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I checked in late last night, so early in the morning, Japan time, on why the decision was made here.

And I was told simply by a source who knows the Japanese baseball scene very well, Yamamoto simply

wanted to be a Dodger and play with Otani in no particular order.

Because as we heard Mark Feinstein report earlier this morning, the Mets offered the same deal.

The Dodgers taking a tremendous vote of confidence in Yamamoto's ability to, A, succeed at the major

league level, and B, stay healthy for 12 years. That is an extraordinary amount of time.

As we heard Mark make the point, the Yankees actually offering a higher AAV.

But this was why the reason in terms of the duration of the deal had a lot to do with one of the

most important numbers of all. And that is 25, his age. You see it there. The length of the

contract, the value, yes, is important. And obviously he gets one million more than coal.

But for me, it's that number of years.

And certainly the AAV for coal was higher, but the duration of the deal for Yamamoto says a lot about where we are as an industry.

The value of getting a player who has that sweet spot of enough experience that you know he can perform at a high level, as we saw in the World Baseball Classic, as we have seen

with three straight Sawamura Awards, and yet still young enough that in Major League Baseball,

you see 23 and 24-year-olds who are considered prospects, and he's 25.

So it's that sweet spot of achievement, but also a lot of youth that explains why he has signed this landmark contract.

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