Shortly after the Dodgers clinched Game 6 of the World Series, Yoshinobu Yamamoto thought he wouldn’t be pitching in Game 7. He went to his longtime personal pitching trainer, Osamu Yada, and told him, “Thank you for everything this year.” Yamamoto had assumed that his season was over, and manager Dave Roberts echoed similar thoughts before the final game of the World Series. But Yamamoto’s trainer had other plans.

“Let’s see if you can throw in the bullpen tomorrow,” Yada told Yamamoto when the latter went to him to extend his gratitude. Yada believed just having the Japanese pitching sensation in the bullpen could give the Dodgers a mental edge over the Blue Jays.

Apparently, Chevrolet has a long-standing tradition of awarding a car to the World Series MVP. Last season, Freddie Freeman took home a car valued at around $95,000. This season, Yamamoto earned the win, and maybe Yada’s little trick helped him secure his prize.

Even NFL great Tom Brady followed Yamamoto’s great feat. He acknowledged Yoshi’s heroics, saying, “One on one, right away, throws an absolute strike. That’s a Yoshinobu Yamamoto fastball right there from last night.” He said.

Yamamoto pitched the final 2⅔ innings of an 11-inning, championship-clinching 5‑4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. When he got Alejandro Kirk to ground into the game-ending double play, Yamamoto lifted his cap and raised his arms to the sky.

He earned his third World Series win and admitted, “I felt a joy I never felt before.” Even the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, praised Yoshinobu Yamamoto for his outstanding World Series performance.

The Dodgers’ executive reacted to Yamamoto’s World Series performance

Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the mound for the Dodgers all postseason. He posted a 1.45 ERA over 37.1 innings and earned five wins. That happens to be a tie for a postseason record earlier set by Randy Johnson, Nathan Eovaldi, Stephen Strasburg, and Francisco Rodríguez.

In the final stretch, he made three road appearances and won all three. He gave up just two runs across 17.2 innings. His stellar performance in the Fall Classic earned him his first World Series MVP.

The Japanese phenom entered Game 7 without a day of rest after throwing 96 pitches in Game 6. Yet, he was able to keep the Blue Jays scoreless through 2.2 innings to close the game for the Dodgers.

“For him to have the same stuff that he had the night before is absolutely mind-blowing to me.” Andrew Friedman admitted. “I got a text (via Will Ireton) last night that Yama was getting treatment to be ready for today. Kind of scoffed at it, like, ‘Oh, that’s great, he really cares, but the likelihood of that is pretty low.’ And then today, he got treatment again. And said, ‘Hey, I feel really good. Like, I’m able to go out and give at least an inning, and we’ll see how my stuff holds.’”

The Dodgers’ World Series win marked their third championship-clinching victory in the last six years and the first time in 25 years that a team has won back-to-back titles. Now, they’re aiming for a “three-peat” to match the New York Yankees’ streak of three straight championships from 1998‑2000 in the 2026 season. Will they succeed? Share your thoughts in the comments.