Dating rumors involving Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Japanese model Niki Niwa have started after the two were spotted together at a mall in Beverly Hills.
TikTokker Jack Banana approached the two and asked, “Are you Yoshinobu?,” to which the pitcher replied in the affirmative.
He then asked Niwa how she was doing and what her name was and she responded, “Niki.”
Niwa starred in the Netflix reality series “Terrace House” as well as in the streaming service’s series “Peanut Butter Sandwich.”
The Dodgers signed Yamamoto to a 12-year contract worth $325 million last season as well as inking a $700 million blockbuster with fellow Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, who agreed for a vast majority of the money to be deferred in order to help Los Angeles sign other stars.
Yamamoto had a 7-2 record with 105 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 90 innings pitched in the regular season.
In the playoffs, he had a 2-0 record with 3.86 ERA en route to the Dodgers winning the World Series in five games against the Yankees.
In Game 2 of the World Series, Yamamoto gave up one earned run and threw four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings as the Dodgers defeated the Yankees 4-2.
His teammate, reliever Daniel Hudson, was effusive in his praise for how Yamamoto adjusted to his first season in MLB.
“Obviously, coming over to this league can be a big-time culture shock,” Hudson said after Game 2.
“This country, this league, is completely different than what he was growing up in, playing over there, so everybody kind of figured there was kind of going to be some growing pains there. But he’s got elite stuff, he’s got a good head on his shoulders. … We were pretty pumped to get him back there at the end of the year.”
