When you watch Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, when he is in the dugout not on the mound, he occasionally has a pen in his hand.
Yamamoto, who will start Game 2 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, will occasionally take out a journal and write handwritten notes between his innings pitched. In his journal, as explained by former professional pitcher Robby Rowland, he seems to have drawings of the strike zone.
Inside the strike zone, pitches are circled with different numbers. According to Rowland, this could indicate whether or not an opposing player swung at a certain pitch. He added that the act of writing it down can help imprint it into a pitcher's memory more effectively than an iPad or more modern technology.
Here is more from Tom Verducci on the practice with Yamamoto and Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior (via Sports Illustrated):
"After each half inning, Prior would sit down with Yamamoto and his interpreter on the dugout bench to review the next three or four hitters coming up the next inning for Toronto. Yamamoto also would crack open his black journal notebook, in which he has scribbled his own scouting report and assorted pitching notes."
His teammate, Shohei Ohtani, also kept a notebook exchanging thoughts and reflections on his on-field performance with his father.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith, meanwhile, confirmed that Yamamoto does not write "I smoked that guy" in the journal.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Yoshinobu Yamamoto journals between innings for the Dodgers