Bold statement: Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s postseason dominance earned him the Babe Ruth Award, signaling a standout performance that defied the playoff odds. But here’s where it gets controversial: does one extraordinary run justify historic recognition, or should sustained regular-season excellence carry more weight? Let’s unpack what happened and why it matters.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been named the postseason MVP, receiving the Babe Ruth Award from the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The award has been presented annually since 1949, and Yamamoto will be formally honored at a ceremony in New York on January 24, per the Associated Press.
During the postseason, Yamamoto posted an impressive 5-1 record with a 1.45 ERA across six games, including five starts. He amassed 33 strikeouts and issued just six walks over 37 1/3 innings. Notably, he delivered complete games in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series and Game 2 of the World Series, making him the first major league pitcher in 24 years to throw back-to-back postseason complete games. Following his Game 6 victory in Toronto, he recorded the final eight outs of relief to close Game 7 on zero days’ rest, and he became the first pitcher to win three road games in a single World Series.
Yamamoto’s achievement adds his name to a list of Dodgers legacy figures who have won the Babe Ruth Award. He joins Johnny Podres (1955), Larry Sherry (1959), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965), Ron Cey (1981), Orel Hershiser (1988), and Mookie Betts (2024) as Dodgers recipients.
In other franchise chatter, Tyler Glasnow has been the subject of trade speculation. On MLB Network Radio’s Sunday Sliders program, Glasnow said that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told him he isn’t being traded, according to host Dani Wexelman of Sirius XM.
What do you think about Yamamoto’s postseason impact translating into this award? Do you believe his feats in the World Series and NLCS should influence how we assess his overall value, or should regular-season performance carry more weight? Share your thoughts and stay tuned for the official ceremony outcomes in January.
