Yoshinobu Yamamoto Net Worth 2024: Contract, Earnings, Endorsements and More

“I am truly excited to wear Dodger Blue and can’t wait to play in front of a packed Dodger Stadium,” said the Japan's best pitcher post locking a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m), 177-pound (80 kg) right-handed pitcher, who throws a fastball averaging 95 mph (153 km/h), is Japan's best pitching import ever.

In December 2023, Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed a 12 year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers, which made him “the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history”. Before Yoshi enters the realms of MLB as a rookie in 2024, his contract, earnings, family etc. deserve a deep dive.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Net Worth in 2024: A Look into his earnings for the year 

The Japanese pitcher played for the Japan’s NPB's Orix Buffaloes for 6 years (2017-2023). With this, the Japanese man accumulated a net worth of $40 Million with a $28 million average salary for the ongoing year, per the Celebrity Net Worth.

The $5 million base salary plus $50 million signing bonus pro-rated for the season, amounting to $9.17 million, makes up his payroll salary for the year 2024. Moreover, there is no information available regarding the endorsements associated with the pitcher.

From where Yoshinobu Yamamoto hails from: Know about his early life and background

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was born on August 17, 1998 in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. While baseball enthusiasts have been eager to know about the personal tidbits of “the best pitcher in Japan”, Yamamoto has chosen to keep his educational and family background in closed doors. 

A star on the mound: A look into the baseball career of Japanese ace

In 2017, three days after his 19th birthday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his Nippon Professional Baseball debut for the Pacific League’s Orix Buffaloes. Yoshi represented his Japan national baseball team in the 2019 exhibition games and the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal against Team USA in the latter.

Pitching in two games, starting one, in the tournament and allowing two runs in 7+1⁄3 innings, Yamamoto represented Japan in the 5th World Baseball Classic, with his team winning the gold medal. Moreover, Yoshinobu Yamamoto wasn’t NPB’s “great pitcher” but the “league's no-doubt ace” for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023. 

From winning Pacific League Most Valuable Player in the 2021 season to becoming the first pitcher in NPB history to throw no-hitters in consecutive seasons, Yoshi reigned supreme over the NPB, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts each of these three seasons.

This unprecedented feat earned him three consecutive Eiji Sawamura Awards, Japan's esteemed Cy Young equivalent. While Major League Baseball has only seen three Triple Crown winners, Japan's Yamamoto stands as a singular force, conquering the feat three times in a row! Over seven seasons with the Orix Buffaloes, Yamamoto dominated as a starter, boasting a phenomenal 1.72 ERA. 

A champion of the game: His achievements and accolades in a nutshell

From being the Japan’s best pitcher to many anticipating him to replicate the same to Major Leagues, Yamamoto’s NPB and International achievements and accolades speak for themselves:

NPB

• Two no-hitters (2023)


• Japan Series champion (2022)


• 3× Japanese Triple Crown (2021–2023)


• 3× Pacific League MVP (2021–2023)


• 3× Eiji Sawamura Award (2021–2023)


• 3× Best Nine Award (2021–2023)


• 3× Pacific League Golden Glove Award (2021–2023)


• 3× Best Battery Award with Catcher Kenya Wakatsuki (2021–2023)


• 3× Pacific League wins champion (2021–2023)


• Interleague play MVP (2021)


• 4× Pacific League strikeout champion (2020–2023)


• 4× Pacific League ERA champion (2019, 2021–2023)


• 5× NPB All-Star (2018, 2019, 2021–2023)

International

• Tokyo 2020 All-Olympic Baseball Team (2021)

His MLB Dream Fulfilled: How Yoshinobu Yamamoto became pitcher with the biggest MLB contract

Yamamoto, “a WBC champion, Olympic champion and NPB champion”, signed the eye-popping 12-year, $325 million contract on December 27, 2023, with the Dodgers. The Japanese stars dominated the 2023-24 free agency. While his countryman, Shohei Ohtani, signed a 10 year, $700 million contract which is “the richest in North American sports history”, Yoshinobu became “the highest-paid pitcher in MLB history”, joining the long list of the dominant NPB pitchers to jump to the Majors.

A day after he signed this hefty contract, reporter Noah Camras posted a tweet, which said “when he (Yamamoto) was 19 years old he came to a playoff game at Dodger Stadium and Kenta Maeda was pitching.” This was the primary reason why the young Yamamoto wanted to play in the major league at some point of his career.

After he entered the realms of MLB through this massive deal, Yamamoto said, “I will stop simply admiring the players that I have looked up to, but strive to become the player that others want to become,” in an interview. 

Is he single? Know the answer

According to the most recent information, Yamamoto is single with no indication of past or present relationships. The 2022 Japan Series champion’s social media revolves around his baseball exploits, emphasizing his one track mind towards baseball.

As they say, ‘everyone has a personal life’, Yoshi is perhaps choosing to shield this bit of his life from the public eye. This individual's dating life is a guessing game, and marriage seems as mythical as a unicorn for now.

It remains to be seen if Yoshinobu Yamamoto manages to replicate or go beyond what his compatriot, Shohei Ohtani, has achieved over the years in Major League Baseball.

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