The Los Angeles Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto may have been destined to join forces for a while now.

The star Japanese pitcher, who signed a 12 year/$325 million deal with the Dodgers earlier this month, was inspired as a 19-year-old who attended one of their games, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“Yoshinobu Yamamoto says he attended a #Dodgers playoff game as a 19 year old and Kenta Maeda pitched in the game. Made him even more motivated to pitch in MLB”

The right-hander was an absolute superstar in the Nippon Professional Baseball League with the Orix Buffaloes. He owned a 16-6 record and 1.21 ERA this past season, striking out 169 in 164 innings while walking just 28. Across seven years with Orix, Yamamoto compiled a 1.82 ERA. Dominant, to say the least.

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Many believe Yoshinobu Yamamoto could be an immediate Cy Young contender with the Dodgers. Aside from proving his worth in his homeland, Yamamoto also shined in the World Baseball Classic with Japan, who ended up beating the US in the final. He tossed 3.1 innings of relief against Mexico in the semifinals and really impressed, touching 96 with his fastball while sitting at 95 mph.

Maeda, who finished last season with a 6-8 record for the Minnesota Twins, had a solid start to his career with the Dodgers. In his first two seasons from 2016-17, Maeda went 29-17 with a 3.80 ERA.

During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Yamamoto praised the Dodgers' commitment to winning and named that as the real reason he elected to sign in Los Angeles:

“It was very important to me go to to a team that wants to win… The Dodgers provided that opportunity the most.”