
“Right now, he’s pitching like the best pitcher in the world. We’re just fortunate to have him.”
Yamamoto continued his form into May, pitching six shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves to record his fourth win of the MLB season. As it stands, the Dodgers star is a frontrunner for the NL Cy Young award this year.
