Complete history of Japanese rookie pitchers debuting with Dodgers

It’s been six years since the last MLB game in Tokyo, when Ichiro Suzuki bid a tear-jerking goodbye to baseball.

It feels almost like fate, then, that the 2025 installment of the Tokyo Series will feature the next generation of transcendent Japanese stars, from Shohei Ohtani to Shota Imanaga. At the center of it all, though, will be the biggest prize of the offseason, Roki Sasaki, who will aim to carry on the tradition of strong rookie performances by Japanese players in Dodger Blue.

Sasaki, who turned pro with Nippon Professional Baseball at the age of 19, certainly seems to have the skills to live up to the hype. In high school, he broke Ohtani’s fastball velocity record and he holds the professional baseball record for consecutive strikeouts with 13. Even more astounding, he accomplished that feat in a perfect game that featured 19 total strikeouts. Still, he has some pretty big shoes to fill in LA.

Complete history of Japanese rookie pitchers debuting with Dodgers

Nomo Breaks Down the Door

Although Masanori Murakami broke through as the first Japan-born player in MLB in the mid-1960s, Hideo Nomo ushered in the era of Japanese stars. He and agent Don Namora found a loophole in the agreement between the NPB and MLB, allowing Nomo to sign with the Dodgers in 1995.

With his distinctive windup and explosive stuff, Nomo made a splash immediately, spending just one game in LA’s Minor League system. His Major League debut demonstrated just how dominant (and occasionally wild) he could be, as he waltzed through five innings, striking out seven, walking four, and allowing just one hit.

Nomo took some time to get stretched out, in part due to the lingering effects of the 1994-95 strike, which compressed spring training. Once he got up to speed, though, he outshined staff ace Ramón Martínez; the pair finished fourth and fifth in Cy Young voting that season. Nomo led the NL with 236 strikeouts, hitting double-digit Ks in 11 of his 28 starts. 

Nomo’s rookie season was not only one of the best by a Japanese pitcher, but one of the best by a pitcher period. He followed in Fernando Valenzuela’s footsteps by starting the All-Star Game and took home the NL Rookie of the Year Award, the fourth in a string of five consecutive Dodgers to earn the prize.

The Second Wave: Ishii, Saito, and Kuroda

Nomo’s second stint with the Dodgers overlapped with their next heralded Japanese rookie, Kazuhisa Ishii. The southpaw came to the Majors in 2002 after 10 seasons with the NPB, but the transition went nowhere near as smoothly as Nomo’s. 

Despite turning in scoreless outings in his first two career starts, Ishii began to see the effects of his wildness. He walked at least two batters in each of his starts in 2002 and finished the season with a MLB-high 106 free passes. Still, Ishii finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Unlike his predecessors, Takashi Saito was in the waning years of his career when he jumped to the Majors in 2006 at the age of 36. Still, he established himself as a dominant closer in the post-Eric Gagne era. Saito was a strikeout machine, logging 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Had he pitched enough innings to qualify, he would have led the NL in several categories, including WHIP.

Saito was essential in the Dodgers’ run to the division title. He contributed 4.0 win probability added, best in the NL, and he logged two perfect outings in the NLDS. His contributions, though, could not help LA avoid a sweep at the hands of the Mets.

Kuroda was a five-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner, and ERA champion in the NPB, not to mention a bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics. So when the Dodgers inked the right-hander to a three-year deal prior to the 2008 season, expectations were high.

Kuroda, who joined his friend Saito in LA, was Mr. Consistent. He completed at least six innings in 21 of his 31 starts as a rookie. In July, he took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Braves and ended up pitching a “Maddux” (a complete game shutout with less than 100 pitches).

In Game 3 of the NLDS, Kuroda got the call and shut down the Cubs. He stifled Chicago for 6 ⅓ innings, becoming just the second rookie starter to lead the Dodgers to victory in a series-clinching game.

Modern-Day Superstars: Maeda and Yamamoto

By the time Kenta Maeda crossed the Pacific in 2016, there was little else for him to do in the NPB. He was a two-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner (the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young) to go along with his Triple Crown and five Gold Gloves. When the Dodgers signed Maeda to an eight-year deal, he seemed like a sure bet.

Maeda’s rookie season, while not as superlative as his NPB career, lived up to his promise to some extent. He stabilized a rotation beset by injuries and started a team-high 32 games. To date, his rookie year established his career marks for innings pitched, ERA, and strikeouts. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting, overshadowed by teammate and ROY winner Corey Seager.

Signing the latest (and most expensive) Japanese player to make his MLB debut with the Dodgers set the tone for LA’s championship run in 2024. Yoshinobu Yamamoto came with massive expectations thanks to his career 1.84 ERA in the NPB. Essentially, the right-hander had been the best pitcher, if not the best player, in Japan for at least the past three seasons, a period that saw him win three straight Triple Crowns, MVP Awards, and Sawamura Awards.

Yamamoto’s transition to the Majors had a few hiccups early on, but his poise and pinpoint command made for a successful rookie season. Unfortunately, he underwent shoulder surgery in June, limiting his playing time. His return, though, was the stuff of Hollywood. In the postseason, he posted a 2-0 record in four starts, including a pivotal series-clinching victory in the NLCS.

Roki Sasaki has a long act to follow, but he also is standing on the shoulders of giants. All of the pitchers who have walked this path before him have met with at least relative success in their rookie season. If he can shrug off the mounting pressure, Sasaki could very well be the best of them all.