A baseball rookie becomes Yoshinobu Yamamoto's interpreter; lucky underwear symbolizes their bond.

Yoshihiro Sonoda, the interpreter for Japanese Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, was not initially a baseball professional and thought about resigning on his second day. Yet after two years, he has grown into an essential teammate for Yamamoto. Each time Yamamoto takes the mound as a starter, Sonoda puts on his lucky underwear.

As Yamamoto secures his position in the Major Leagues, his interpreter has gained notice as well. According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, 48-year-old Sonoda was a judo athlete in college before entering the media industry as a lighting technician, working on films like "Men in Black" and "Spider-Man."

Reports mention that for over a year, whenever Yamamoto starts, Sonoda always wears boxer briefs featuring a design of a rabbit with one eye shooting rainbow beams. Once, Yamamoto saw Sonoda in the locker room wearing only the underwear before heading to the shower and curiously asked, "What’s that pattern?" That’s when Sonoda revealed they were his lucky underwear.

Although Sonoda is 21 years older, he is deeply impressed by Yamamoto’s mature demeanor. He recalls the first day of spring training last year when Yamamoto was throwing a javelin on the field. After practice, when Sonoda tried to help clean up, Yamamoto stopped him, saying, “Please don’t do that. You are my interpreter, not my assistant.”

Sonoda praises Yamamoto for being very kind to everyone on the team, whether players or staff, showing genuine consideration. On every away game, Yamamoto orders Starbucks coffee for the entire team and always makes sure to get one for Sonoda as well.

Head coach Dave Roberts also commends Yamamoto as a baseball gentleman with high character, consistently showing respect to his interpreter and everyone on the team.

Sonoda admits that when he first took on the interpreter role, he thought about quitting the very next day. He had no prior translation experience and was unfamiliar with baseball. Additionally, his wife was still living in their Texas hometown, so they were separated by distance.

However, Sonoda did not give up. He sought advice from the team’s travel manager, Tadashi Akasaki, who once translated for Hideo Nomo, learned pitching data from the pitching coach and sports performance staff, and also gained experience from Japanese interpreters with the San Diego Padres and New York Mets.

Sonoda’s dedication did not go unnoticed by Yamamoto. Before last year’s World Series, Yamamoto spoke about Sonoda’s role in an interview: “We’re both rookies this year. Mr. Sonoda comes from a completely different field. I think he has endured a lot of hardships, but he never shows it.” Hernandez observed that Sonoda, standing nearby, was holding back tears at that moment.