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The story
A thread on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo board blew up after reports that a local U.S. newspaper has been framing the Dodgers’ two Japanese stars in starkly different lights — calling Yamamoto Yoshinobu a “hero” while branding Shohei Ohtani a “slump.” The piece highlights Yamamoto’s jaw-dropping 34-0 record in major league starts when his team scores three or more runs, while pointing to Ohtani’s cold stretch: zero home runs and just two RBIs in over 100 plate appearances. Opinions in the thread split three ways — praise for Yamamoto’s dominance, fans still holding out hope for Ohtani, and some pushing back that Ohtani’s “big mouth” image is really just an exaggerated interpreter’s translation rather than his own words.
What people said
Don't need a decorative DH who can't do anything
You only just learned who DePaula is and you're already saying that?
Well, assuming they even make the World Series
The legend was seriously chanting it over and over
Wonder when the new catchphrase drops
Yamamoto >>>>> Murakami >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Ohtani
Murakami beats Ohtani?
Murakami completely cratered in the second half though
He's got 30 homers and 8 wins this season
If you rip into him this badly now,
it'll only get worse from next year on
and you'll have run out of insults to throw at him
In the second half he went 0 wins with a .700-something OPS as a bat-only guy, so yeah the image is bad
Yamamoto is 34-0 in his MLB career
Another legend in the making?
What's that stat?
That's basically unheard of for a DH
And this is with him only focused on hitting, not even playing defense
If I were a fan I couldn't forgive that
If he's this out of form, can't they just bench him?
but I can't get behind his big-mouth attitude
wish he'd be more humble
In Japanese he's plenty humble actually
It's the interpreter — not a trained professional — embellishing the translation, so stuff he never actually said ends up printed on T-shirts and in videos making him look like a big mouth
Lol he got turned into a big mouth without even saying anything
No way, Re: #39 was obviously a joke…
Because what fans want from "Ohtani-san" (a nod to how Americans pronounce his name) is 40 homers AND a Cy Young in the same year
Right when Yamamoto's 3 runs allowed had everyone thinking 'same old Dodgers, weak in the postseason,' Ohtani stepped up to show this year was different
can tell at a glance this is a bad slump
https://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/news/2026/10/07/jpeg/20261007s10001007092000p_view.webp
Yeah, his eyes aren't even tracking the ball anymore
Sure he could
Soccer's Hidetoshi Nakata retired for exactly that reason
All thanks to him saying 'hey, there's a guy better than me' and bringing him along
The man's Mr. October
Back in his NPB days it was actually the opposite reputation
Truly incredible
Freedom of the press being what it is, they'll probably try to keep the hype alive at least through the LA Olympics
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The core of this story is a striking contrast in numbers: Yamamoto Yoshinobu’s pitching line of 34 wins, 0 losses in starts where his team scored at least three runs, versus Shohei Ohtani’s cold streak of zero home runs and just two RBIs in over 100 plate appearances. It’s easy to overlook that Yamamoto’s gaudy record only covers games where his offense backed him up — it isn’t a measure of his own ERA. As for Ohtani’s “big mouth” reputation, commenters in the thread point out that this likely stems not from his own words but from an interpreter’s embellished translation going viral, meaning the public image may not match what he actually said. On the other hand, Ohtani has a track record of bailing Yamamoto out during the 2024 postseason, and many in the thread argue it’s too soon to lock in a verdict based on this slump alone. The fact that reputations can swing so wildly over a short stretch of games is part of what makes postseason baseball so unforgiving.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo board) thread “[Breaking] Local Paper Reports Yamamoto as Hero, Ohtani as Has-Been.”
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