In all honesty, I don’t feel that fire for sports like many fanatics do. Yet, when the championship games like the World Series come around, I’m SAT. The final game of the World Series this year certainly lived up to the hype, and the atmosphere at Rogers Centre felt like a glitch in the matrix from the 2024 World Series!
There’s been heavy talk around why this game was such a big deal. Déjà vu set in for baseball fans as the Los Angeles Dodgers came in from last year as the champions of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees, the MLB team with the most series wins, totaling 27. In 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays, Canada’s only Major League Baseball team, made the cut to compete for the championship against the LA Dodgers. Something felt different in the air this year, even behind an apartment television screen. At the same time though, it’s like the Dodgers are just playing themselves, and the opponents are there to fill the field.
THe Big CATCH
Behind the NY Yankees, the Dodgers lead the MLB as the top-funded team. According to Forbes, their value totals about $6.8 million, letting them distribute more money than the average MLB team to stay on top. This funding feeds their most valuable players to secure their loyalty, covers stadium costs and Major League payroll, supports intense team training, and invests in their Minor League teams by scouting players for development.
There is chatter and controversy of hypotheticals like, If the Dodgers win, will the MLB still be in existence? or Do payroll gaps play a role in the different levels of success for MLB teams? Well, this year’s outcome would certainly answer these questions with confidence if there would be significant labor negotiations made between owners and players in the future on behalf of the Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring in 2026. There’s no reason for high-spending teams like the Dodgers to dominate this industry, but there should be room to give other teams a chance at the championship.
Plates of pressure
There were no recorded earthquakes in Toronto that night, but between the stands and the plates, these teams certainly felt the pressure. With the most valuable MVPs of the MLB going neck and neck, this specific series was filled with the highest of stakes. In game seven, also known as “winner-take-all,” there were countless close calls that ALMOST declared the next World Series champs, but instead went into ELEVEN INNINGS beyond the standard nine.
From the bottom of the first inning, there was already debate over one of the Dodgers’ best players and MVPs, Shohei Ohtani. As Blue Jay Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepped up to bat, there was a late call from George Springer as he thought ball four was a hit, and he walked to second; instead, it was the third strike for Guerrero Jr. Springer was not only thrown out, but Guerrero doubled up and was ultimately thrown out of the inning as they headed into the second.
Ohtani is the designated hitter and a pitcher for the Dodgers, the only player in the MLB who does both. Essentially, if he goes to pitch, like he did in this instance, he is only allowed a specific set time to warm up. So, the umpires held a close discussion on what to do next. They questioned if he should have more time, as he is a two-way player. But this sticky situation was only the beginning of the tense night ahead, including the rest of Ohtani’s pitching game getting affected by the mishap, and he proceeded to have one of the worst pitching performances of his MLB career. After two innings on short rest two days before being pulled, this was just a preview of this tragic timing. For context, he gave up three runs on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts, giving the Blue Jays an early lead, and a fair shot at game seven.
The Blue Jays certainly took this opportunity and flew with it, as Bo Bichette swung a fly ball, giving all loaded bases and Bichette the perfect three-homer (homerun). Cameras soon cut to the panic on Ohtani’s face as he knew this would be a long finale of the series. Blue Jay fans didn’t solve his stress as they screamed and rallied with their blue towels. Three points were allotted to the Blue Jays’ board, and with consecutive points at that.
The bottom of the fourth certainly riled up the stadium as Justin Wrobleski pitched to Andrés Giménez, hitting his hand with the ball, so hard it didn’t even make it into the catcher’s glove. As Giménez dropped his bat and shrugged his shoulders, Wrobleski sped up towards Giménez, and they fought back and forth with censored language, pausing the game. Prior to this moment, the Dodgers had already hit Springer and Alejandro Kirk, and it was only inning four with a similar slip-up on their end.
Suddenly, benches cleared, blobs of blue appeared from every corner, and every player angrily stormed the field like it was their business to stand on, but they got the wrong Justin here. Wrobleski was held back by teammates Max Muncy and Jeff Hoffman as an umpire stayed with Giménez. Coaches and umpires were surrounded in the drama at shortstop, unable to escape. Fighting their own screaming matches with fingers in faces, bright red fumes, and spit flying everywhere, let’s just say it wasn’t sand that made this game dirty. Umpires urged staff and those benched to get off the field, as they called Giménez safe at first base.
Tommy Edman from the Dodgers took the bottom of the sixth inning out of the ballpark after hitting a ball above center field, giving Mookie Betts enough time to get their home run, making the score 2-3. In the same inning, Leo Jimenez made sure the Dodgers knew they weren’t the ones running the show, with a hit to right-center field. As Teoscar Hernández sprinted to catch the ball, it’s almost like he forgot to fly, you know, since he went from being a Toronto Blue Jay to an LA Dodger. Long story short, once upon a time, the tale goes that he gave Ernie Clement the go to slide to home plate in his old home stadium.
Dodger Muncy made his own plans for the top of the seventh and took a short swing of 400 feet. The ball was GONE. He made it look so effortless and took a light jog around the bases, waved to fans, and was praised with sunflower seeds, a well-known baseball tradition. At the bottom of the seventh, Blue Jay Clement stepped up to bat as Dodger Emmet Sheehan pitched him his record 30th hit of the post-season. After this play, Blake Snell came to save the day. This was a worthy move for the Dodgers because, the second that Giménez swung his bat, the ball was already in Muncy’s glove at third. This catch flashed before everyone’s eyes as the loaded bases already started running, but at this moment, no one was safe.
