TORONTO — Randy Johnson stared into the eyes of Christy Mathewson. This was in late July, in the plaque gallery at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Johnson was studying the likeness of a pitcher who once overtook autumn the way he did, about a century earlier.

The Dodgers star Freddie Freeman withstood an emotional Game 7 and still came out victorious. He gave his most praise to Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in a grueling matchup to capture a ninth World Series title in franchise history, passing their rival San Francisco Giants and entering a three-way tie for third all-time in MLB history.

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named World Series Most Valuable Player on Saturday, just minutes after Los Angeles completed a comeback Game 7 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays. In the process,

Yamamoto signed his contract with the Dodgers on Dec. 27, 2023, after starring in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball for the Orix Buffaloes. Shohei Ohtani had signed his $700 million deal with the Dodgers just a couple weeks earlier. Yamamoto decided to come aboard, too. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is from Bizen, Okayama in Japan.

As collectors scramble to acquire the World Series MVP's rookie cards, the very best one is still waiting to be pulled.

Clayton Kershaw tipped his cap to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, after the Dodgers hurler won Game 7 of the World Series on no rest.

Yamamoto in his two years in Los Angeles is already tied for the most World Series wins in Dodgers history with four, along with Johnny Podres and Sandy Koufax, who in Games 7 closed out championships 70 and 60 years ago, respectively. Yamamoto to date has only pitched in four World Series games, three of them starts.

The Blue Jays are on win away from a World Series championship as the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 6 on Friday night. The Dodgers have scored just thr