Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won a World Series in his rookie year, made the All-Star Game in his sophomore season and has thrown two complete games in his last two postseason starts.
Despite the unbelievable start to his career, the pitcher has much higher aspirations for himself.
Yamamoto stated he wants to surpass teammate Clayton Kershaw, who is surely bound for the Hall of Fame following his retirement at the end of the 2025 season.
“I think from my heart that I want to be an ace pitcher like Kershaw, and I want to do my best to one day surpass my great senior,” Yamamoto said.
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Yamamoto, 27, has posted unreal numbers in his first two seasons in MLB, recording a 3.00 ERA through 18 starts in 2024 and a 2.49 ERA through 30 starts in 2025. The right-hander was the only Dodgers pitcher to make 30 starts on the mound during the 2025 regular season, and also led Dodgers pitchers with a 5.0 bWAR — the next closest being Tyler Glasnow’s 1.9.
His postseason numbers have also been fantastic over the past two seasons, making eight total starts and posting an ERA of 2.47.
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While his numbers are fantastic given the two-season sample size, Kershaw is in a league of his own.
The left-hander leads active players with a 2.53 ERA in the regular season across his 18 years in MLB, and has won an MVP, three Cy Young awards and two World Series. In addition to those accolades, Kershaw has also featured in 11 All-Star Games.
While the gap between the two is large at the moment, Yamamoto is putting together a fantastic career, and could close the gap quickly if he continues on the track he’s on. His next challenge will come in Game 6 of the World Series, where he will look to even up the series at three on the road.
Game 6 begins Friday, Oct. 31 at 5:00 p.m. PT.
Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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