Yoshinobu Yamamoto Named 2025 World Series MVP

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a repeat World Series title with a 5-4, 11-inning Game 7 victory in Toronto, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto was unanimously named 2025 World Series MVP. The 27-year-old right-hander started Games 2 and 6 (throwing a complete game in Game 2 and a 96-pitch outing in Game 6) and, on one day's rest, entered Game 7 in the ninth and worked the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and a walk while inducing the game-ending double play. He finished the Fall Classic with three wins, 17 2/3 innings, 15 strikeouts and a 1.45 ERA, becoming the 14th pitcher ever—and the first since Randy Johnson in 2001—to record three World Series victories. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and teammates lauded Yamamoto’s postseason dominance, which validated Los Angeles’s $325 million, 12-year signing from Japan in 2023 and underscored the growing global influence of Japanese stars in MLB.