An Instant Classic, the 2025 World Series Was a Huge Win for MLB

What more could you ask for from a World Series?

The greatest villain squaring off with a team, hell, a country, that went from last to first in one year. Big names on an even bigger stage, and the product was exactly what baseball needed.

You could not write a story with better moments and storylines. George Springer reviving his career to play World Series hero again. Ohtani, once again, rewriting history.

The rise of Trey Yesavage, Enrique Hernandez returning to his October self, a pinch-hit grand slam, an 18-inning game, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto etching his name into World Series history.

It might feel weird calling the Blue Jays, the hottest team in baseball, an underdog but isn’t everyone that faces the big, bad Dodgers a underdog?

Being the defending World Champs and having the league’s largest payroll comes with a certain level of elevated duty to win.

Especially when they ran through the National League, losing just one game in the playoffs before the World Series, beating the two best teams from the regular season in the Phillies in the NLDS, and the Brewers, sweeping them in the NLCS.

Well, the Dodgers got to take on being the underdog themselves when they fell behind in the World Series 3-2, having to go to Toronto for Game 6 and Game 7.

After narrowly winning Game 6, the Dodgers found themselves right back in the underdog role after Bo Bichette gave the Blue Jays an early Game 7 lead with a three-run homer.

The Blue Jays held a lead until the 9th inning, looking like they had the World Series won, but the Dodgers somehow found a way to spoil their party in the most gut-wrenching of fashions.

Wild Finish to a Crazy World Series

Down by one and down to their final two outs in the top of the ninth, 12-year veteran and defensive specialist Miguel Rojas entered the box.

All discussion was on Ohtani standing on deck. Would the greatest player in the game have another iconic October moment? Nope. Instead, Rojas became a Dodgers legend.

Jeff Hoffman delivered an 86 mph slider on the inside of the plate, and Rojas yanked the full count offering over the head of the left fielder and into the stands to tie the game.

With the game tied, the Dodgers still needed to get three outs to send it to extras. Blake Snell was on the mound, but after getting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fly out, he gave up a single and a walk.

Enter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching on NO DAYS REST!

Yamamoto hit a batter to load the bases, but got a groundball to Rojas, who made a tough throw home to get the force out at the plate, again extending the World Series.

A deep fly ball came between Kike Hernandez and Andy Pages (who just entered the game as a defensive replacement), with Pages taking down Hernandez in a collision but securing the catch to send the game to the 10th inning.

Neither team scored in the 10th, but Will Smith broke the tie in the top of the 11th, hitting a solo homer mere feet away from where Rojas left the yard a few innings earlier.

Yamamoto, still on the mound after throwing 96 pitches the night before, got the final three outs of the World Series. On his 34th pitch of the night, and 130th pitch of the past 26 hours, Yamamoto rolled a double-play ball to Mookie Betts, which he turned 6-6-3 to Freddie Freeman to end the game.

World Series a Massive Win for Major League Baseball

As someone who does not cheer for either team, I just kept coming back to how much of a win this is for baseball. Put aside your frustrations with the Dodgers’ payroll and allow yourself, as someone who enjoys baseball, to appreciate the gift we were just given over the past seven games.

No matter what you like, this series had it all.

The Addison Barger pinch-hit grand slam that erupted the country from Vancouver to Montreal.

An energy so palpable you could cut it with a knife. A moment where the Blue Jays made a statement showing they had what it takes to compete with the Dodgers.

Game 3 was a marathon that exhausted bullpens and strategies ended only by the future Hall of Famer in Freddie Freeman, hitting his second walk-off World Series home run in as many years, pushing the Dodgers to a 2-1 lead.

The emotions Toronto established in Game 1 were quickly erased.

You like a plot twist? How about Game 4, when we saw the battle between two of the best the game has to offer in Ohtani and Guerrero Jr., with Vladi launching the eventual game-winning home run deep into the LA night, tying up the series.

Game 5 was the unexpected hero moment.

After starting the season in Low-A, rookie Trey Yesavage climbed all the way up to the majors and became a force in October.

In his World Series start, Yesavage spun a gem, going seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball, striking out 12 Dodgers along the way. A relentless effort that put the Blue Jays back in the driver’s seat.

Then came Game 6.

Once again, the tides changed, and the Dodgers flexed their muscles. They did just enough against Kevin Gausman to scratch across three runs, and Toronto could not get to Yamamoto. Little did they know, they would struggle with the same problem a little over 24 hours later.

Fitting that the Dodgers win because Game 7 was something out of Hollywood.

Ohtani vs. Scherzer. The international superstar on the mound facing off against one of the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen.

Momentum swings back and forth throughout the night. Walking Vlad to pitch to Bichette only for him to deposit a souvenir into center field, giving Toronto a 3-0 lead, and chase Ohtani in the third.

A legacy home run that somehow felt bigger than the moment itself. A homegrown star in what could be his last game, playing on a bum leg, lifting the city.

But the Dodgers didn’t fold. Not then, not after the Gimenez double made it 4-2, and not after the huge double play in the seventh that looked like a play a team of destiny would make.

They immediately responded with the veterans – a Muncy home run, a Rojas home run, and the Will Smith go-ahead blast in the 11th. Ball game.

One of the best games we have seen in recent World Series history.

In many ways, this was a massive win for baseball. The playoffs had small markets, memorable games, and cemented a true villain and dynasty. Performance swings, numerous records broken, unsung heroes, and certified stars.

We weren’t left with a dull World Series where the winner was clear and one team got bullied. Instead, we are left with a story that documentaries will tell.

A battle between two heavyweights not long before baseball faces a battle of its own.

With the CBA set to expire after next season, many are worried about what will happen to the game we love. Will suits with deep pockets and a player union wanting change collide, forcing a holdout?

I fear the worst-case scenario is possible.

With how much momentum baseball has built from destination games, pace of place changes, young phenoms, and international freaks, any halt to their growth will be significant.

This series should serve as a reminder of how great this game is and why it is crucial to continue the momentum they have worked hard to build.

Getting a World Series like we just saw is rare. There are new fans that baseball did not have nine months ago. A gripping seven-game series will pull people in, even if this is their first taste of what so many of us pour into night after night.

Baseball has a way of uniting people, and in this series, countries. The past several days have put on a display of what makes baseball great. No matter your taste, this series had it. What we witnessed wasn’t just a World Series – it was a celebration of everything that makes this sport timeless.