The quest for the 2025 World Series title begins in Toronto on Friday and there will be plenty of interesting angles when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays face off.
Here are five interesting storylines to follow during the 2025 World Series:
1. Will the Dodgers “ruin baseball” with a win?
The Dodgers have heard all the talk about buying a championship. Manager Dave Roberts took over the villain after his team swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the NLCS, telling anyone who would listen, “Let’s get four more wins and really screw up baseball.”
Los Angeles is 9-1 this postseason and looks every bit the part of the reigning MLB champions. A World Series win would make the Dodgers the first repeat champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees and cement the franchise’s place as team of the decade with a trio of World Series victories since the dawn of 2020.
2. Can George Springer still torment an old enemy?
Springer came through the biggest moment of ALCS Game 7 against the Seattle Mariners, a team he tormented for years while with the Houston Astros. The boos from the Mariners crowd during the ALCS were a constant reminder of Springer’s success against their franchise over the years.
Dodgers fans understand the anger, with Springer earning the World Series MVP in 2017 as the Astros defeated Los Angeles in seven games. Springer hit five home runs to earn that honor, something Dodgers fans won’t forget. Expect to hear a lot of boos every time Springer steps up to the plate in Los Angeles.
3. What’s next for Shohei Ohtani?
The last time we saw Ohtani, he was making all kinds of history, fooling the Brewers on the mound with 6.0 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts, while also hitting three home runs.
So what can Ohtani do for an encore in the Fall Classic? Well, he can start by improving on his performance in the 2024 World Series, when he went just 2-for-19 (.105 batting average) against the Yankees.
Ohtani was up and down at the plate this postseason, going 1-for-18 (.056) in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies before rebounding with a 5-for-14 (.357) performance against Milwaukee. What kind of numbers will we see from the three-time MVP and what moments will he create?
4. A battle between aggressive teams
Any way you look at it, this series highlights a few baseball teams that aren’t afraid to spend money and make bold decisions at the MLB trade deadline. The Dodgers’ active payroll ($268 million) is just over $108 million more than the Blue Jays’ ($160.4 million), but both teams have invested in their stars. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s fourteen-year, $500 million contract will take effect next year, while Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract when he joined the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season.
Remember when the Blue Jays were in the middle of the Ohtani chase that offseason and ended up losing to the Dodgers? It makes for a fascinating ‘what if’ scenario.
5. International showdown
Representing an entire nation, the Blue Jays bring Canadian pride and a unique cross-border element to the Fall Classic. This is Toronto’s first World Series appearance since back-to-back titles in 1992-93, generating huge national interest north of the border as the Dodgers bring Hollywood glamor and one of baseball’s largest fan bases.
This year will truly be a World Series.
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