"Yamamoto called out to him. 'What are those colors?' Yamamoto asked him. Yoshihiro Sonoda, 48, wore only a pair of boxers that depicted a rabbit with rainbow-colored lasers shooting out of its eyes. Sonoda explained bashfully, 'These are my shobu pantsu.' For more than a year, Sonoda had worn shobu pantsu - or game underwear - for each one of Yamamoto's starts."
"The kid is a little different. Sonoda recalled thinking that last year on the first day of spring training. On a grass field near the players' parking lot, he watched Yamamoto throw javelins as part of his workout routine. When the Japanese right-hander was finished, Sonoda started collecting the projectiles. Yamamoto stopped him. 'Please, you're my interpreter,' he said. 'You're not my servant.' Yamamoto picked up his javelins and carried them back to the clubhouse."
Yoshihiro Sonoda, the Dodgers' interpreter for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, wears shobu pantsu—lucky game underwear—each time Yamamoto starts. Sonoda's rainbow-laser rabbit boxers are a recurring superstition that he continues to wear on pitching days. Yamamoto demonstrates unassuming kindness and respect toward teammates and staff. He corrected Sonoda when he tried to collect javelins, telling him he was an interpreter, not a servant, then carried the javelins back himself. Yamamoto arranges daily Starbucks deliveries for the road and always orders something for Sonoda. Manager Dave Roberts described Yamamoto as a gentleman who treats everyone—from players to rank-and-file employees—with high character.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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