The stage was set for a celebration in Toronto, with 44,713 warm bodies crammed at Rogers Centre and rightly anticipating victory. There the Blue Jays stood, two outs from their first championship in 32 years and hitherto stifling the star-studded Dodgers. Unfortunately for the hosts, the sparks did come, but against them: in the ninth and then the 11th, as if they were fated to fail, and spectacularly.
For much of the night, the Dodgers were in survival mode. Their offense had sputtered through the World Series, and Game Seven appeared to go the way of the previous contests. Their rotation was battered by injuries, their bullpen pushed to the limit. But, as the annals of Major League Baseball has shown time and again, adversity has its virtues. It coerces resolve. It demands character. And, with a second straight championship on the line, they found both. A game-tying homer by utility man Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning, an improbable throw home to kill a Blue Jays rally, and then a go-ahead blast in the 11th by Will Smith. And behind them all was the pitcher who towered under pressure, delivering the final two and two-thirds innings and ultimately claiming Most Valuable Player honors following equally dominant outings in Games Three and Six.
A year after leaving Nippon Professional Baseball behind to take the mound stateside for a whopping $325 million, Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the MLB’s most striking figure. He entered the winner-take-all affair on zero rest to become only the fourth pitcher ever to prevail in both Games Six and Seven of a World Series, and the first since 1969 to claim three victories in a single Fall Classic. His performance underscored the verity of the sport: Behind greatness lies grit. It is walked at twilight, when every muscle protests but the will plods on.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays cannot but be bitter in defeat. They were literally inches from making history, catapulted by a three-run homer by red-hot Bo Bichette and fueled by their utter belief in themselves. And still they lost. Jeff Hoffman hung a slider to Miguel Rojas; the home run tied the score. Two innings later, Will Smith’s homer ended the season. The tears came easy in the locker room. “I cost everybody here a World Series ring,” their otherwise-trusted closer admitted. They gave their campaign their all, going from last place in 2024 to the final game in 2025. But the last out eluded them, their plight providing all and sundry a grim reminder that opportunity and execution need to align. The heartbreak will linger, but, hopefully, replaced by confidence in a solid foundation sooner rather than later.
Needless to say, the World Series delivered a Game Seven for the ages: drama in every inning, heroism in multiple forms, a legacy affirmed. The Dodgers tied the Red Sox and the Athletics for the third-most titles with nine. In so doing, they likewise became the first team to repeat since the Yankees at the turn of the millennium. And as the battlesmoke cleared, Yamamoto raised his arms to the sky, transcendent in blue and white.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
