By IAN WILSON

That one stings.

Heartbreaking, gut wrenching, soul crushing … it was all of those things. And it was the type of loss that will linger for a very long time. This type of grieving will be painfully shared from one generation to the next in the years ahead. Heads will shake, eyes will wander into a distant stare and indecipherable words will be uttered.

So … very … close. Just two more outs.

For diehard and bandwagon fans alike, the Toronto Blue Jays stunning Game 7 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in extra innings marked the end of a decades-old dream.

Entering the final stages of Major League Baseball’s championship battle, the Jays held a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven matchup.

Toronto had two tries to achieve glory in front of their home fans at Rogers Centre following a dominant Game 5 performance by rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage and back-to-back leadoff homers by Davis Schneider and Vlad Guerrero Jr. at Dodger Stadium. That 6-1 victory left Canadian baseball fans feeling giddy and in a party-planning mood.

The sixth installment of the series was a haunting Halloween defeat that scared Blue Jay fans with more tricks than treats. With the Dodgers up 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Addison Barger smacked a ball to left centre that looked sure to score a sprinting Myles Straw. But the ball became stuck under the padding of the wall, resulting in a ground-rule double that left Barger and Straw on base. Shortstop Andres Gimenez followed that up by lining out and Barger was caught too far off second base to get back safely. The Dodger double play from left fielder Enrique Hernandez to second sacker Miguel Rojas ended the game and sent the World Series to a winner-take-all Game 7.

If Game 6 had fans spooked, the November knockout was truly numbing.

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Game 7 began with a hope that would ultimately prove intolerably cruel. A hobbled Bo Bichette launched a three-run blast off of starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani – the same Ohtani who rejected Toronto’s massive contract offer in favour of a lucrative deal from the Dodgers in 2023 – in the third inning to give the Jays an early lead that would hold for much of the game.

Los Angeles chipped away with sacrifice flies that produced single runs in the fourth inning and in the sixth, but the Jays countered with an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth frame to carry a 4-2 lead into the late stages of the game. Third baseman Max Muncy launched a solo blast over the right-field wall in the eighth inning to get the Dodgers within one again.

The ninth inning seemed to transport the game into another realm where the unlikely, the unthinkable and the impossible all merged into a surreal experience.

With one out in the top of the inning, Rojas punched a ball over the left-field wall on a full-count pitch from closer Jeff Hoffman to tie the game and send the 44,713 witnesses in attendance into a daze. Rojas, a 36-year-old from Venezuela, was the ninth batter in the lineup. The middle infielder didn’t suit up for most of the World Series and he hadn’t registered a hit in a month. During the 2025 regular season, Rojas had just seven homers in 114 games.

Chaos continued into the bottom of the ninth.

After Blake Snell retired Guerrero Jr. on a deep fly ball to centre field, Bichette lined a single. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) pinch ran for Bichette and advanced to second base on a walk by Barger.

Enter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who picked up the Game 6 win for the Dodgers after throwing 96 pitches over six innings the previous day. What could he possibly have left in the tank? As it turned out, the eventual World Series MVP had a lot left to give.

Yamamoto got off to a shaky start by beaning catcher Alejandro Kirk to load the bases, but regrouped and put centre fielder Daulton Varsho on the defensive in a 1-2 count. With Varsho seeking the walk-off to end all walk-offs, he batted a grounder up the middle to Rojas, who dropped to one knee to make the catch and then fired a throw home to Will Smith to narrowly record the force out of a sliding IKF.

The play was reviewed by video officials and the umpire’s decision was upheld. As Bart Simpson might describe it: “You can actually pinpoint the second when hearts ripped in half.”

Despite the out at home, there were only two outs and the bases remained loaded. Ernie Clement – who set a record for the most hits in an MLB postseason with 30 – stepped to the plate with a chance to finish the job. He connected on the first offering from Yamamoto and sent the ball to deep left centre field, where outfielders Enrique Hernandez and Andy Pages – who just entered the game – gave chase. Pages tracked the ball and steamrolled over Hernandez while making the catch and maintaining possession to end the threat.

For just the sixth time in MLB history, Game 7 of the World Series was headed to extra innings.

The tenth inning solved nothing. The Dodgers loaded the bases against reliever Seranthony Dominguez but failed to score and the Blue Jays were retired in order.

Shane Bieber, a starting pitcher for the Jays who was working out of the bullpen for this all-hands-on-deck contest, took over in the eleventh inning and induced groundouts from Rojas and Ohtani on just three pitches. But Smith connected on a solo home run to give Los Angeles a 5-4 lead.

