Yoshinobu Yamamoto melts hearts with adorable reaction to young fan letter

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto has emerged as a fan-favorite since his arrival from Japan in the 2023 offseason. The Japanese hurler had a wholesome interaction with young fans on Tuesday.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto visited the Dunsmore Elementary School and interacted with young students for the Dual Immersion Storytime activity with LA Reads. He wore a Dodgers jersey with his No. 18.

In a clip shared on X by Dodgers Nation, Yamamoto was seen receiving a letter from a young fan. Yamamoto shook hands with the fan and shared an adorable smile while reading the letter on the spot. He even shared the letter with one of the school representatives.

"Yoshinobu Yamamoto was so happy receiving a handwritten letter from this young student."

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto, during his visit to the school, read the children’s book “Hayao Miyazaki,” a biography on the life of the renowned Japanese animator. Following his reading session, the Japanese ace took questions from the young fans.

“In order to overcome the nervousness, I practice regularly to build up my confidence,” Yamamoto said on if he gets nervous before games.

The Dodgers ace shares a strong bond with fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki. He named the duo as his best friends during an interaction with a young fan.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto grateful for opportunity to represent Dodgers

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was grateful for the opportunity to make an impact outside of the baseball diamond.

“I’m very thankful to have been given this opportunity,” Yamamoto said at the event per Dodger Insider. “I think it was great to see (a) Japanese (player) come here to inspire them to become successful.”

The Japanese hurler has been stellar from the mound this season while the Dodgers continue to struggle with injuries to the pitching staff. With 15 pitchers on the injured list, Yamamoto has more than done his part with a 6-4 record.

Although he was shaky in his last start against the New York Yankees in Sunday's series finale, conceding four runs in 3.2 innings, he has been amongst the best pitchers in the NL this year. He will make his next start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash