An 18-inning game, a new postseason record for hits, a controversial dead ball, a two-way starting pitcher and so much more. It’s safe to say that this year’s World Series will go down in baseball history as one of the most iconic series to date. For the first time in 32 years, the Toronto Blue Jays had a chance at a championship ring, but the Los Angeles Dodgers managed a thrilling comeback to achieve back-to-back World Series wins.
Traveling back a few weeks, it took many a tough game to get these teams a chance at the biggest stage in baseball. The Blue Jays came into the playoffs 94-68, the top seed in the American League. They blew past the New York Yankees three games to one in the division series despite the offensive efforts of MVP candidate Aaron Judge and 2025 Gold Glove pitcher Max Fried, along with the rest of the Bronx Bombers’ roster. Moving through October to the American League Championship Series, Toronto, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., took a seven-game nail-biter series from the Seattle Mariners, winning the final game four to three.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, a World Series favorite from early in the season, returned to the Fall Classic after defeating the New York Yankees four games to one in the 2024 championship series. The Dodgers entered the playoffs 93-69, third only in the National League to the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Dave Roberts’ crew handily moved past the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card series, continuing to beat the Phillies 3-1 in the best-of-five division series. Despite the Brewers’ higher standing, LA had no problem with them in the National League Championship Series, completing a four-game sweep without allowing more than a single run in any game.
To kick off a historic clash of titans, Rogers Centre was packed with 44,353 fans who came to witness Toronto’s first World Series game won since 1993. The Blue Jays came out hot in an 11-4 victory over the Dodgers’ bullpen’s questionable Game One performance, led by Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam and homers from catcher Alejandro Kirk and outfielder Daulton Varsho. Los Angeles quickly answered back, taking Game Two five to one due to Yoshinobu Yamamoto throwing a complete game for the Dodgers, giving up only four hits, one run and no walks over nine innings pitched, holding it down on the defensive side for the win.
A traditional baseball game lasts around three hours. Viewers who stayed up to watch the 18-inning third game of this year’s World Series got to witness all six hours and 39 minutes of push and pull between this year’s contenders. In the seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani crushed an opposite-field home run to tie the game at five, sending Dodger Stadium into uproar. Despite this, neither team could muster a run for the next while, keeping the game tied for 11 more innings of ball. Game Three’s true hero was Will Klein for the Dodgers, a man who started his season in the minor leagues, and barely having pitched in his time on the major league roster, came in to throw four shutout innings to hold the stalemate from 14th through 18th innings.
After a seemingly infinite while, the game came down to the bottom of the 18th inning. Stepping up to the plate, LA’s Freddie Freeman worked a full count, sending an almost 400-foot home run over the center field fence, walking off a historic third game for the Dodgers. In the six-plus hours of play, Ohtani reached base an astounding nine times, including four intentional walks following two doubles and two homers.
A two-way player is not something at all common in the MLB, but Ohtani of the Dodgers started on the mound and went zero for three at the plate in Game Four as the teams traveled back to Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays took the next two games, taking a three-games-to-two series lead and forcing the Dodgers to make a comeback with their backs to the wall. Los Angeles defeated Toronto in a Halloween night victory to force a game seven, and it all came down to Monday, Nov. 1, to determine this year’s Major League Baseball champion.
In a high-strung top of the ninth inning for the Dodgers, nine-hitter Miguel Rojas looped a home run to left field to tie the game at four, eventually sending the game to extra innings with a defensive assist from Andy Pages’ game-saving catch in center field. Two innings later, catcher Will Smith found himself at the plate with a chance to get the Dodgers a lead. Smith’s solo home run silenced Rogers Centre, leaving the Blue Jays three more offensive outs to score at least a tying run. In dramatic fashion, the Dodgers pulled off the win on a double play completed by shortstop Mookie Betts, becoming the 2025 World Series Champions and ending one of the most entertaining and emotionally charged sets of games to ever be played on a Major League diamond.
There are always two sides to the game, and one can’t help but pity the Toronto Blue Jays by appreciating the amazing season they had. Baseball is a game of wins and losses, mistakes and success, and for this year’s Blue Jays, it was a game of heartbreak. As the Dodgers celebrate back-to-back fall classic wins, Toronto and next year’s contenders will get back to work and show fans what to expect for the 2026 MLB season.