Bieber got first baseman Freddie Freeman to groundout to stop any further damage, but the dread was setting in for the Jays believers.

Hope returned when Guerrero Jr. smacked a double into left field and he was bunted over to third base by IKF. Barger followed with a four-pitch walk from Yamamoto. The tying run was just 90 feet away from home plate and the winning run was on first base. Kirk, a slugger with five homers and 13 RBI in 18 playoff games this year, was in the batter’s box. The yearning was at maximum levels. Kirk fell behind 0-2 before a broken bat grounder found its way to shortstop Mookie Betts, who stepped on second base and threw the ball to Freeman for the final out of a classic World Series.

The excitement of the early innings of Game 7 gave way to the anxiety of waiting to win, which then turned to disbelief. That was replaced by a renewed hope, the cruelest kind, and then just nothing. The dull, empty ache of what was lost: not just a game or a championship, but a lifetime of memories from the past and those unrealized ones in the future.

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SUFFER AND CELEBRATE

Stop planning the parade. Hide the champagne. It was time to shed a few tears and seek out a consoling embrace.

“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone,” wrote former MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti in The Green Fields of the Mind.

“You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”

There is a sad and beautiful truth in those words from Giamatti, but it would be a shame to dwell on them for too long.

As Canadians, we know that winter is upon us and warmer thoughts are needed to sustain us through the cold months ahead.

Besides, it would be criminal to only look at the end result of this gift that was the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays and frown.

Indeed, Jays fans may want to reflect on Jeremy Brown when they look back on this Fall Classic. Brown was the minor leaguer from the movie Moneyball who connected for a hit and then tripped while rounding first base before scrambling back to the bag.

Peter Brand, played by Jonah Hill, and Billy Beane, portrayed by Brad Pitt, reviewed Brown’s hit in the video room during a scene in the film.

“Jeremy’s about to realize that the ball went 60 feet over the fence. He hit a home run and didn’t even realize it,” said Brand.

The metaphor prompted Beane to reply: “How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

Blue Jays boosters should be romantic about baseball and their team this year, because the story of Toronto’s major-league squad is a love story.

The uncertain future of superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made for a rocky start to the year, but when Vlad inked a 14-year, $500-million deal in April, it set the table for a magical season.

The Blue Jays were long shots to achieve much of anything during spring training. Sportsbook BetMGM gave them 30-1 odds win the American League crown and 66-1 odds to claim a World Series title.

Embracing a Han Solo-esque “never tell me the odds” mentality, Toronto clawed their way to the top of the American League East standings with a 94-68 record. They got dependable results from some usual suspects, like pitcher Kevin Gausman, Guerrero Jr., Bichette and Kirk, as well as a bounce back campaign from outfielder George Springer. Other unheralded heros emerged at various points of the season. Clement, Varsho, Schneider, Lukes, Barger, Gimenez all chipped in with key hits along the way, while pitchers Eric Lauer, Louie Varland and Trey Yesavage stepped up when needed.

Veteran hurlers Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer proved invaluable during the playoff run.

Entering the postseason, the slogan “Want it All” took hold for the Jays and their fans. The “want” was evident, and an argument could be made that they actually delivered it “all” for the home crowd.

In dispatching the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, Toronto outscored the Bronx Bombers by a total of 34-19 and prevailed three games to one.

The AL Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners proved more challenging but no less magical. What the Jays lacked in dominance, they made up for in resilience. After trailing 2-0 and 3-2 in the series, the matchup went to a deciding seventh game. The Blue Jays found themselves trailing 3-1 until the seventh inning. That’s when Springer delivered a three-run homer that broke hearts in the Pacific Northwest and sent Toronto to their first World Series appearance since 1993.

During their first two series, the Blue Jays eliminated AL MVP frontrunners Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh. They looked like a team of destiny.

PLANTING THE FLAG

Along the way, the Blue Jays captivated a nation. Toronto may have been the epicentre for the outpouring of support but the bandwagon was filling up fast across the country.

The seeds for the nation-wide love of the bluebirds had been planted long ago.

In Alberta, the Blue Jays established a rookie-level affiliate for the parent club in Medicine Hat in 1978. The “Baby Jays” of the Pioneer League operated through 2002 and produced several big-name alumni, including Pat Borders, Jimmy Key, David Wells, Mike Timlin, Lloyd Moseby, Mark Eichhorn, Chris Carpenter, Randy Knorr, Jay Gibbons and John Cerutti.

