This Historical Stat Makes Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s World Series Seem Impossible
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s World Series MVP-winning performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers will be talked about in MLB circles for decades to come. Yamamoto displayed superhuman durability by closing out Game 7 for LA with 34 pitches after pitching 96 pitches in a Game 6 start the day prior.
The incredible right-hander from Bizen, Okayama, Japan also pitched a complete game in Game 2 for the Dodgers, allowing just one run and four hits in a crucial victory to avoid a 2-0 deficit headed back to Los Angeles.
Yamamoto finished the World Series with a 3-0 record, a 1.02 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings pitched.
Notably, all three of Yama’s victories came on the road, which is somewhat of an historical anomaly.
Per @CodifyBaseball, only five pitchers in MLB history have won a total of four World Series games on the road in their entire career. This makes Yamamoto’s three road victories over the course of a single World Series all the more remarkable.
With his unthinkable series, Yamamoto became the second Japanese-born World Series MVP, with Hideki Matsui having won the award in 2009 as a member of the New York Yankees.
If anyone in the baseball world was doubting Yamamoto’s elite talent, they are silent now on that front. Following Game 7, Shohei Ohtani called Yamamoto the best pitcher in the world. It wouldn’t be easy to argue otherwise at the moment.
The Dodgers landed an absolute ace, and he’s under contract with LA through the 2035 season, with player opt-outs in 2030 and 2032. That’s a tough pill for the rest of the NL West to swallow.