Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto's dominance should haunt Yankees

The New York Yankees and 27 other teams have been watching a wild back-and-forth World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers from home over the last week.

For most franchises, this is the norm. But for the most iconic of them all — one that boasts 27 championships, 16 more than anyone else — it’s simply not acceptable. The Yankees had their opportunity, but were quite frankly taken to school by a Blue Jays team that played much better baseball in their four-game ALDS victory. 

Watching Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominate is painful for Yankees

Watching Toronto continue to have postseason success might ease things a bit in New York. However, seeing that there's only been one pitcher who's caused the Blue Jays major trouble does not bring back good memories for New York. 

Superstar starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto did it again in a must-win Game 6 on Friday night, carving up a potent Blue Jays lineup to the tune of one earned run, five hits and six strikeouts in six innings of work. 

It was a continuation of his absolutely dominant postseason, which now sits at a ridiculous stat line of a 4-1 record, with a 1.56 ERA and 32 punchouts. Not to mention he’s gone the distance and pitched a full nine innings twice in those five starts; special stuff.

Some may be thinking, yes, that’s incredible, but what does it have to do with the Yankees? Let’s remind everyone about what could've and probably should've been.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto could've been a Yankee

Flashback to December 2023, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto was making the move from Japan to MLB. 

The sweepstakes to acquire his services were hotly contested, but in the end, it came down to baseball’s two powerhouse franchises: Yankees and Dodgers.

It was a true toss-up to see where Yamamoto would wind up, but given that Los Angeles had just handed out an enormous 10-year, $700 million contract to Shohei Ohtani, many believed New York was in the driver's seat. That was until the Yankees made the strange decision not to go past $300 million on their offer, which led to the Dodgers easily outbidding them at $325 million. The rest is history.