Incidentally, Los Angeles also operated a minor-league affiliate in the province during that time. The Lethbridge Dodgers set up shop at Henderson Stadium from 1977 to 1983 and churned out future major leaguers like Mitch Webster, Candy Maldonado, Mike Marshall, Jeff Hamilton and Sid Fernandez.

The big club in Toronto also participated in a series of major exhibition games across Canada in the 1980s. Winnipeg welcomed 20,000 baseball fans in 1987, and Regina turned their football stadium at Taylor Field into a ballpark in 1989 for a matchup involving the Jays and the National Baseball Institute (NBI).

The Blue Jays made a return visit to Regina in May of 1993, fresh off their first World Series title the previous year. More than 26,000 fans showed up for that one.

Athletic Park in Medicine Hat played host to the back-to-back World Series champion Blue Jays on June 6, 1994. The baseball festival, which included a home run derby and a game between the NBI and many of the Blue Jays regulars, attracted a crowd of more than 9,000 onlookers.

Greg Morrison played for NBI in that exhibition game and shook hands with several of the World Series champs. The first baseman and outfielder was drafted by the Dodgers that year and later became a prospect with the Blue Jays. As a member of the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1997, Morrison won the Pioneer League’s triple crown by leading the circuit in home runs, batting average and runs batted in.

This year’s World Series matchup brought back a lot of memories for Morrison, who is now the owner of the Medicine Hat Mavericks of the Western Canadian Baseball League (WCBL).

“Whether you’re from Toronto or from out west here in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba, it’s great for baseball. It brings a lot of attention to the game and that benefits whether it’s Little League or a WCBL fan, or just getting kids excited, they get inspired,” Morrison told reporter James Tubb of the Medicine Hat News.

“With the Blue Jays, you just grew up seeing them on TV more often and them being the underdog, that’s where it sat for me was cheering for those guys.”

CANADA’S TEAM

Since those winning seasons of the 1990s, the Blue Jays have maintained a presence across Canada through a variety of ways.

The team conducted Winter Tours from 2013 through 2023 that made stops in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax, Vancouver, as well as several cities in Ontario. These trips, which included autograph sessions, gave fans a chance to meet current players, as well as coaches and media personalities with the team.

Former Blue Jays can often be found at celebrity sports dinners throughout the country, as well. Rance Mulliniks, Roberto Alomar, John Axford, John Gibbons, Joe Carter, Ricky Romero, Buck Martinez and others have all made their way out west to entertain dinner guests with keynote addresses and Q&A sessions.

Sportsnet personality Jamie Campbell has been one of those guest speakers. He’s also spent his own vacation time traveling to Alberta and Saskatchewan over the last two summers to take in WCBL games. After checking out Medicine Hat, Sylvan Lake and Okotoks in 2024, Campbell returned West to visit Weyburn, Saskatoon and Regina in 2025.

“I take great enjoyment in my spare time out of going to local baseball games … there’s a genuine sort of homespun pleasure that’s indescribable. The only way to understand it is to show up every now and then,” said Campbell, who continues to promote the WCBL on Sportsnet broadcasts.

The Blue Jays alumni have also traveled across the country and participated in instructional clinics for years. These camps have given young players the opportunity to learn about hitting, fielding and pitching from former big leaguers who played for the Jays.

Matt Stairs, who suited up for both the Montreal Expos and the Blue Jays, is now a hitting instructor at Dawgs Academy in Okotoks. As a World Series champ with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer has plenty of knowledge about batting to share at the academy.

The Canadian Futures Showcase, meanwhile, is another way that the Blue Jays are connecting with up-and-coming baseball players from all regions. Formerly known as Tournament 12 or T12, the annual September tournament at Rogers Centre allows young amateur baseball players from across Canada to show off their talents in front of professional scouts and college recruiters. The event invites pitchers and hitters, as well as coaches, to take the field at a major-league diamond and compete against their peers.

Adam Macko and Damiano Palmegiani – who both trained at Alberta’s Vauxhall Academy of Baseball – competed at the Canadian Futures Showcase before becoming pro players in the Jays organization. The Slovakian-born Macko is a lefty pitcher who took the mound for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons this year alongside Palmegiani, a hard-hitting corner infielder originally from Caracas, Venezuela.

