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The Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr., left, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, right, at Fenway Park in Boston.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail-Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
Based on last year’s Major League Baseball standings, a 2025 World Series matchup between the 98-64 Los Angeles Dodgers and the 74-88 Toronto Blue Jays would have seemed the unlikeliest of propositions.
But heading into Friday’s opening game of the Fall Classic, that’s exactly what’s on deck.
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That the Dodgers are there is hardly a surprise. Entering their fifth World Series in the past nine seasons, the Boys in Blue are now looking to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back MLB championships.
Blue Jays players celebrated their World Series berth for hours on the field at Rogers Centre and in a beer-and-champagne-soaked party in their clubhouse in Toronto on Monday after defeating the Seattle Mariners 4-3 in Game 7 of the ALCS.
The Canadian Press
However, the Blue Jays in many ways have shocked the baseball world. Coming into the year with a seven-game postseason losing streak, Toronto clinched its first division title in a decade before winning seven playoff games this October to reach the World Series for the first time in 32 years.
Money well spent
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Shohei Ohtani is one of Major League Baseball’s highest-paid players.Ashley Landis/The Associated Press
As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and in the case of the Dodgers and Blue Jays, the two teams are spending almost US$600-million combined on player salaries. Los Angeles places first in the majors with a payroll of US$341.5-million, while the Jays aren’t far behind, with their US$252.7-million sitting fifth overall.
A rotation for the ages
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Veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman started twice during the series against the Mariners. He has been an instrumental part of the Blue Jays’ pitching staff this season.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
While Toronto’s starting pitching has managed to get the job done this October, with Kevin Gausman leading the way with his 2-1 record and 2.00 earned-run average, the Dodgers’ rotation has been absolutely lights out. A franchise that once had the likes of Sandy Koufax and Don Dysdale toeing the rubber now leans on the likes of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
Los Angeles starters are 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA through 64 1/3 innings, with the group absolutely dominant against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. The group was 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA during the 4-0 series sweep, with the staff holding the Brewers to a .118 batting average, which is the lowest ever in a playoff series that is played over at least three games.
Batting around
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Bo Bichette hits a run-scoring double against the New York Yankees on Sept. 5, in New York. The Jays’ shortstop told reporters on Monday that he’d be ready for Game 1 of the World Series, after a knee sprain has kept him out since Sept. 6.Adam Hunger/The Associated Press
While the Dodgers may well have the edge when it comes to starting pitching, if there’s one area in which the Blue Jays can try to rebalance the scale, it could be with the bats. The Blue Jays offence put the ball in play more frequently than any other team, and that includes the Dodgers, with Toronto’s batting average besting LA’s by .40 (.296 vs .256).
And that’s not a small playoff-only sample size either. They did the same during the regular season, leading the majors with a .265 average. They should be able to maintain that edge in the World Series too, particularly with injured shortstop Bo Bichette declaring himself ready to go – at least at the plate – come Game 1 on Friday. Bichette, of course, tied for second in the majors this year with 181 hits, and that’s missing 23 games with injury.
The power game
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George Springer hits a three-run home run against the Mariners during Game 7 of the ALCS, putting the Jays ahead 4-3. The Jays have 20 home runs in the playoffs.Mark Blinch/Getty Images
The Blue Jays don’t just specialize in small ball either. Since the month rolled over into October, Toronto has happily re-embraced the long ball, tying for the playoff lead with 20 home runs across their 11 games, substantially more than the Dodgers, who had 13 in 10.
But across the regular season, the Dodgers had 53 more home runs (244) than the Blue Jays (191), led by Ohtani’s 55.
Star Power
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Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers to complete the series sweep on Oct. 17.Ashley Landis/The Associated Press
There are few players in baseball – some might say in any sport – who have both the ability and sense of occasion that Ohtani has shown in his eight years in MLB, and particularly since switching Angel red for Dodger blue in December, 2023. At no time was that put on greater display than in Game 4 of the NLCS, where the three-time MVP hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters across six-plus scoreless innings.
Added to a mix that includes Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman – both former MVPs – and former Blue Jay Teoscar Hernández, there is seemingly an all-star for every occasion.
But though this series may serve as a constant reminder of what could have been had Ohtani picked Canada over Southern California in that off-season, the Blue Jays have their own pair of aces in the form of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer. Guerrero not only leads all postseason players with six home runs, 12 runs batted in and a 1.440 on-base plus slugging percentage, but Springer – the 2017 World Series MVP – has shown he is a man for the moment. His series-clinching home run on Monday was his 23rd playoff home run, tied with Kyle Schwarber for third all-time behind Jose Altuve and Albert Pujols.
A resilient bunch
Toronto may lack the name brand of the NL pennant winners, but with the likes of Ernie Clement – who capped a wild comeback victory in the last meeting between the two teams in August – Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger, Toronto has put together a roster that is greater than the sum of its parts.
No team in MLB had more than the Blue Jays’ 49 come-from-behind victories in the regular season, and after Monday night’s heroics, three more in the postseason, showing that this is a team that refuses to simply lay down to more vaunted opposition.
Franchise history
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An emotional Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after winning Game 7 of the ALCS.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
Not only are the Blue Jays a perfect two-for-two in World Series appearances – winning it all in 1992 and ’93 – but a win this October would elevate them past both Cleveland and Philadelphia in baseball championships – two teams that have been around for more than double Toronto’s 49 seasons.
And while the Dodgers boast one of baseball’s most iconic legacies – winning their first World Series in 1955, when the team was still based in Brooklyn and featured Jackie Robinson on its roster – they are tied with the Yankees for the most World Series losses at 14.
However, this edition of the Dodgers looks a long way from the ‘Dem Bums’ tag that some of those losing teams earned in the past. Ohtani, Betts et al. are aiming to become the first team to successfully defend a World Series title since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000, and could start the ‘dynasty’ conversation with another championship.
Thousands of Blue Jays fans poured into the streets of Toronto on Monday night to celebrate.
The Canadian Press
