Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Rough Dodgers Debut Stuns MLB Fans After Record $325M Contract

Adam WellsMarch 21, 2024

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - MARCH 21: Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after allowing Luis Campusano #12 of the San Diego Padres a RBI double in the 1st inning during the 2024 Seoul Series game between San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 21, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Masterpress/Getty Images)

Masterpress/Getty Images

Los Angeles Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto has nowhere to go but up after a brutal MLB debut in which he allowed five earned runs on four hits and one walk in just one inning against the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

The first four Padres hitters reached base before Yamamoto was able to record an out. Xander Bogaerts started the game with a leadoff single, followed by Fernando Tatis Jr. getting hit by a pitch, a two-run triple from Jake Cronenworth and a Manny Machado walk.

MLB @MLB
Jake Cronenworth and the <a href="https://twitter.com/Padres?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Padres</a> strike first! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SeoulSeries?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SeoulSeries</a> <a href="https://t.co/jS0kzfHulR">pic.twitter.com/jS0kzfHulR</a>

Expectations were almost unfairly high for Yamamoto coming into this game after he signed the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history worth $325 million over 12 years.

Fans had a lot to say about Yamamoto's tough debut as an MLB pitcher:

Chad Moriyama @ChadMoriyama
"Yamamoto is on his way out, looking toward the heavens. We can only ask -- or wonder -- that he is asking some departed relative for forgiveness for this atrocious performance." - Bob Costas, somewhere. <a href="https://t.co/OXKVcarg7l">pic.twitter.com/OXKVcarg7l</a>

Giannis Auntiegotapoodle @TooMuchMortons_
Yamamoto done after 1 inning <a href="https://t.co/r1jV8waCi1">pic.twitter.com/r1jV8waCi1</a>

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

Daniel Brim @DanielBrim
Yamamoto being completely unable to spot his split and also being around the zone instead of in it is just about the last way you'd describe him as a pitcher in the past (including his spring starts). Which means it's also extremely unlikely to be a long-term concern.

Yakyu Cosmopolitan @yakyucosmo
Of Yoshinobu Yamamoto's 118 career regular season NPB starts, he only failed to complete 5.0 innings twice (both in 2017), and he only allowed 5 or more earned runs on six occasions.<br><br>He allowed 5 runs in 1 inning tonight. <a href="https://t.co/di4rtRy95g">pic.twitter.com/di4rtRy95g</a>

Jon Anderson @JonPgh
Yamamoto owners rolling over and checking their phones this morning <a href="https://t.co/xwxiZXHglf">pic.twitter.com/xwxiZXHglf</a>

Ari Tata🌙 (IT'S SHO-TIME) @Ariichiiyoko
We're all going to be laughing at this when Yamamoto pulls it together & has a great season <a href="https://t.co/85KQ05wv48">pic.twitter.com/85KQ05wv48</a>

Chad Moriyama @ChadMoriyama
Did Yamamoto miss the zone badly this much the entirety of last year? Probably not, lol.

Yamamoto's spring starts suggested he wasn't ready to step in and dominate an MLB lineup. He allowed nine earned runs on 14 hits in 7.2 innings in his last two outings before Thursday.

This series is also an outlier on the regular-season schedule. Both teams are traveling back to the United States after today and will play more spring games this weekend before the regular season resumes on March 28.

Even though Yamamoto certainly would have preferred to be in the game for more than a single inning, this one outing isn't a cause for concern. If he gets through a handful of starts in the regular season and things don't get better, then the panic meter can rise.

B/R Recommends