Michael Soroka, a veteran MLB pitcher from Calgary now with the Chicago Cubs, also took part in the T12 at Rogers Centre. Soroka has since pitched as a big leaguer against the Jays in Toronto.

“I went out there and seeing a lot of Canadians, a lot of Canadian flags, and hearing the anthem was pretty special,” noted Soroka following his first start in Toronto as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2018.

“I took some time to take everything in before the game, and a lot of that was seeing friends and family, and a lot of that was feeling at home in a city that I’ve known a little bit, even though it’s not my home city.”

Fellow Albertan Erik Sabrowski, a relief pitcher with the Cleveland Guardians, also looks at games in Toronto as special occasions.

“Just like playing for Canada in the WBC (World Baseball Classic), I’ve thought about playing in Toronto. I grew up watching the Jays back when they were on TSN. That would be pretty fun,” the former member of the Edmonton Prospects told Blue Jays Nation in January.

GROWING THE GAME

The success of the Blue Jays tends to spark interest in baseball across Canada. The fanbase grows and more eyeballs turn to the game, while registration in youth baseball and softball also receive a boost.

Staff with baseball academies and associations have seen the bump a good playoff run by the Blue Jays can provide. Just check the numbers after Jose Bautista bat flipped the Jays past the Texas Rangers in the 2015 ALDS.

“I think everybody kind of remembers the big moments like that, you know. Joe Carter’s home run, Kawhi Leonard’s shot, so this one’s one of those moments and I think that definitely changed how much more people wanted to embrace me and share their love, not only for the Blue Jays but for what I was doing,” said Bautista of his famous bat flip during a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame press conference.

“I’d like to think that the impact that my teams had in Toronto, we kind of elevated the interest in the game within the country, which kind of has a trickle down effect. I’d like to think that it kind of reactivates the grassroots level and gets the kids excited and back into playing, so maybe that’s one way we had an impact. We were fortunate to do this for a living and I don’t think a lot of us take it for granted, but sometimes we don’t realize that our impact goes beyond the ticket booth and goes into areas like this.”

Added Bautista: “It was when I was taking some of those trips with the Blue Jays Winter Tour that I realized how massive the reach was within the whole country … when I was moving around and we went to a few different cities and I saw the love and how big the turnouts were and the people’s energy and emotion just by seeing us and wearing their Blue Jays gear, you could tell it was genuine and you could tell it was massive.”

The viewership numbers from Game 7 of the 2025 World Series back what Bautista was talking about.

Rogers Sportsnet reported that 18.5 million viewers – representing 46% of Canada’s estimated population of 40.1 million people – viewed at least a portion of the game. That’s in addition to the 25.5 million viewers who watched the Fox Sports broadcast in the United States, making it the most viewed World Series game since 2017.

Fans went to some creative lengths to tune into the action, as well.

On Halloween, many trick or treaters found televisions pointed toward the street so kids and parents could keep tabs on the score in Game 6, while other neighbours would duck in to relay what was happening to visitors.

In Canwood, Saskatchewan, the final two games of the World Series were projected on a grain elevator in the town by Ryan Peekeekoot, who owns the Lonesome Pine Diner and Drive-In Theatre. Peekeekoot also set up an FM transmitter so drivers could tune in through their vehicle speakers.

“I set up my movie gear right on my dash and projected the game onto the elevator. People started showing up — it was pretty cool,” he told CBC News.

“It brings everybody together.”

Not even the hockey rinks were free from the baseball buzz.

Fans of the L.A. Kings stayed seated after their team lost to the New Jersey Devils so they could watch the end of Game 7 on the jumbotron at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings began broadcasting the game on the scoreboard during the third period in an effort to allow sports lovers to multitask.

A similar, if not stranger, situation took place at Rogers Place in Edmonton, where the Oilers were hosting the Chicago Blackhawks. The World Series finale was shown on the scoreboard during the game, and sound was added during breaks in the play.

“That was really, really strange,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters following their 3-2 overtime victory.

“Obviously, we’re all on the Jays bandwagon and everyone is wanting them to win, but it’s strange to have it on during the game, listening to the crowd. It was distracting, for sure.”

Added McDavid: “Obviously we know what that feels like, and for it to happen the way it happened, I’m just completely gutted for those guys. It was a fun run, they’ve given Canada a lot to cheer about and they should be very, very proud of themselves.”

There is always next year, but hopefully what the Blue Jays achieved this postseason will help soothe the sting of the Game 7 loss.

And whether they realize it or not, they knocked it out of the park this year.