What will be the price of Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix Buffaloes), who staged a ‘demonstration of force’ in front of New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and numerous major league scouts?
Yamamoto started on the mound in the 2023 Japan Professional Baseball away game against the Chiba Lotte Marines held at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan on the 9th (Korean time), pitching 102 pitches in 9 innings, striking out 8, and walking out 2 (1 walk, 1 walk). 4 balls) He showed off a commanding pitching performance that allowed no runs.
Yamamoto is currently the ace pitcher representing Japanese professional baseball. Yamamoto is the first Japanese professional baseball player in the 2021-2022 season to win four pitcher awards (multiple wins, earned run average, strikeouts, and winning percentage) for two consecutive years, as well as the Pacific League regular season MVP and the Sawamura Award, which can be awarded only if strict conditions are met. He was reborn as the best player.
Yamamoto can try to advance to the major leagues through the ‘posting system’ after this season, and he proved that he can play well against major leaguers at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) last March, and is currently receiving a lot of interest from multiple clubs. is receiving. This could be seen just by looking at the pitch on the 9th.
먹튀검증At the time, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman personally visited Japan to watch Yamamoto. It was extremely unusual for Director Cashman to visit Japan. According to multiple Japanese media outlets, it has been six years since General Manager Cashman visited Japan in 2017, when Shohei Ohtani was playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters and was about to advance to the major leagues.
In addition to General Manager Cashman, a total of 30 scouts from multiple major league clubs, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, LA Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays, gathered at ZOZO Marine Stadium. And Yamamoto proudly achieved the feat of becoming the 100th no-hitter and no-run in Japanese professional baseball history.
According to Japan’s Sankei Sports, General Manager Cashman, who was interviewed by Japanese reporters after Yamamoto’s no-hitter and no-run pitch, said, “It was great. Anyone who saw it would have been excited. It was a historic play. It was the best moment for the team and the fans. “I’m happy to be able to be together in this moment,” he said, giving a thumbs up to Yamamoto. It appeared that Director Cashman’s comment was not just ‘lip service’.
Director Cashman took out the ticket for the game on the 9th from his pocket and showed it to the Japanese reporters, saying, “I will treasure today’s ticket. I might be able to get Yamamoto’s autograph when I meet him again someday. It’s a really good game to watch.” “I think I chose it,” he said with a bright smile.
It has become known that General Manager Cashman visited Japan to inspect Yamamoto, and the local American media is also showing great interest as Yamamoto achieved a no-hitter and no run in the game for the second year in a row. In particular, ‘NBC Sports Boston’ argued for Yamamoto’s recruitment in an article titled ‘Why the Boston Red Sox should go all-in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto’ on the 12th.
Yamamoto is evaluated as being ‘a step above’ Kodai Senga, who signed a five-year contract worth $75 million (about KRW 99.7 billion) with the New York Mets prior to this season. This can be seen just by looking at the records. Yamamoto has pitched in 169 games over a total of 7 seasons, recording 68 wins, 28 losses, 32 holds, 1 save, and an ERA of 1.84. On the other hand, Senga recorded 87 wins, 44 losses, 20 holds, 1 save, and an ERA of 2.59 in 224 games over 11 seasons.
In terms of career ERA, Yamamoto is overwhelming. Moreover, while Senga had 444 walked outs while throwing a total of 1,089 innings, Yamamoto only had 225 walked outs in 876 innings. There is a difference in pitching innings, but even taking this into account, we can see that Yamamoto is much more stable than Senga in terms of pitching. For these reasons, the prevailing view is that Yamamoto will receive a larger contract than Senga.
So what do the locals think of Yamamoto’s ransom? At the beginning of this season, Major League Trade Rumors (MLBTR) supported a contract larger than Senga’s, predicting a contract worth a total of $200 million (about 265.9 billion won). And at this point, ‘NBC Sports Boston’ predicts that the 7-year contract that Masahiro Tanaka signed with the New York Yankees in 2014 will be worth $155 million (about 206 billion won).
The American business magazine ‘Forbes’ said on the 12th, “Yamamoto’s posting fee will not be a big obstacle,” and “The total amount of Yamamoto’s contract remains to be seen, but it could well exceed $200 million. There is no such young and talented pitcher on the market.” “This is because it is a rare event. Many major league clubs will compete,” he predicted.
As Forbes mentioned, everything has to be opened. However, it is highly likely that the ‘no hit, no run’ recorded in front of General Manager Cashman and numerous scouts on the 9th played a large role in the increase in Yamamoto’s value. First of all, the Yankees are a team that has the nickname of the ‘evil empire’ by lavishing the best players in the major leagues with ‘money’. If the Yankees decide to enter the recruitment process, a $200 million contract may not be a dream. If this happens, Yamamoto will enter the big league with the highest salary among players heading to the major league from Asia.