Daniel Mader<\/p>\n
It may not have been possible for the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays to get closer to winning the World Series without actually doing so.<\/p>\n
History will forever say that it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who stamped themselves as MLB’s champions in 2025, overcoming some significant deficits in the Fall Classic, particularly in Game 7, to become baseball’s first back-to-back title winner in decades. Sports are full of “what ifs,” though, and Blue Jays fans may be pondering a ton of them as they reflect on 2025.<\/p>\n
From the Dodgers’ 18-inning Game 3 victory that offered Toronto plenty of chances to come out on top, to a few bang-bang defensive plays in Games 6 and 7\u2014both Blue Jays losses\u2014the World Series could have flipped the other way fairly easily. Instead, the Blue Jays fell victim to an all-time classic series.<\/p>\n
Here’s a look at the “what if” plays that will forever surround the 2025 Blue Jays in the World Series, most of which fell in Games 6 and 7, when they had a chance to close the series out.<\/p>\n
MORE:\u00a0<\/strong>How how Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated his way to winning World Series MVP<\/p>\n The “what if” game can go on endlessly, but a fair starting point for the Blue Jays’ quest for a title was Game 6. Toronto came into the home game with an opportunity to close the Dodgers out after two straight road wins, owning a 3-2 advantage in the series.<\/p>\n Yoshinobu Yamamoto lasted six innings for the Dodgers in Game 6 before the Blue Jays got to the bullpen. It had been an unusually quiet night for Toronto’s red-hot offense, a “what if” in itself, but an opportunity to win the whole thing presented itself in the bottom of the ninth inning.<\/p>\n Trailing 3-1 and facing Roki Sasaki on the mound, Addison Barger came to the plate representing the tying run, with Alejandro Kirk on first base due to a hit by pitch. Barger mashed a ball deep into center field that coasted to the wall \u2014 but upon the line drive reaching the wall, it was wedged between the bottom of the wall and the field.<\/p>\n Justin Dean, the Dodgers’ center fielder, put his hands up in the air immediately after seeing the ball wedged in the wall. It was called a dead ball, meaning Barger’s hit was a ground-rule double that wouldn’t score any runs.<\/p>\n BARGER WITH A DOUBLE!!<\/p>\n Dead ball was called on the field and lead runner stops at 3rd.<\/p>\n : #WorldSeries on FOX pic.twitter.com\/Z39KrA3I5H<\/p>\n The first “what if” is the fact that the ball even got wedged in the first place \u2014 such an improbability in baseball, that results in a rule that would allow the Dodgers to prevent the run from scoring in that situation. MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa broke down how hard it is to hit a ball into that part of the wall to get stuck:<\/p>\n MLB Network’s Mark DeRosa shows how improbable it was for Addison Barger’s double to get lodged between the wall and the warning track at Rogers Centre… pic.twitter.com\/6EO8N5GVZi<\/p>\n I went to the spot where Addison Barger\u2019s double got wedged into the wall.<\/p>\n There\u2019s so little give and the padding is so tight to the turf, a ball would have to hit exactly the right spot at the right angle with enough force to get stuck. So unlikely and the timing is crazy. pic.twitter.com\/MbnaUESbBl<\/p>\n Dean said afterwards that putting his arms up for the dead ball was “something you\u2019re taught from an early age. If you see this, throw your hands up\u2026 Growing up playing baseball, I\u2019ve heard that rule countless times.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Dean talks about knowing the rule with the lodged ball and refusing to pick it up to keep a run from scoring. He might have saved the Dodgers\u2019 season with that play. pic.twitter.com\/MQCcFTdH4i<\/p>\n The other half of the “what if” is the fact that the umpires confirmed the dead ball call, which riled up the Blue Jays’ fan base a bit. That should be the correct call, as MLB has rules about balls getting lodged in the wall being a ground-rule double.<\/p>\n Still, the fact that the Blue Jays could have pulled within a run to win the World Series on that double may haunt the team moving forward. And it only hurt Toronto more with how Game 6 ended.<\/p>\n This dead ball changed MLB history. pic.twitter.com\/VTUdpC1HkU<\/p>\n Even after Barger’s ground-rule double in the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, the Blue Jays had a real shot to hoist the trophy that night.<\/p>\n Ernie Clement popped out for the first out of the inning, but when Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez lined a ball into left field, it looked for a moment that he had a chance to get some runs home. Instead, bad baserunning ended the game.<\/p>\n Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez came sprinting in from left field to catch Gim\u00e9nez’s liner, then wisely turned his attention to second base, where Barger was in no-man’s-land. Upon Hern\u00e1ndez firing the throw to Miguel Rojas, Barger was doubled up. Game 6 was over, and Game 7 was imminent.<\/p>\n KIK\u00c9, DO YOU LOVE ME?#WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com\/WQx5nFbdXa<\/p>\n Not only was an outfield-assist double play such a rare way for the Blue Jays to lose, but had Barger been running the bases correctly, Toronto could have gotten at least one more at bat to try to keep Game 6 going.<\/p>\n Instead, the combination of the wedged-ball double and the game-ending double-play meant the Blue Jays would play for the series in Game 7.<\/p>\n MORE: <\/strong>Every Game 7 in World Series history<\/p>\n Moving on to the decisive Game 7, the Blue Jays took a 3-0 lead on a three-run home run from Bo Bichette, then continued making massive defensive plays to protect that lead in the following innings. For around an hour, it appeared Toronto was cruising to a bounce-back win in Game 7 to claim the title.