Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was born on  August 17, 1998, in Okayama, Japan. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

Yamamoto made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut on August 20, 2017 (three days after his 19th birthday), for the Orix Buffaloes of the Pacific League. Yamamoto finished the 2021 season with an 18–5 record and 206 strikeouts across 193+2⁄3 innings pitched. His 1.39 earned run average (ERA) lead the league for the season. Yamamoto won the Pacific League Most Valuable Player Award following the season.

On June 18, 2022, Yamamoto threw the year's fourth no-hitter and the 97th in NPB, pitching the Buffaloes to a 2–0 win over the Saitama Seibu Lions. In 26 starts for Orix in 2022, Yamamoto registered a 15–5 record and 1.68 ERA with 205 strikeouts in 193 innings pitched. Following the season, he was named the Eiji Sawamura Award winner for the second consecutive season. He also won his second consecutive pitching Triple Crown.

On September 9, 2023, Yamamoto threw his second NPB career no-hitter, blanking the Chiba Lotte Marines. In doing so, he became the first pitcher in NPB history to throw no-hitters in consecutive seasons.

On November 5, 2023, the Buffaloes announced that Yamamoto would be posted to the MLB. He was officially posted fifteen days later on November 20.

Yamamoto signe a 12 year deal to join the Los Angeles Dodgers during the winter of 2023.