World Series Preview
It’s late October. You’ve had a few pumpkin-flavored snacks or drinks by now (if not, c’mon man, quit slacking, let it happen). The colors of autumn are upon us. The browns, reds, yellows, and oranges are everywhere. This year, however, MLB’s Fall Classic is painted blue. On Friday, October 24, in Toronto, Canada, the Blue Jays will be hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers for game one of the 2025 World Series. It’s the first time since 1993 that the Toronto Blue Jays have reached the World Series. The Dodgers return for the second consecutive season, looking to defend their title in 2024. This is the first time these teams have met in the World Series. Both teams are deep, talented, and hungry, but only one will be crowned champion. Let’s look into how each team got here and what they need to do to achieve baseball immortality.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The boys in blue are back in the World Series after winning it all last season. The Dodgers look to become the first MLB team to repeat as champions since the Yankees won 3-straight from 1998-2000. LA was the 3-seed in the National League this year, as such they had to play the Wild Card round, breezing past the Cincinnati Reds in a 2-game sweep. In the NLDS, they met a much tougher opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, but ultimately got the series won in 4 games. Finally, they swept the team with the best record in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers, in 4 games. Shohei Ohtani was the MVP, after a historic performance in game 4, hitting 3 home runs while striking out 10 batters over 6+ scoreless innings (you know, unicorn type stuff). The Dodgers have relied heavily on their starting pitching and they have been nothing short of incredible. Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani have a combined 1.40 ERA over 64.1 innings. Opponents are hitting just .132 against them and only have two home runs. The bullpen, on the other hand, has been shaky (to put it kindly). Roki Sasaki, the rookie sensation (aka Bullpen Jesus), has been the only reliable arm in late innings. The offense has also been lacking its fire power a bit this postseason, hitting just .223 as a team. It has been enough because of how good their pitching has been but they’ll need some bats to step up if they want to repeat as champs.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays partying like it’s 1993, the last time they made (and won) a World Series. They also won in 1992, making them a perfect 2-0 in their team’s World Series history. In 2025, they landed the top seed in the American League, earning a first round-bye. In the ALDS, they met their division rival and the defending AL champs, the New York Yankees. Not many people picked them to knock out the Yanks, but they did so in 4 games. Then they met the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS, where they lost the first 2 games of the series at home. It was looking bleak for the Jays, but they mounted multiple comebacks in the series and took home the AL Pennant in 7 games. Their MVP is Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who is having a monster postseason run, hitting .442 with 6 home runs. Toronto has a deep lineup with players like Alejando Kirk, Dalton Varsho, Ernie Clement and (under my breath) George Springer*. There’s also a real possibility Bo Bichette will return from injury in time for Game 1. On the pitching side, their ace Kevin Gausman has a 2.00 ERA this postseason and they’ve gotten a huge surprise from rookie starter Trey Yesavage, who had only 3 career starts prior to this postseason run. The bullpen, like the Dodgers, is on the weaker side. The Blue Jays led all of MLB in comeback wins in 2025 and that trend has continued so far in October. They will need continued offensive production and get enough from their pitching to take home a third World Series Championship.
*Cheater
My Prediction - Dodgers in 5
It should not be a surprise I’m picking my Dodgers here and I would love to see them clinch the series at Dodger Stadium. The Blue Jays are a great team with a lot of depth and fight and they will give LA some trouble. The Dodgers starting pitching has been elite this postseason and they are well rested. Both teams have great hitters with postseason success, and although Vlad Jr is the best overall hitter on either team, the Dodgers have Ohtani (who may have broken out of a major slump), Mookie Betts (3-time WS Champ), and Freddie Freeman (last year’s WS MVP), not to mention guys like Max Muncy, Will Smith, Tommy Edman, and Teoscar Hernandez. The bullpens on both teams are not great and this series might come down to who can get the big late inning hits, but the Blue Jays lack of elite left-handed arms against this Dodgers lineup is a concern. The same argument can be made for the lack of LA right-handed arms against Toronto’s lineup, however, I think Roki Sasaki’s emergence gives the Dodgers a slight advantage in that area. This series is going to be entertaining, hard fought, and very, very blue. Ohtani vs Vladdy, USA vs Canada, Kendrick vs Drake (y’all should be proud of me for that one), Blue vs Blue. The 2025 World Series should be a great one, enjoy!