For the first time in 32 years, the World Series concluded outside the United States this October. As the clock struck past midnight, the coveted Commissioner’s Trophy, after a brief stay in Canada, was on its way back home with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers clinched the World Series in an electrifying Game 7, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings. This crushing loss left an entire country heartbroken, a nation that had wholeheartedly rallied behind its team during a period of strained relations with its longtime ally, the United States.
What many Americans initially dismissed as a quick four-game sweep — Canada’s sole Major League Baseball team pitted against the powerhouse Dodgers, boasting a colossal $520 million payroll and the sport’s biggest star, Shohei Ohtani — instead delivered a captivating series, though ultimately falling short of a championship for the Blue Jays.
Throughout their remarkable run, these underdogs earned the affectionate nickname “Glue Jays” for their undeniable camaraderie and their ability to unite fans from coast to coast. They captivated the country as they powered through formidable opponents like the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
On that fateful Saturday, the Rogers Centre in Toronto, packed with nearly 45,000 screaming fans, was an absolute spectacle of passion and intensity for most of the night.
The Blue Jays surged early, knocking starting pitcher Ohtani off the mound after Bo Bichette blasted a three-run homer. Defensive heroics followed, including a spectacular diving catch in center field by Daulton Varsho and another crucial play at first by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., together saving at least two runs. Tensions flared, clearing both dugouts and bullpens for a brief skirmish after Toronto’s Andrés Giménez was hit by a pitch. Guerrero then masterfully executed a daring double play. But the Dodgers fought back, with Miguel Rojas hitting a game-tying home run in the ninth inning. The final blow came in the 11th, a solo shot by Will Smith that silenced the crowd, leaving the Blue Jays unable to respond.
As the clear, crisp November night descended upon Canada’s largest city, disappointed Jays fans slowly dispersed from packed downtown bars, their spirits heavy. Inside the Rogers Centre, the crowd, though applauding their team as they exited the field, couldn’t bear to watch the Dodgers celebrate their triumph.
“As tough as this is right now,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, “I think of the entire country and how they latched onto this group and hung on every pitch just like we did, and there’s going to be so many good memories for generations of Blue Jays fans that waited a long time to get here. To the fans I say thank you, and to the fans I say sorry.”
Geddy Lee, the legendary lead vocalist and bassist for the rock band Rush, a season-ticket holder since 1979, observed how the team’s composition — a blend of established stars like Guerrero and George Springer, along with a dozen or so players recently emerging from minor league stints and promising prospects — truly resonated with Toronto’s baseball faithful and captured the hearts of countless Canadians.
After finishing last in the American League East in 2024, expectations for the Blue Jays this year had been remarkably low.
“This is the most surprising team I can remember in all the years I’ve been following them,” Lee recounted in an interview before Game 7. “They got on a roll and you wondered, is this really happening? It snowballed and turned all those negative expectations into a love affair.”
The Blue Jays proudly featured one Canadian player: the charismatic, hard-hitting first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who was born in Montreal while his father played for the Expos. On Game 7 night, he arrived at the stadium wearing the jersey of Canada’s women’s hockey team captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, a gesture he repeated after the heartbreaking loss.
Despite most Blue Jays players hailing from the United States or Latin America, they collectively embody a distinctly Canadian essence. They are affable, relaxed yet fiercely united, playing with visible joy, and taking winning seriously without taking themselves too seriously.
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of arrogance, and Canadians identify in that regard. Proudly quiet and self-effacing. Maybe that’s how we connect to them,” Lee mused. “They’re quiet yet persistent, and they seem to have no quit in them, and Canadians like to see that in themselves.”
He affectionately described the Blue Jays as “a unifier.”
Jays’ third baseman Ernie Clement humbly acknowledged it was “a privilege” to serve in that unifying role.
“I have had zero negative interactions with anyone in this entire country since I’ve been here, which is just mind-blowing to me,” said Clement, a native of Rochester, N.Y. “Everyone has just been so cool and nice and welcoming and so supportive. It is truly an honor to play for this country.”
Since early spring, the Blue Jays have acted as a soothing balm for a nation reluctantly drawn into tense diplomatic relations with the United States, marked by tariffs and former President Trump’s assertions against Canada’s sovereignty. On the eve of Game 1, Trump reportedly threatened to end trade talks with Canada, citing an Ontario government ad he claimed misrepresented Ronald Reagan’s 1987 remarks on tariffs. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney later offered an apology for the advertisement.
However, unlike the atmosphere surrounding the tariff announcements, national anthems were met with reverence and enthusiastic cheers throughout the World Series. In a brief, possibly politically charged, incident during Game 6 on Friday, a man carrying a crumpled American flag scaled the outfield wall, only to be swiftly apprehended by security and arrested by police. For the most part, however, the Blue Jays were all Canadians wanted to discuss. Geopolitical tensions were largely confined to the baseball diamond.
This season marked a unique milestone in Major League Baseball history, as the season both began and concluded abroad — starting in Tokyo and ending in Toronto. Fittingly, an enormous international audience tuned in; the opening game alone garnered a combined viewership of 32.6 million across Canada, Japan, and the United States, the highest since the Chicago Cubs’ historic championship in 2016, which famously ended their 108-year title drought.
Lee mentioned receiving messages from numerous American friends “who are secretly rooting for the Blue Jays.”
“The numbers this World Series is doing not only in Canada, but everywhere, is unbelievable,” shared Bichette, the Jays’ infielder. “I even had to kind of take a step back and be like, dang, this is pretty cool.”
The series was packed with unforgettable moments: Addison Bargers’ pinch-hit grand slam for the Blue Jays in Game 1, a World Series first. Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s dominant complete Game 2. An epic 18-inning Game 3, the second-longest in World Series history. Toronto’s masterful shutdown of Ohtani, both on the mound and at the plate, in Game 4. Blue Jays rookie pitcher Trey Yesavage’s seven-inning masterpiece, featuring a World Series rookie record of 12 strikeouts, in Game 5. A chaotic ninth inning in Game 6 where a ball stuck in the outfield wall likely cost the Jays the game. And finally, in Game 7, profound heartache.
Joe Carter, the legendary player whose home run secured the Jays’ last World Series victory in 1993, deeply understands the profound impact the Blue Jays can have on a country.
“If you close your eyes and swing hard and hit a home run, they will love you for the rest of your life, not just here in Toronto,” Carter famously stated. “You can go from as far east as Nova Scotia and as far west as Vancouver, and it was all about the Blue Jays. It was all about Canada.”
