Yashinubo Yamamoto's World Series In Perspective

by Lincoln Mitchell

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NOTE - This article comes from Lincoln Mitchell's Substack page, Kibitzing with Lincoln . Please click HERE to follow Lincoln on Substack.

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Last month Yamamoto helped the Dodgers win one of the most exciting World Series in history. It had some echoes of the perhaps more dramatic 1924 World Series.

The 2025 World Series was undoubtedly one of the most exciting ever. A twelve inning Game Seven that featured a come from behind win by the Dodgers, a base-running mistake that cost the Blue Jays the World Series-Isiah Kiner-Falefa could have taken a bigger lead and should not have slud (as Dizzy Dean used to say) into home plate-and Yashinubo Yamamoto shutting down the Jays for 2.2 innings the day after tossing six sterling innings to help the Dodgers win Game Six, capped a series that also included an 18 inning marathon, a quirky play that decided game six and great performances by marquee names like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Shohei Ohtani.

Immediately after the series ended, some argued that Yamamoto’s performance, three wins while only giving up two earned runs over 17.2 innings, was the best ever by a World Series pitcher and this World Series, for pure drama was also the best ever. The latter point is subjective, but just since I started watching baseball, the 1975, 1979, 1986, 1991, 2001 and 2016 World Series were as well-played, star-studded and competitive, with as many memorable moments as this one.

In this century, two other pitchers have matched or exceeded Yamamoto’s 2025 World Series. Randy Johnson won three games in the 2021 World Series while giving up two earned runs in 17.1 innings. Very similarly to Yamamoto, Johnson pitched seven solid innings against the Yankees in Game Six before getting the final four outs for the Diamondbacks in Game Seven.

Thirteen years after that Madison Bumgarner won two games while giving up only one run in 21 innings. Bumgarner won Games One and Five for the Giants, the latter a complete game shutout, then in Game Seven, he threw the final five innings without giving up a run as the Giants held on to their one run lead to win the World Series. By the numbers, Bumgarner’s World Series was clearly the best of the century, but Yamamoto’s great pitching was nonetheless extraordinary.

The best single World Series pitching performance occurred in 1905 when baseball was a very different game. In that second ever fall classic, Christy Mathewson, one of the greatest pitchers of the early twentieth century, pitched three complete game shutouts. Other pitchers in the twentieth century, including Lew Burdette in 1957, Bob Gibson in 1967 and Mickey Lolich in 1968, have won three games in a single World Series, but none in as dominant manner as Mathewson.

Taken together, the discussion of the greatest World Series ever-and the greatest World Series pitching ever reminded me of a different World Series, one that went the full seven games, including a 12-inning game one and a game seven that ended in a walk-off win in the bottom of the 12^th. The 1924 World Series between the New York Giants and Washington Senators featured a handful of players, Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, Bucky Harris, Joe Judge and Firpo Marberry for Washington as well as Giants Frankie Frisch, Travis Jackson, Freddie Lindstrom and Bill Terry whose names more serious-perhaps obsessed is a better word-fans would recognize.

In addition to those players, the Senators were managed by a 36-year old player manager who came into the World Series having already won 377 big league games and established himself as one of the greatest pitchers ever. Walter Johnson was coming of a solid year in which he had led the American League in wins, winning percentage, ERA, shutouts and strikeouts. It was not one of the top ten, by WAR, seasons of Johnson’s career, but it was good enough for him to secure the league’s MVP award.

Johnson had never pitched in the World Series, but was the Game One starter for the Senators. He pitched all 12 innings, but gave up four runs and 14 hits while striking out 12 and was the losing pitcher. It was a decent, but not a great World Series debut. Johnson came back to start Game Five and again took the loss, giving six runs, four earned, in eight innings. That put the Senators down three games to two, but they won Game Six to set the stage for Game Seven.

The Giants jumped out to a 3-1 in the final game lead and were four outs away from winning the World Series when Bucky Harris delivered a two out bases loaded single in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. Washington had no rested pitchers left, so Johnson brought himself in on two days rest to try to hold the Giants off. Johnson did not have his best stuff, but he knew how to pitch and struggled through four innings in which he struck out five and allowed six baserunners, but none scored.

In the bottom of the 12^th with one out, Muddy Ruel doubled following a dropped foul ball by Giants catcher Hank Gowdy. Johnson, who was always a decent hitting pitcher then hit a ground ball that Travis Jackson, the Giants star shortstop, booted but managed to hold Ruel at second. The Senators leadoff hitter, rookie centerfielder Earl McNeely then hit a game and series winning double to left field. Johnson, after failing to shut down the Giants in Games One and Five had come through with four shutout innings to help his team to its first World Series. No Washington team would win another one until the Nationals in 2019.

By any measure, Yamamoto’s 2025 World Series was better than Johnson’s just over a century earlier, but for drama, storyline and Game Seven performance, Johnson has a slight edge. Baseball is big enough for us to celebrate both pitchers and their great World Series and for us to enjoy both watching highlights of the 2025 World Series and looking at box scores, grainy video and still photos from 1924.