Courtesy of Dez Hester
This year’s edition of Major League Baseball’s Fall Classic saw the reigning 2024 champion, the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League, face off against the first seed Toronto Blue Jays of the American League. In what shaped up to be a tournament that was as competitive as it was divisive across the entire baseball fandom, the Dodgers inevitably defended their title in a cinematic Game 7.
The Dodgers had a great deal of confidence entering into the 2025 season. Having won the Fall Classic the previous year, the franchise opted not to restructure their roster, typical of many teams who become reluctant to re-sign a team of World Champions for more expensive contracts. The Dodgers instead went all in over the offseason by re-signing essential free agents including outfielder Teoscar Hernández, utility Kiké Hernández, and franchise cornerstone and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw for what became his final season. The Dodgers further bolstered their roster by nabbing All-Stars Blake Snell from the San Francisco Giants and Tanner Scott from the San Diego Padres, as well as Japanese superstar pitcher Roki Sasaki from the Chiba Lotte Marines.
The Blue Jays on the other hand didn’t enter the season with nearly as high expectations. Coming off of a disappointing 74-88 season and a similarly disappointing offseason, the Jays were all but due for another disappointment—until they shocked everyone. Finishing the regular season at 94-68, the Blue Jays entered into the postseason as the No.1 seed in the American League, clobbered the Aaron Judge led Yankees in four games in the Division Series, then bested Cal Raleigh’s Seattle Mariners in seven games in the Championship Series before moving on to the World Series.
Despite the Blue Jay’s top seeded position, it was the Dodgers that were still the favored victors. Yet in Game 1, doubt in this ranking arose as the Jays hammered down 11 runs against the Dodgers’ four where the lead was solidified by Addison Barger’s grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning. Catcher Alejandro Kirk followed up with a two run bomb capped off what was ultimately a nine run inning.
Game 2 was not particularly noteworthy outside of Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossing a complete game in their 6-4 win; it was the first time this had been done in a World Series game since Johnny Cueto in 2015. Game 2 ended up falling into the shadow of Game 3 which became an instant classic.
Game 3 of this year’s World Series broke a number of records, and may be looked back on as one of the most memorable games in World Series history. In what became an 18-inning ordeal that took nearly seven hours to conclude, the Dodgers and Blue Jays fielded a combined total of 19 pitchers, putting 37 runners on base, while superstar Shohei Ohtani got on base nine times. By the 18th inning, Game 3 of the 2025 World Series tied Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS), Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS, Game 3 of the 2018 World Series, and Game 3 of the 2022 American League Division (ALDS) series for the lengthiest game in MLB postseason history. To put the duration of the game into perspective, East Coast viewers tuning in to the first pitch at 8:11 P.M would have been able to finally turn their screens off at 2:50 A.M. It took Dodgers First Baseman Freddie Freeman to walk it off with a home run in the bottom of the 18th inning to send everyone home, mirroring his walk-off grand slam to end Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. The final score was 6-5 Dodgers.
Games 4 and 5 shifted the scales in favor of the Blue Jays when Toronto won 6-2 and 6-1 respectively. The Dodgers would escape elimination in Game 6 taking a 3-1 victory and forcing a Game 7. Game 6 would prove to be another clinic for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who across six innings allowed only one run on five hits, one hit-by-pitch, and six strikeouts.
Game 7 of the 2025 World Series would be the first Game 7 to be played since 2019 where the Washington Nationals bested the Houston Astros dynasty. This Game 7 was no David and Goliath scenario however, with both teams proving just how desperate they were to win throughout the evenly matched tournament. Max Scherzer was the starting pitcher for Toronto, not only becoming the oldest starter in a World Series elimination game, but doing it a second time after starting Game 7 of the 2019 World Series for the world champion Washington Nationals. Going into the top of the ninth seemingly on the cusp of winning it all, Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas shattered the anticipation of Rogers Center in Toronto by tying the game with a one-out single home run.
With Blake Snell struggling out of the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers made the risky decision to replace him with Yamamoto, who had thrown 96 pitches the previous night. Still neck and neck in the top of the 11th, Dodgers catcher Will Smith rocketed a two-out home run off of Blue Jays starter Shane Bieber to take a 5-4 lead. Yamamoto once again returned to the mound in the bottom of the 11th. After putting himself in a pickle with runners at the corners and only one out, Alejandro Kirk hit a groundball towards shortstop Mookie Betts, who would complete a double play to end the game and the series for the Dodgers.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto would deservedly become the World Series MVP for his incredible performance throughout the series. The Dodgers brought the Commissioner’s Trophy back to Los Angeles as they solidified themselves as the first repeat champions since the Yankees between 1998 and 2000. In what can be considered a classic World Series, the Dodgers have proved once again that star power can be a trustworthy key to success.
