Disrupting History: Why the Yankees Must Sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Major Leauge Baseball and Nippon Pro Baseball have had a long standing business relationship when it comes to letting players play within both leagues. With the posting system changing as recently as the 2022 Collective Bargaining Aagreement, the demand for the top Japanese talent has only increased. Many automatically attribute this to Shohei Ohtani hype and are quick to discount the level of competition in the NPB compared to that of the MLB. While there may be truth in that statement, the equal truth is that the top talent of the NPB is as ready and skillful to take on the talent within MLB more than ever before. WIth Ohtani now on the Dodgers this year's Premier Japanese born athlete goes by the name of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The hype joins that of Hideo Nomo, Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka, the talent most certainly surpasses all three. In Tanaka’s last NPB season he had a 24-0 season that yielded him a record setting 7 year, 155 million dollar contract which he certainly lived up to for The Yankees. Yamamoto has spent the last three seasons however, just dominating on a level never seen maybe in any league. A winner of three straight NPB pitching Triple Crowns, MVPs, and Sawamuras, his eventual contract will most likely double Tanaka's and it's clear to see why. Not only is his talent out of this world but any team in baseball with money to spend is after him this offseason. The Yankees have spent many seasons remaining dormant while other teams snagged the premier free agent. The time to seem collected and reserved is over, as the trade of Juan Soto proves there is a sense of urgency to leave the 2023 season permanently in the rearview mirror. Yoshinobu Yamamoto would be the perfect statement to officially proclaim “The Evil Empire” to be back.

Ever since The Boss, George Steinbrenner, passed away in 2010, the lives of Yankee fans have been forever impacted. Those impacted the most by his passing, his family, stepped in to take the reins as they had begun slowly to do years prior. Hal and Hank, The Boss’ two sons became the brain trust of the most successful baseball franchise on the planet. The two Steinbrenner boys would have much to handle over the next 13 years trying to make the Bronx Bombers revered as they were under their father. George Steinbrenner was a one of a kind owner, someone who we seldom see in today's baseball. Not always seen as a genius during his prime years, George was known for doing anything possible to try to win the World Series, and 10 Pennants, 7 World Championships later the boss turned over his team to his sons being worth 500x what he originally purchased them for. It is no wonder that Hal has had an imperfect start to his reign as Yankees Principle Owner. It seems that what fans clearly see in the differences between the father and the son are predominantly that Hal will take a chance on Mike Tauchman, Gio Urshela, or Luke Voit before feeling comfortable committing hundreds of millions of dollars to Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Many fans scream when reminded of the franchises recent decisions of money and talent but, the ownership may point to the mistakes made by them in the 2010s. By 2014, just four years into the tenure of Hal there were multiple aging or disappointing veterans with huge contracts attached to them and the results were underwhelming teams that looked like a shell of what the Yankees normally represent. However, players such as Jacoby Ellsbury, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia caught flack for their own shortcomings. The Yankees invested in a young Japanese pitcher looking to fill the void suddenly left by CC’s velocity and performance dip, Tanaka would go on to help change the culture of the Yankees for the better, constantly showing humility and the importance of being a team player while giving your absolute all every time you’re being called upon to play. From 2014 to 2020, Masahiro Tanaka was the Yankees ace, but the offense could never quite obtain the star power needed to bring a World Series title home. Times have certainly changed since those years. Those years of relative struggle provided the Yankees with the chance to develop Aaron Judge into one of baseball's premier players. Now an MVP, American League home run record holder, and the 16th captain of the Yankees, Judge provides a default reason to return to a World Series or bust mentality. We’ve seen this urgency recently as along with extending Judge permanently, they have acquired stars like Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Juan Soto. This brings The Yankees to an interesting crossroads however, as these years that they’ve remained relatively dormant other teams have sought to replace their dominance. Harper and Machado, along with other top players, have signed multi-million dollar deals with other teams over the years, with many people proclaiming the Bronx Bombers won’t be able to compete. 

The biggest reason The Yankees must move to acquire Yamamoto may not even lie in The Bronx, but instead in Queens. While Aaron Judge’s rookie season ushered in this next crop of competing, hungry Yankees, Steven Cohen subsequently purchased the Mets in 2020. Overnight, the little brother of New York was bestowed upon an ungodly inheritance in the form of Cohen’s net worth. Ever since then, there has been the brewing rivalry of acquisition power between both teams. Never directly competing for talent quite yet, this is very much about to change both New York clubs as leading favorites to acquire Yamamoto's talents. Reports indicate that the Yankees have had representatives scouting him all season, and making it clear to him for over a year that they are seriously interested in his talent. Cohen has utilized every business deal in the book, including personally flying to Japan to show that the money does come with a personal relationship to the team fans and shared goals of winning a World Series. This is truly Cohen’s chance to show the baseball world that not only is he the richest owner in the entire sport, but he will never be outbid by the Yankees, those days are over. For the entire Yankees fanbase, and ownership, this simply cannot stand. The Yankees have controlled New York and the baseball world ever since they drove out the powerful Giants and Dodgers. The 27 time World Series Cahmpions would have never been outbid by anyone, especially not the Mets during the life of George Steinbrenner, and the time has come for his son to fully fill those shoes and prove the same. 25 year old Yoshinobu Yamamoto donning pinstripes in 2024 and beyond would firmly remind everyone that as long as the Steinbrenner family own The Yankees, there is no team that can outdo the most famous team on the planet.