After a postseason filled with drama, clutch performances, and unforgettable moments, baseball fans worldwide were treated to a historic conclusion. For the first time in 26 years, the Major League Baseball (MLB) season has concluded with the previous year’s champion defending its title, as the Los Angeles Dodgers found themselves on the right side of a Game 7 thriller last night. Before this year, the last team to repeat as champions had been the New York Yankees, who won three consecutive World Series titles from 1998-2000. There’s nothing like October baseball, and as Logan Lin ’28 said, “the atmosphere…is so special because everyone is very passionate.”  Math Faculty Benjamin Coman cited his experience at last year’s Mets-Dodgers National League Championship Series (NLCS) with his two brothers in saying, “There’s nothing like playoff baseball in New York. You can feel the energy in the city.” This year’s postseason brought fans joy with epic moments and performances from journeymen, superstars, and everyone in between.

Wild Card and Division Series

The playoffs kicked off with the expanded Wild Card round, which, under the new playoff format implemented in 2022, now consists of four best-of-three Wild Card Series matchups. The Yankees, Tigers, Cubs and Dodgers each advanced to the Division Series. From there, the Blue Jays dispatched the Yankees in four games, ensuring that the Yankees would wait another year to snap their 16-year World Series drought. The Seattle Mariners outlasted the Tigers in a record-breaking 15-inning Game 5 thriller. In the National League, the Dodgers edged the Philadelphia Phillies after a wild extra innings error and the Brewers held off the Cubs in a series where all five games were won by the home team.

Championship Series
The Brewers seemed primed to give the Dodgers fits, riding high after a victory against their division rival, the Cubs, and having had such success playing an unselfish brand of baseball all year and into the Division Series. That sweet taste turned sour, however, as the Brewers lost both of the series’ first two games at home, forcing them to have to win at least two of the next three games in LA to keep the series alive. Shohei Ohtani, along with the raucous Chavez Ravine crowd, ensured that didn’t happen. After winning Game 3, Ohtani took the mound for Game 4, looking to close out the series. He did just that, recording 10 strikeouts on the mound to go along with three home runs at the plate. Coman described his awe while watching what he calls “the Ohtani experience,” saying it “has been unbelievable watching the best player of our lifetime pitch and hit”. 

After their hard-fought victory against the Tigers, the Mariners’ road didn’t get any easier, as they had to take on a Toronto Blue Jays team that had just handily defeated a historically successful Yankees team. They started strong, taking the series’ first two games in Toronto, giving them tremendous momentum and hope as they returned home to Seattle, where winning two of the next three games would send them to their first World Series in franchise history. The Blue Jays proved their mettle, however, taking the next two games before dropping the third, meaning they would head back to Toronto having to win both games to advance to the World Series. Rookie Trey Yesavage pitched 5.2 solid innings, and the bullpen backed him up 3.1 scoreless to set up a Game 7. Toronto trailed for most of the game until the seventh inning, when Blue Jays outfielder George Springer, who battled a myriad of injuries throughout the playoffs, launched a 3-run bomb off Eduard Bazardo to put the Blue Jays ahead for good. They would play for a championship for the first time since 1993.

World Series

This year’s World Series was packed with exciting storylines and incredible moments. It was the first World Series of the 2020s to go all seven games. After the two teams each won one of the first two games in Toronto, there was no telling which direction the series would go in heading into Game 3. It would take a while for this to be figured out, as the game lasted 18 innings, twice the length of a regular game, and only the second World Series game ever to last that long. LA’s Freddie Freeman finally ended it with a walk-off solo home run at 11:50 p.m. PST, concluding a game that had begun at 5:00 p.m. and lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. It seemed as if the Dodgers were entirely in control of the series after winning this marathon game, but the Jays once again came back stronger than ever, winning Game 4 on the back of a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. blast off of Ohtani. In Game 5, Toronto once again turned to their rookie phenom, Yesavage, who got immediate run support when the Blue Jays’ Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. became only the second duo in playoff history to lead off a game with back-to-back bombs. Yesavage, however, proved he didn’t even need it, once again pitching with the poise of a veteran, authoring a seven-inning, zero-run, 12-strikeout performance to put his team on the cusp of a title. His dominant showing in not only this game but throughout the entire playoffs reflects a new generation of Toronto talent, reinvigorating the fanbase with hope after many had worried that the team’s window for a title was rapidly closing. 

Alas, a 2025 Toronto title simply wasn’t meant to be, as Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had been lights out all playoffs, turned in another outstanding performance with six innings of one-run baseball. After the Blue Jays were unable to convert in the ninth inning, despite having runners on second and third with no one out, the series turned to a decisive Game 7. Max Scherzer, Blue Jays’s starter, became the oldest starting pitcher in a World Series game, at 41 years and 97 days. The Dodgers were forced to pitch Ohtani on short rest, having used their scheduled starter, Tyler Glasnow, to close out Game 6. Ohtani was knocked out after only 2.1 innings by a Bo Bichette three-run homer. After that, the Blue Jays held the lead the entire game, right up until the 9th inning, when closer Jeff Hoffman entered the game. With Ohtani looming as the third hitter due up that inning, he was able to strike out the first batter before facing Miguel Rojas, who had played for the first time since the Division Series only the day before. Known for his defense above his bat, Rojas had hit only one home run versus a right-handed pitcher all season, but he launched a ball into the bullpen in left field to tie the game. The score remained tied until there were two outs in the 11th, when Will Smith deposited a ball into the left field seats to give the Dodgers a chance to close it out. Despite having thrown 96 pitches the day before, it was Yamamoto who was given the ball, and he delivered, throwing 2.2 total scoreless innings, and serving up a cutter that induced a ground ball double play to return the Dodgers to the promised land for a second straight year. His legendary performance earned him the title of World Series MVP. As the champagne settles and teams prepare for a busy offseason, one question looms large: Can anyone dethrone the Dodgers? With their mix of star power, depth, and postseason experience, the road to the title may once again run through Los Angeles in 2026.