<\/p>\n Back came the Dodgers. Sacrifice flies and a solo home run from Max Muncy made it a 4-3 lead for the Blue Jays entering the ninth inning.<\/p>\n Still, Toronto couldn’t have asked for much more: a one-run lead with their top closer, Jeff Hoffman, on the mound to face Hern\u00e1ndez, Rojas, and Shohei Ohtani. All the Blue Jays needed was three outs, and they were World Champs.<\/p>\n Rojas had other plans. After Hoffman punched out Hern\u00e1ndez, an unlikely contributor stepped up for L.A. \u2014 Hoffman’s slider on the seventh pitch of Rojas’ at-bat was dangerous, and Rojas turned on it to tie Game 7 at four runs.<\/p>\n MIGUEL ROJAS WITH THE BIGGEST SWING OF HIS LIFE <\/p>\n GAME 7 IS TIED IN TORONTO pic.twitter.com\/tDwUGzBrVq<\/p>\n Rojas had not hit a home run since Sept. 19, per the Fox broadcast. It was the\u00a0second game-tying, or go-ahead, home run in the 9th inning or later in a winner-take-all game in World Series history,\u00a0per ESPN.\u00a0And it didn’t come from any of the Dodgers’ star bats.<\/p>\n Of course, Game 7, and the World Series, was not yet over. The Blue Jays’ chances would continue, as Hoffman finished off the top of the ninth after blowing the save anyway. Toronto fans were disappointed, but their team could walk it off for all the marbles now.<\/p>\n MORE: <\/strong>Breaking down World Series Game 7’s wild ninth inning<\/p>\n In the bottom of the ninth in Game 7, following Rojas’ heroics for the Dodgers, all the Blue Jays had to do was get a run home. Bichette got a rally started with a single, Barger walked and was pinch-run for, then Alejandro Kirk was hit by a pitch.<\/p>\n The bases were loaded with one out in the bottom of the ninth in Game 7 of the World Series for these Blue Jays. Probability would say they had fantastic chances of winning it all \u2014 a hit, error, sacrifice fly, anything could have won the 4-4 game.<\/p>\n Daulton Varsho grounded a ball to second base, and Rojas had to make a quick play to get the lead runner at home to defend the World Series crown. He made the throw in time to get Isiah Kiner-Falefa. But upon a closer camera angle, it appeared catcher Will Smith’s foot came off the plate for a moment, even if it returned to the plate just in time.<\/p>\n “Baseball is a game of inches”<\/p>\n Will Smith’s foot barely kept contact with home plate as Kiner-Falefa slid home to give the #Dodgers the force out. Toronto couldn’t win the World Series by 1-2 inches at the most. pic.twitter.com\/hD4U8uFB53<\/p>\n Here’s another few angles of where Smith’s foot goes into the air above home plate for a second, just as Kiner-Falefa is sliding in as the potential title-winning run:<\/p>\n Was #Dodgers Will Smith’s foot really on home plate for the force out? #WANTITALL Despite that split-second of opportunity for Kiner-Falefa to score with Smith’s foot in the air, the out call was confirmed. Smith’s foot got back down on the plate just a hair earlier than the runner’s slide. Had the Dodgers catcher taken one more moment to relocate his foot, the Blue Jays would be World Series champions.<\/p>\n Will Smith has his foot down. Relax Blue Jays pic.twitter.com\/lacPMQPII1<\/p>\n To run further dirt in the Blue Jays’ wound, Andy Pages made a ridiculous catch in center field, nearly colliding with his teammate, that sent the game to extras just one play later. Ernie Clement nearly had his fourth hit of the night and the World Series-winning hit.<\/p>\n Instead, it was another “what if.” Pages had to leap over Hern\u00e1ndez to secure the catch at the wall. What if Pages and Hern\u00e1ndez had collided harder? What if Clement’s hit had traveled another few feet? Who knows.<\/p>\n OH MY GOODNESS WE ARE GOING TO EXTRAS pic.twitter.com\/r3I9Swj4gg<\/p>\n MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0Revisiting the Blue Jays’ last World Series title<\/p>\n After the Blue Jays failed to complete the ninth-inning rally attempt, Game 7 went to extra innings. Defensively, they locked in well for the top of the 10th when L.A. threatened to take the lead, but Toronto went down quietly in the bottom half of the inning.<\/p>\n Flash forward to the 11th, and Will Smith’s home run gave the Dodgers the lead.<\/p>\n WILL SMITH WITH A MOONSHOT TO GIVE THE DODGERS THE LEAD IN EXTRAS <\/p>\n THIS GAME CONTINUES TO DELIVER <\/p>\n (via @MLB) pic.twitter.com\/jXzFSYIxJE<\/p>\n Perhaps the most painful “what ifs” yet were to come for Toronto, though. The World Series was not yet over. In the bottom of the 11th, trailing 5-4, the Blue Jays got a leadoff double from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a perfect sacrifice bunt to move him to third, and a walk to Barger.<\/p>\n Toronto’s tying run was on third base, and its winning run on first base, for Alejandro Kirk. He could have lost the World Series with one swing, or won it.<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, it was the former. Despite one last glimmer of hope in Rogers Centre, with Guerrero Jr. 90 feet away from continuing Game 7, the Dodgers ended the madness with a clean Mookie Betts double play to spark Toronto’s forever “what ifs,” winning their second-straight title in the process.<\/p>\n THE @DODGERS ARE BACK ON TOP AS WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS #CHAMPS<\/p>\n (MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com\/a9QnyHxZ7F<\/p>\n Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that\u2019ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Daniel Mader It may not have been possible for the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays to get closer to winning the World Series without actually doing so. History will forever say that it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
pic.twitter.com\/f6lkTbXoWv<\/p>\n