Los Angeles Dodgers players are cashing in on the buzz around Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s special bobblehead, a collaboration between the team and Nintendo featuring the character “Yoshi.”
The giveaway happened on Tuesday, March 31, before the game, allowing the first 40,000 fans that enter the stadium to get their hands on it.
The Dodgers are facing the Cleveland Guardians in a game that will see star Shohei Ohtani do his double duties, pitching as a starter and hitting at the top of the order.
However, the real star of the show is the Yoshi bobblehead, which depicts the iconic video game character as Yamamoto, wearing his jersey and a Dodgers cap.
The ticket to get into the Guardians-Dodgers game is at $160, a high figure for an early-week game against a middling team.
However, the crossover bobblehead perfectly captures Yamamoto’s essence and connects with a classic character in Yoshi, giving it quite the mainstream appeal, even among rabid Dodger fans.
The bobblehead is so scarce. After that, according to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, some Dodgers players had Yamamoto sign their collectibles, raising their value and making them special keepsakes for the players.
It could end up fetching thousands of dollars, since the bobblehead is already reselling for more than $200 on eBay, with the value rising as supplies become scarce after release.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s rising star
Yamamoto is one of the emerging stars on the Dodgers since coming over and securing the most guaranteed money as a pitcher in MLB history.
He was known by baseball diehards stateside, but Yamamoto was unknown to the casual fan, that is, until his price tag put a big spotlight on him.
His rookie year was good, nothing flashy, but it was his sophomore year that put him on the map, with a World Series MVP and overall carrying a massive pitching load all year long, which has made him a Dodgers legend.
Now with a great crossover, Yamamoto will only continue to rise in popularity, though how far he goes as a player will ultimately be defined by his success on the mound, and he is off to a great start.
