Dave Roberts Said Dodgers Accomplished Mission of Painting Japan Blue

In 1995, right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo made his Main League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though Nomo wasn’t the primary Japanese participant within the huge leagues, he’s typically credited for paving the best way for many who have adopted him to stateside baseball.

Extra information: Dave Roberts Hints at Dodgers Opening Day Middle Fielder for Tokyo Collection

The signing of Nomo might actually be thought-about the genesis of the Dodgers’ relationship with Japanese gamers.

Flash ahead to 2025, the Dodgers will compete towards the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day on the Tokyo Dome. L.A. has not one, not two, however three of Japan’s finest and brightest on the roster in Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki.

When the Dodgers signed Ohtani and Yamamoto, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman mentioned the franchise hoped to develop into a pipeline for Japanese expertise.

“This signing, from our standpoint, was concerning the stage of expertise that we added and the impact it has on our championship odds. However a very useful facet of this deal is the potential tail of worth of children rising up [in Japan] being passionate Dodger followers, turning into actually good gamers within the NPB [Nippon Professional Baseball], after which in a really perfect world desirous to be a Dodger after they come over to play Main League Baseball.”

That dream grew to become a actuality when Sasaki selected to signal with the Dodgers over the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers are actually seeing the recognition of the staff in actual time throughout their journey abroad.

“I believe our mission was completed, portray the nation of Japan in Dodger blue,” Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts mentioned.