LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just over six years after Yoshinobu Yamamoto watched a playoff game from the raucous Dodger Stadium stands and decided he absolutely had to play in the major leagues one day, the right-hander pulled on his white No. 18 jersey and a blue cap in the center field pavilion.

The consensus best pitcher outside North America reached one of his goals Wednesday, joining the Dodgers on a 12-year contract that’s reportedly the largest and longest ever guaranteed to ae pitcher.

But the 25-year-old ace of Japan’s top league won’t be satisfied without many chances to experience the Los Angeles playoff atmosphere he saw as a teenager watching Kenta Maeda on the mound in 2017.