Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Yamamoto’s family travels far to see stunning debut
MIAMI — It was a whirlwind 36 hours or so for Jordan Yamamoto.
Tuesday afternoon, the 23-year-old pitcher was sitting on a bus in Jacksonville, preparing for a seven-hour ride to play a minor-league game in Birmingham, Ala. Scheduled to start Wednesday against the White Sox’s Double-A affiliate, he was game-planning for the Biscuits’ lineup, highlighted by outfielder Luis Robert.
Moments before departing, his manager told him to get off the bus — he was heading to “The Show.”
With Marlins starter Jose Urena heading to the injured list and unable to pitch Wednesday night, Yamamoto instead drove down Interstate-95 to Miami to face the St. Louis Cardinals in his majorleague debut.
“I broke down in tears,” said Yamamoto of hearing the news. “It was of those moments I couldn’t even speak. I couldn’t do anything but cry.”
Having never pitched above Double A, it was hard to gauge how Yamamoto would fare in his sudden call-up. Facing a strong Cardinals lineup, the righthander turned in an absolute gem.
Acquired from the Brewers in the Christian Yelich trade, he tossed seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks.
Mixing his off-speed stuff with impressive efficiency, the Marlins’ 17th-ranked prospect also notched five strikeouts on 95 pitches to help lead Miami to a 9-0 victory.
While dominating in his debut was great, the best part was his family being able to witness it in person.
Born in Pearl City, Hawaii, Yamamoto starred at Saint Louis High School, whose alums include Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. With Yamamoto’s family still living in the Aloha State, they’re usually only able to see him pitch once or twice during the season due to the lengthy flight, which includes roughly 14 hours of air travel.
Not having much advance warning, Yamamoto instantly sprang into action to make sure his family could be in Marlins Park for the big day.
“Yesterday when I got the call, I called them and said, ‘Get on a flight,’ ” Yamamoto recalled. “[My mom said] ‘It’s too expensive.’ I said, ‘I don’t care. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Here’s my card. Go do what you’ve got to do. Just get out here.’ ”
While one of his sisters couldn’t make it, his parents and younger sister all landed in time to see him spin a masterpiece.
“They left at 3 [p.m.] yesterday and got in at about 11 this morning,” Yamamoto said after Wednesday’s game. “They went from Hawaii to [Los Angeles], LA to Houston and Houston to Miami. So it’s quite a bit of flying. It’s at least 14 hours.”
“They mean the world to me.”