Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had a lot on his mind during his first spring training session. He had to consider everything from the impression he would make in his first game with his new team to how he would use the game to get ready for the 2024 season.

Yamamoto, a right-hander, only threw 19 pitches, 16 of which were strikes, in his two innings pitched against the Texas Rangers last Wednesday. He had to face the required six batters. Pitch-tipping was obviously not a problem. Was it, or was it not?SportsNet LA color analyst Rick Monday was able to discern the pitches Yamamoto was making when the pitcher had the ball in his hand on the mound during the live game broadcast.

“One thing I’ve already seen is that I could tell the prior pitch was a splitter when he got set and was looking in for the center field camera. Why? It was visible in the glove.Major League Baseball officially forbids using electronic gadgets to steal signs and relay them in real time to hitters. Sign-stealing rarely breaks into scandal, but clubs in Major League Baseball are known to take advantage of any information they can obtain about the pitch that their opponent is about to throw.

It’s unclear precisely how a rival team would use the center-field camera angle at Camelback Ranch, or any other location, to teach their hitters how to read and react to Yamamoto’s pitches in real time. It’s also unclear if Yamamoto was aware that the camera position presented a risk or if he purposefully opted not to pay attention to it during his first start.

In any case, the Rangers didn’t appear to have an edge on Wednesday. But Mark Prior, the pitching coach for the Dodgers, said he would bring up the matter with Yamamoto.

According to Prior, who spoke with the Orange County Register, “from my understanding, that’s not something as actively practiced in the NPB,” Yamamoto might not be as familiar with that side of the game here. I’m not sure whether that’s accurate, but from what I hear, there, there is a lot more activity in the program by almost all 30 teams.

“At this time, it’s not really a huge concern of mine. I’ll fix it and speak with the coaches as the season approaches. In Japan, it was the same. I’ll make those changes when the season begins.

By way of the Orange County Register, Yoshinobu Yamamoto

In December, Yamamoto inked a record-breaking $325 million contract with the Dodgers.