Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto teamed up to help Team Japan win the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani also reportedly played a part in helping the Dodgers land Yamomoto on a 12-year, $325 million deal on Friday.
It would appear the two are already hard at work building their bond.
In light of each of their record-setting deals, the new teammates apparently enjoyed a dinner together at Matsuhisa Beverly Hills on Saturday.
The world-famous sushi restaurant pulled out all the stops for its special guests, treating Ohtani, Yamamoto and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara to an array of delectable desserts, as shared on Instagram by pastry chef Kei Hasegawa:
Yamamoto’s contract checks in as the most lucrative signed by a pitcher in terms of guaranteed dollars, outpacing Gerrit Cole’s deal with the Yankees, signed for nine years and $324 million in 2020.
Ohtani, for his part, is estimated to be the highest-paid player in the history of professional sports after signing his 10-year, $700 million deal.
Well worth a celebration, we’d say.