Toronto Blue Jays right fielder, George Springer, holds up the American League Championship trophy.

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts led the team with a .297 batting average and six RBIs vs. the Brewers.

Outfielder George Springer raises his hands after hitting a three-run, go-ahead homer in the ALCS.

Dodgers Pitcher Shohei Ohtani struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in NLCS Game 4.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the defending World Series Champions of Major League Baseball, will take on the challenge of the Toronto Blue Jays in this 121st fall baseball classic. The Best of 7 event will begin on Friday, October 24, in Toronto.

The Dodgers are attempting to add another page to their storied history, as well as becoming the first National League baseball team to ‘repeat’ as World Series Champions since the 1975-’76, “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, and Tony Perez — a thought that appently is lost on the national media covering baseball.

The Dodgers’ leader is Shohei Ohtani, the Japanese pitching and hitting star who some modern-day baseball pundits regard as the best baseball player of all time. This notion is in total disagreement with the thinking of this writer and other baseball historians. B At this moment, we’ll focus on the Dodgers team that surrounds Ohtani, and it is a good one that also stars future Hall of Famers Mookie Betts and Freddy Freeman. Betts, a 3-time World Series Champion, former American League Most Valuable Player, and 6-time Gold Glove Winner, along with Freeman, 2-time World Series Champion (and MVP of last year’s Series), as well as a multiple Gold Glove Winner, are the key ‘everyday’ stars of this Dodgers team. That is not to shed any negative light on Ohtani, the first player in Major League Baseball History to record a 50 Homer/50 Stolen Base season (in 2024) while winning his third regular season Most Valuable Player Award, and most likely a 4th for this past regular season’s work. The man is a phenomenal player, but as a designated hitter/pitcher, he is not an ‘everyday player who plays defense in the field,’ the true mark of an ‘all-around baseball player’ — a simple point of fact. This is a significant point that must be part of any equation to place Shohei Ohtani in the same class as Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Barry Bonds, and other legendary players in the history of this game. Ohtani hit .105, two hits, two runs scored in 5 games in last year’s World Series, and was 2-for-11 before his 3-home run breakout game in this year’s National League Championship Series sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers But the Dodgers’ run for a repeat World Series title will rest on the heroics of their starting pitching staff-Ohthani included. Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned in record performances in the first two games of the best-of-7 National League Championship Series. In Game 1, Snell turned in one of the all-time best postseason pitching performances-1-hit, 10 strikeout, shutout pitching (no walks) in 8 innings (16 consecutive batters retired) in the Dodgers’ 2-1 victory.

Yamamoto followed that with a complete game, 3-hit, seven strikeout showing in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win, the first complete game in 7 years of Major League Baseball playoff competition. When the Dodgers took game 3 of the Series by a final score of 3-1, all that was left was a curtain call provided by Shohei Ohtani, and he closed the Series with a bang— make that three dingers (homers) to go along with 6 innings of shutout pitching. Ohtani won the NLCS Most Valuable Player Award and the distinction of becoming the first starting pitcher in Major League Baseball History to hit a leadoff homer (regular or postseason), first starting pitcher to hit multiple home runs (3) in a postseason game, and strikeout 10 batters. To add to the historical category, the Dodgers starting pitching staff of Snell, Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Ohtani compiled a 0.63 Earned Run Average for the Series, 4th-lowest in any series since E.R.A. became an official statistic in 1912. The last four-game sweep in a postseason series occurred in 1963, the year the Sandy Koufax-led Dodgers swept the New York Yankees in the World Series. The left-hander struck out 15 Yankees in game one (which stood as the record until broken by St. Louis Cardinals hurler Bob Gibson (17 K’s against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series), and struck out 10 in a 2-1 win to complete the 4-game sweep of the Series. This 2025 version of the Los Angeles Dodgers will have to go a long way to top the magic of Hall of Famer ‘Dandy Sandy’ Koufax and the 1963 Dodgers.

Their opponents in this 2025 World Series will be the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 winners of ‘Game 7’ of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners.

After losing the first two home games of this Series, the Blue Jays rallied from a 3 games-to-2 deficit to win the final two games at home during this up-and-down Series. Solo home runs by Julio Rodriquez (3rd inning) and Cal Raleigh (5th inning) gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead, setting the stage for the 50th come-from-behind win for the Blue Jays this season, the most in Major League Baseball this season. George Springer’s dramatic 3-run go-ahead homer in the bottom of the 7th inning proved to be the difference, wiping out a 3-1 Mariners lead. It was the 9th go-ahead postseason home run for Springer (tied for 3rd all-time), the 2nd, 7th game home run, and 23rd of his career. Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman struck out the final 3 Mariners batters to seal the deal. Springer, on his magical home run:” This is just unbelievable. Much credit should go to my teammates who set the stage for my moment with a walk and a single. I got my pitch and didn’t miss it.” Jays Manager John Schneider: “It is so fitting that George Springer would once again provide his special brand of October magic.” Springer, playing on a sore right knee (after being struck by a pitched ball in game 5), lives for these moments.’ His team became only the 4th team in history to come back from a 0-2 deficit, losing the first two games at home, to win a postseason series. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., was named ALCS Most Valuable Player.

So it’s the Dodgers against the Blue Jays for the 2025 Major League Baseball World Series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the statement following his team’s sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Title series: “People say that the Dodgers are bad for baseball because we win so much. I am hoping that with four more wins, we can stay bad for baseball.” This should be a very competitive World Series.