Actually, the head coach didn’t want him to play. The story behind the legendary no-rest pitching by Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Dodgers, champions of the MLB World Series for two straight years, came back to Los Angeles on the morning of November 3rd Beijing time. World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the trophy with a radiant smile. He burned out completely during the series, securing three wins alone. Notably, after throwing 96 pitches as a starter in Game 6, he pitched again without rest in Game 7, providing 2.2 innings of perfect relief. Dodgers’ head coach Dave Roberts admitted after the game that he actually didn’t want to send Yamamoto out again and revealed the story behind this pitcher throwing 130 pitches over two days in a passionate effort.

Yamamoto’s performance in this World Series was outstanding: in Game 2, he started and pitched a complete 9 innings, giving up only one run; in Game 6, facing elimination, he delivered 6 innings, allowing one run and striking out six, pushing the series to a decisive Game 7. In the crucial seventh game, with one out and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth, Dodgers’ pitcher Blake Snell left a dangerous situation. The coaching staff decided to bring in Yamamoto, who had just started Game 6, as a reliever. Although Yamamoto hit a batter immediately upon entering, he managed to escape the bases-loaded threat, retired the side in order in the tenth inning, and in the bottom of the eleventh, with one out and runners on first and third, he secured a game-ending double play, helping the team win the championship and earning himself the World Series MVP honor.

Regardless of Yamamoto’s pitching in Game 7, the mere fact that he pitched on consecutive days without rest is astonishing. After all, he had thrown 96 pitches over 6 innings the day before, and earlier in the series he pitched a complete 9 innings. This means Yamamoto threw approximately 201 pitches within about a week, something unheard of in regular MLB games. In a post-game interview, he smiled and said, "We absolutely could not lose Game 7, so even though I struggled mentally at the time, before I knew it, I was already standing on the mound."

Japanese sports media COCOKARA NEXT analyzed that in recent years, MLB teams tend to strictly protect players signed with large, long-term contracts, especially starting pitchers whose market value keeps rising. Teams usually impose strict pitch limits to reduce injury risk. Pitching on back-to-back days without rest is unprecedented. Considering the current baseball environment, the Dodgers’ strategy in Game 7 was a gamble risking injury to their high-value ace. Had they lost, the Dodgers would have faced severe criticism from the public.

So, why did the Dodgers ultimately let Yamamoto pitch without rest? After the game, head coach Roberts revealed the story in an interview with FOX Sports. He said that since the team’s roster changes every year, the biggest secret for a head coach is how to "trust" the players.

"Yamamoto told me he could pitch again, and he directly said, ‘Give me the ball,’" Roberts recalled. "Honestly, I trust all my players deeply. But I didn’t truly know until 2 PM on the day of the game that Yamamoto was able to pitch. He came to me and said, ‘I can do it,’ and ‘Let me pitch.’ Personally, I really didn’t want to send him out, but I was prepared to let him pitch under reasonable circumstances. Once he was on the mound, unless he asked to be taken out, I would never replace him."

COCOKARA NEXT pointed out that for the Dodgers’ coaching staff, this was definitely a painful and difficult decision. Perhaps that is why, at the end of the game, Roberts hugged Yamamoto tightly with teary eyes after leading the Dodgers to defend their title. It was precisely because he was ready to face criticism in the worst case that this passionate no-rest pitching legend of Yamamoto was born.