LOS ANGELES — Inside a raucous clubhouse filled with champagne spray and playoff music thumping off the walls, 22-year-old Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage couldn’t stay long. There was one nagging obligation waiting for him at home.
“I’ve got homework,” he shrugged.
That was a month ago — long before he carved his name into World Series history on Wednesday night, shoving six and a third dominant innings against the Dodgers in Game 5 and striking out 12 on enemy turf. It was the kind of performance franchises wait decades to witness, the kind that puts cities on the brink of a parade.
But to understand Yesavage, you have to understand the two forces constantly tugging at him: the cool, composed competitor who’s become the youngest pitcher ever to rack up double-digit strikeouts on baseball’s biggest stage… and the college student logging into online classes between bullpen sessions.
From Pennsylvania Turf to Baseball’s Biggest Spotlight
Long before Toronto fans started chanting his name, Yesavage was pitching on slick high-school turf in rural Pennsylvania. His final prep outing ended abruptly when his coach pulled him mid-game — a moment Yesavage still questions.
“One more squat, one more bench press,” he jokes now. “That last swing would’ve been over the wall.”
That quiet fire has fueled him ever since. From East Carolina University’s regional tournaments to Low-A Dunedin, everything kept getting louder, bigger, heavier.
Yet somehow, the kid kept rising.
Historic Composure Under Brutal Pressure
Dodger Stadium doesn’t shake — it roars. The organ pounds. The boos echo. The bleachers bite.
But Yesavage barely blinked.
He exhaled. Wiped his hand. Reset his footing. Brushed clay off his spikes after giving up a solo shot to Kiké Hernández — the only run he allowed all night.
“You see guys like that,” Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido said. “Stoic. Stone-faced. Then you realize — this guy means business.”
He walked off the mound to deafening noise, refusing to feed it. Until the moment called for it.
The Release Point
With the inning hanging in the balance and 50,000 fans willing momentum his way, Yesavage got a chopper and watched his infield turn a gorgeous double play. Then he finally let go — flexing, yelling, pointing at shortstop Ernie Clement as the dugout exploded.
“You earn that,” manager John Schneider said. “Tonight was historic.”
The Homework Kid
It fits his weird duality. Former coaches call him “Ferdinand the Bull,” a quiet, thoughtful kid until the gate opens. He’s peace until the pitch.
He turned down a division-clinching afterparty earlier this month. Not because he’s too disciplined for celebration — but because he had coursework due in the morning.
You don’t make this stuff up.
Future Hall of Famers, MVPs — All Part of the Lesson Plan
Wednesday’s outing wasn’t lucky. It wasn’t fluky. It was controlled violence delivered through a 22-year-old arm that’s learned when to simmer — and when to burn.
Eight major-league starts. Each bigger than the last. Each more fearless.
A sealed bottle of high-end tequila waited for him in the locker afterward. His name now sits beside unprecedented October company. The Blue Jays are one win from baseball immortality.
And sometime in the next 48 hours?
He’ll log into a media criticism class.
Still Just a Kid — With a City on His Back
On the grandest stage his sport can offer, Trey Yesavage didn’t flinch. He didn’t stumble. And he didn’t need his coach to take the ball away.
The fire stayed inside — until it didn’t. And when it finally erupted, baseball watched a new October force grow up in real time.
Championship rings? Maybe.
Homework deadlines?
Absolutely.
Because sometimes October heroes are still college students — sprinting from Zoom assignments to the World Series mound.