On October 24th, the first game of the World Series took place between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Starting in that game for Toronto, was 22 year old Trey Yesavage. Yesavage, who grew up in Pottstown and attended BASH, has been a local hero throughout the district. He has had a tremendous journey to the top, and all of it is very well deserved.
Trey was born on July 28th, 2003 in Pottstown, PA. He started out playing teeball when he was five, and started breaking out in baseball during freshman year of high school, where he attended right here in BASH. During his sophomore season, he pitched 43 strikeouts in 30 innings, and also drove in 11 runs batting. He managed to pitch a no-hitter against Phoenixville as well that season. After missing his junior year because of COVID-19, he pitched 10 games, had a 0.97 ERA, and struck out 83 batters in 50.2 innings during his senior season. He accumulated multiple awards, including All-Pioneer Athletic Conference honors, and was a two-time Preseason All-American First-Team All-Regional selection. This got him accepted into East Carolina University.
In his freshman season with ECU, he pitched 34 games all out of the bullpen, where he had a 1-0 record and a 4.50 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 26 innings. He finished that season tied for fourth in program history in single-season appearances while tying for first all-time in single-season freshman appearances. By his second season, he had 14 starts with the team, pitching for a 7-1 record with a 2.61 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 76 innings. He finished 12th nationally in WHIP, 17th in strikeouts per nine innings, and his 105 strikeouts tied for 10th most in a single season in program history. In his junior season, he started all of his 15 games as the ace for ECU, where he had an 11-1 record with a 2.02 ERA, and 145 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. He won the AAC pitching triple crown, tied the single-season conference record for strikeouts, and finished his collegiate career tied for fifth on the program’s top 10 list in strikeouts. His remarkable college career led him to be picked 20th overall in the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Before he got on the main roster, he spent some time on the minors. In 25 games, he started in 22 of them, and had a 5-1 record, a 3.12 ERA, and 160 strikeouts in 98 innings. After bouncing around four teams in the minors, he finally got called up to the main roster on September 15th, where he made his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays. In five innings, he allowed three hits, one earned run, and had nine strikeouts with a 1.80 ERA. He lit it up in his first game, but unfortunately he couldn’t pick up the win. He started in two more games to end the season, where in a rematch against the Rays, he got his first win. He pitched five innings, and allowed five hits, no runs, had five strikeouts, and a 3.21 ERA. For being a young prospect, a lot of promise went into this young kid from Boyertown. It wasn’t until his first playoff game where he took the world by storm.
On October 5th, against the New York Yankees, Yesavage was starting in his first playoff game. At 22 years old, he became the youngest player in Blue Jays history to start a postseason game. In that game, he pitched a no-hitter in 5.1 innings, and got 11 strikeouts. This was a historic performance, as he broke the record for most strikeouts in a single postseason game in Blue Jays history, breaking the previous record of eight. He is now also the second-youngest player in MLB history to record 10 or more strikeouts in a playoff game.
He made even more history when it was announced he would be starting game one of the World Series against the Dodgers. He is just the second-youngest pitcher to ever do so, behind Ralph Branca, who was 21 years old when he started game one of the 1947 Word Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Yesavage’s accomplishments and online popularity made it back to his hometown, where BASD acknowledged him with Trey Day this past Friday, as everyone in the district wore blue to represent his team. Many of us were watching the big game at home, cheering Trey on and giving him our energy. In the first battle of the game, Yesavage went up against arguably the best baseball player in the world right now, Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is the reigning NL MVP, with him also being the favorite to win the award again this year. Yesavage showed no fear against the giant, and managed to strike him out with a beautiful splitter to open up the game. He finished the game with a 4.26 ERA, and five strikeouts in four innings. He did allow two runs and four hits, but his team played exquisitely to pick up the 11-4 win.
Boyertown isn’t usually in the spotlight, as there aren’t many big names to come from BASH. However, when someone like Trey bursts on the scene, it is incredible to witness and experience. We hope nothing but the best for Yesavage’s young career, and hopefully the Blue Jays can outlast the Dodgers and win the Commissioner’s Trophy.
