By Jason Cruz
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Welcome to another edition of The Layup Drill. In this edition, we take a look at three new coaching hires, but before that, we close out the end of baseball with the World Series.
Yamamoto named MVP as Dodgers go back-to-back
Yes, the Dodgers ruined baseball. But it was harder than they thought. The LA Dodgers won the 2025 World Series, making them the first team to win back-to-back titles since 2000.
A woman takes a picture of a copy of the extra issue published after the Los Angeles Dodgers won baseball’s World Series, as she received it from a Japanese newspaper staffer in Tokyo, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
On the cusp of capturing the World Series leading 3 games to 2, the Toronto Blue Jays were heading back home needing to win just one of the two games that were played in front of its home fans at Rogers Center. However, Yoshinobu Yamamoto would not let that happen.
In Game 6, Yamamoto threw 6 innings, giving up just one run and striking out 5. The Dodgers ended up winning the game 3-1 to force a game 7.
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and pitcher Roki Sasaki celebrate after their win against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of baseball’s World Series, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Shohei Ohtani started as pitcher for Game 7, but gave up a 3-run home run to Bo Bichette in the third inning to put the Dodgers in an early hole. Ohtani could not get out of the third inning in the final game. He did have two hits in the game. But it was Miguel Rojas, the batter right before Ohtani, that hit a game-tying home run in the 9th, with one out, to send the game into extra innings.
The Dodgers inserted Yamamoto into the game in extra innings. Yamamoto, who pitched the day before, threw the last 2 ⅔ innings of the game allowing no runs. The Dodgers scored in the top of the 11th on Will Smith’s home run. Yamamoto was voted as MVP of the World Series for his key performances in Game 6 and 7 in Toronto, as well as his complete game win in game 2 of the series.
Suzuki named Angels manager
FILE – Los Angeles Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki gestures during the first inning of a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Oct. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
The Anaheim Angels named former catcher Kurt Suzuki as its manager for the upcoming year. Suzuki spent the last three years as special assistant to the general manager of the Angels, which made him a natural choice for the position.
Suzuki ended his 16-year career playing the last two with the Angels in 2022.
A fourth-generation Japanese American from Hawaii, Suzuki joins Don Wakamatsu and Dave Roberts on the short list of former and current MLB managers with Asian heritage. A native of Maui, Hawaii, Suzuki is also the first Hawaiian-born, full-time manager in major league history.
This will be Suzuki’s first-ever professional coaching position.
The Angels have given Suzuki just a one-year contract to manage the team.
Storm name Sonia Raman head coach
Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman stands in a huddle in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
The Seattle Storm named New York Liberty assistant coach Sonia Raman as its head coach last month. Coming off of a playoff run, the Storm decided not to renew the contract of Noelle Quinn. Raman previously served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, focusing on player development, scouting, and analytics.
Raman is the first person of Indian descent to serve as a head coach in the WNBA after becoming the first Indian American woman to be an NBA assistant.
We featured her back in October 2020 when she was hired by the Grizzlies. Prior to coaching in Memphis, she was the women’s head coach at MIT.
Originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, she played college basketball at Tufts University. She graduated with a degree in International Relations and went on to law school at Boston College. In her previous career, Raman was an attorney for the Department of Labor.
Erik Spoelstra will run Team USA
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches his team against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 22, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was named the head coach of USA Basketball Men’s National Team through 2028. Spoelstra will coach the team through international play and at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Spoelstra, whose mother is Filipino, served as an assistant coach during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, where the U.S. men’s team earned the Gold Medal.
“It’s an incredible honor to be named head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team,” Spoelstra said in a press release announcing the news. “Representing our country and leading world-class athletes to marquee competitions is one of the greatest privileges in sport. I look forward to carrying on the tradition of excellence and teamwork that defines USA Basketball.”
This season, Spoelstra started his 18th season coaching the Miami Heat. He is the longest tenured coach in the NBA with one team. Spoelstra led the Heat to NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. He had started his career with the Heat in 1995 as a video coordinator for the team and has been with them ever since.
Jason can be reached at newstips@nwasianweekly.com
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