Dave Roberts Praises ‘Good Teammate’ Shohei Ohtani for Supporting Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Dodgers Debut
Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his Cactus League debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, and Shohei Ohtani showed up to support his teammate. Since Ohtani made his debut Tuesday and was not playing in Wednesday’s Cactus League game versus the Texas Rangers, he did not have to go on the Dodgers’ road trip.
However, Ohtani decided to travel with the Dodgers to Surprise, Arizona to watch and support Yamamoto in his debut.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed what he thought of Ohtani coming to watch Yamamoto pitch in MLB for the first time.
“What a good teammate. It’s something that he didn’t have to do clearly. But he wanted to come here and support his teammate. So, for a guy like Yoshinobu to come here, and have the support of his own countrymen and his teammates, and obviously a good turnout of Dodger fans, it was pretty special. Really awesome.”
— Dave Roberts, via USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Special is a perfect word to describe the debut of Yamamoto, with Ohtani in the audience. The Dodgers got to watch their two biggest free agent signings support each other, and Yamamoto was terrific. Yamamoto went up against the minimum six batters in the two innings he pitched. He allowed just one hit, and delivered 16 strikes on 19 pitches.
After his debut, Ohtani joked that Yamamoto was just “so-so,” further showing the bond these two players are creating. Ohtani was also seen motioning Yamamoto back to the dugout after getting three outs.
The Dodgers clearly have something special with Ohtani and Yamamoto. Even better than just their play on the field, the two are very supportive of each other and clearly good friends.
Photo Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
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