Yamamoto’s High School Coach Discovered His Pitching Talent; Dodgers Star Was Mostly 2nd Baseman

By Masashi Osedo / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

16:54 JST, March 7, 2026

The battle to reach the world’s pinnacle in baseball has begun again.

On Friday night in Tokyo, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the starting pitcher in Samurai Japan’s World Baseball Classic opener against Taiwan. The 27-year-old lived up to that crucial role, securing 2⅔ hitless innings to pick up the win.

During his junior high school days, however, this seriously talented pitcher primarily played as an infielder.

It was Yamamoto’s high school coach who discovered the future star’s potential as a pitcher. He used to cheer Yamamoto on, saying, “I want to see you pitch and lead Japan to the top of the world.”

In junior high school, Yamamoto mostly played as a second baseman for his hometown team in Okayama Prefecture. However, his trajectory was altered when he entered Miyakonojo High School in Miyazaki Prefecture. It was there that the team’s coach, Yoshihiro Morimatsu, watched the young Yamamoto playing catch.

“He had great spin with a laser-like throw,” Morimatsu recalled. “His throwing form was cool. I thought it would be interesting to have him pitch.”

Morimatsu gave Yamamoto few technical pointers. “His ability to find what he needed to do and adopting those changes was incredible,” Morimatsu said.

When Yamamoto joined the high school team, his fastball was clocking around 120 kph. By the autumn season in his second year, it reached 151 kph.

In 2017, he joined the Orix Buffaloes as the No. 4 draft pick and continued to develop as a pitcher.

Seeing his former pupil dominate major league hitters, Morimatsu said, “I never imagined he’d become such an incredible pitcher.”

When Morimatsu asked Yamamoto about recent news in the majors, Yamamoto told him about his Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani, saying, “I’ve learned a lot from him, like the importance of preparation.”

Morimatsu said, “It’s wonderful that his attitude of wanting to get even better hasn’t changed.”

During the WBC, Samurai Japan will be depending on Yamamoto as the ace of the team.

“I want him to play with his own style, enjoying baseball in any situation,” Morimatsu said.

Fans applaud Yamamoto

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Yamamoto was met with a deafening chorus of cheers when he took the mound as the starting pitcher at Tokyo Dome on Friday.

Every strike he threw drew loud applause from the spectators.

“I’m thrilled to see how much he’s grown in the majors,” said a company employee from Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, who has rooted for Yamamoto since his days with the Orix Buffaloes. “I hope he leads Japan to back-to-back [WBC] championships.”

A company employee from Suginami Ward, Tokyo, who watched the game with her family, expressed delight: “It was very moving seeing Japan’s ace pitcher, the MVP of the World Series [last season], throw right before my eyes. His pitches moved so beautifully.”