Fukuoka Softbank announced on May 12th that pitcher Shuto Ogata Ogata and infielder Tomoya Inoue will be joining Yokohama DeNA... Yudai Yamamoto The team announced that a player trade had been finalized. Many professional baseball fans were likely surprised by the news that the Yokohama DeNA BayStars' starting catcher would be transferred in the middle of the season.
Hit a home run.
Now 27 years old, Yu Yamamoto went from Kyoto Shoei High School to BC Shiga before joining Yokohama DeNA in the 9th round of the 2017 draft. This season will mark his 9th year with the team.
In his first year, he made his first NPB appearance on May 25, 2018 against Tokyo Yakult. He surprised fans with his first at-bat home run against Hiroshima on August 19 of the same year, coming in as a substitute in the bottom of the 8th inning and Yokohama Stadium hitting a delightful first pitch into the left field stands.
In his second year, 2019, he played 13 games, including his first appearance starting line-up as No. 8 catcher on May 6 The Giants, but one of the most memorable games was a dramatic one against Tokyo Yakult on August 28 extra inning. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Yu Yamamoto, the last fielder player on the bench, hit his first walk-off hit in a timely manner with two outs bases loaded to end a 4-hour 58-minute battle. The game ended after 4 hours and 58 minutes.
The season of his breakthrough came in 2023, when he served as the wife of Yokohama DeNA ace Katsuki Higashi pitcher. The battery of Higashi pitcher and Yu Yamamoto won the "2023 Pro baseball Best Battery Award" with their 12-game winning streak from June to the end of September. He also hit .277 with a .455 batting average, 3 Home Run and a stolen base innings-batted-in percentage in defense.
In 2024, he wore a starting line-up mask in the season opener for the first time since joining the team. He continued to appear in games as a regular catcher and made his first appearance in the All-Star Game in the summer as a fan-voted player. 108 games, the most of his career, were played, although he was forced to leave the game in September due to a broken bone and surgery and did not make it to the Climax Series and Japan Series. He won his first Best Nine award by turning his once problematic batting into his strength with a .291 batting average (358 At Bat 104 hit), 5 Home Run and 37 RBI. He also defense hit .997 with a .997 slugging percentage, stolen base and a .352 slugging percentage, wall and won the Mitsui Golden Glove Award for the first time.
In his new team, he'll face competition once again, and has already formed a battery with a former teammate.
Although the team has moved Fukuoka Softbank to a new location, the Takashi Umino players who contributed to last year's Japan championship have been supporting the team so far. The high level of regular competition between the experienced catcher players should help strengthen the team, which is aiming for a third consecutive league championship.
Also, they became teammates for the first time in 4 years with Hiroki Minei player and for the first time in 2 years with Taiga Kamichatani pitcher player. Yu Yamamoto's second game after his transfer, against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, was quickly followed by a battery reunion with Kamijaya pitcher.
The day after the trade was announced, starting line-up debut as a starter at the press conference for his transfer. It was a tough start in his new team, but on May 16th against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, he recorded 2 hit in 4 At Bat-bats, including his first hit since the transfer. At the end of May, the interleague games will begin, and he will face his former team at the familiar Yokohama Stadium. All eyes will be on Yu Yamamoto, who has grown from a 9th round draft pick, to see what kind of impact he will have on Fukuoka Softbank.
*Based on NPB BIS statistics.
Text by Ayako Kikuchi