The “final” inning arrived, and the Toronto Blue Jays were leading the board by 3-4. Then, Dodger Miguel Rojas came in at the top of the ninth with a SOLO home run and his FIRST home run all season, tying up the game 4-4. The Dodgers coach, Dave Roberts, even spit out all the seeds in his mouth and held his hands over his head in shock, showing just how jaw dropping the timing was. I know this moment was special for Rojas as he blew a kiss to thank God. However, I bet it wasn’t so special for the Blue Jay fan who caught the ball. The fan’s celebration of his seamless catch lasted for a millisecond, all proud in his Blue Jay hat, standing by a Toronto flag. His temporarily lit face dimmed as he felt the impending sense of doom—the ball he caught was about to be the make-or-break of his trip to this game.
MOMENT OF TRUTH
Confirmed by a girl screaming on the couch without a blink, this pitch was easily the biggest “AHH” of the night. It was the bottom of the ninth when Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched to Daulton Varsho. With Rojas on third, making a run for it and sliding to home base, miraculously, catcher Will Smith caught the ball at the same time. The sand kicked up from Rojas’ slide, covering almost all angles from cameras to see if Smith’s spike was on the plate at all. What would have been Rojas’s second biggest play of the night and season all in one just became one of the biggest nail-biters from this game.
I was kicking my feet and became a ball of anxiety. In this moment, I felt the chills that these fans feel at every game, finally understanding what this sport was about. I asked out loud, Was it good?, Is he out?, and Did that count? as they reviewed the play for minutes. It was clear that Smith lifted his foot for a second. They made the call that Smith, in fact, was on the plate, and the Blue Jays did not take the lead here.
As Rojas walked off the field in disappointment for his final run for the night, Blue Jay Clement stepped back up at home to swing. This swing gave the Dodgers a run for their money, even swapping roles. While running to make a catch for the ball in the outfield, Dodger Andy Pages collided headfirst with teammate Teoscar Hernández—like two Blue Jays in the sky. As Pages celebrated the catch, Hernández laid flat like roadkill, but it turns out he was only playing dead. Hernández shot back up from the field and rallied for the team, knowing they were heading into extra innings.
At the top of the 10th, Pages received redemption at the plate. Hitting the ball ever so lightly, he made it to first base, but his buddy Betts got out after Kirk caught the ball. Sitting at 4-4 going into the 11th inning, the clock struck midnight in Toronto, and the game continued from November 1st to the 2nd. At the top of the 11th, Smith took a break as a catcher and played batter. The first Dodger run turned into a high ball to deep left field that was going, going…and GONE!
With the game sitting at 5-4 in the bottom of the 11th, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned, blew the ball to the farthest corner of the field, and ran all the way to second. As Yamamoto pitched to Isiah Kiner-Falefa next, he hit it barely, but enough to make Yamamoto chase it like a dog. Almost making it to first, Yamamoto caught his ball and tagged him out. I have to credit the guy though, as someone who doesn’t notice the little tricks in baseball, it’s cool to see the players’ sneaky tactics come into play. Acting like you’re about to take a full swing at the ball, just to lower the bat and tap it lightly to the ground, must be one of the biggest blue ball moments in the book of baseball. Someone had to say it.
While getting Kiner-Falefa out, Guerrero was busy making his way to third. Out of breath, staring off into the stands, he had his golden chance to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series and take home a ring for his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., an Anaheim Angel who was once defeated in the 2010 World Series against the San Francisco Giants. Blue Jay Kirk stepped up as the final batter and last hope for his team to defeat the Dodgers in the 2025 MLB World Series. Despite breaking his bat in the last swing, Freddie Freeman, 2020 MVP and 2024 series MVP, quickly humbled Kirk and told his flock that it wasn’t enough to beat last year’s champs. The Dodgers triumphed once again, and the game came to a stunning close with a score of 5-4.
RAW REACTION FROM A non-sports fan
It would’ve been wild to watch the Blue Jays win for the first time in decades, but it was a thrill watching LA win back-to-back and join the list of teams to win the World Series in consecutive years. Surprisingly, before 2025, the Dodgers were never on that list, but the Blue Jays were.
In 1992, the Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in Game Six of the World Series, taking home the gold for their first World Series win. Then the following year, in 1993, they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Six of the World Series AGAIN. Same championship, same round of the series, just a different year and a different team. So it’s a safe call to make that this year’s game was especially anticipated by fans to see who would take this win in Game Seven.
It’s also understandable that MLB fans would like to see other teams win, since it’s easily predictable that if the Dodgers go to the World Series, the outcome is inevitable. The victims of the 2025 World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays, couldn’t “dodge” this bullet. Now, the MLB as a sports league may be in trouble, and fans will stay divided knowing that the same teams are bound to win these games, leaving out the true point of baseball-legacy-driven nostalgia.
And just like that…eleven innings, seven series games played, and one trip to the Rogers Centre later…the Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again; they took home their ninth World Series win with back-to-back titles. The LA Dodgers took their win home from the Blue Jays nest to the west.