The Los Angeles Dodgers were inches away from losing the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays. The thrilling Game 7 had it all, from drama to controversy the 2025 Fall Classic did not disappoint.
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The Dodgers would not have been able to repeat had they not executed the perfect bases-loaded play in the bottom of the ninth inning. With Blue Jays infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third, Daulton Varsho hit a grounder toward Dodgers second baseman, who corralled the baseball and threw it to Will Smith at home.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa was ruled out after the play was reviewed, and Smith spoke about the controversial play on The Rich Eisen Show.
“You’re kind of preparing before the pitch is thrown. You have to hit to whoever. You’re hoping maybe you have time to turn a double play or something,” Smith said. “But as soon as it was hit he took a drop step, you knew it wasn’t going to be a double play. So then I just turned into a first baseman there. Just make sure you get one out and luckily my foot stayed down enough.
“I was pretty sure the throw beat him and everything. Didn’t realize my foot came off at all for that half inch or whatever. I was pretty confident. And then it plays on the Jumbotron and I see my foot come off and it’s like, oh crap, here we go. Like I can’t imagine ending our season this way. It’s a little bit of panic.”
Kiner-Falefa’s lead off third base then became a hot topic of conversation amongst baseball fans. Should he have taken another step toward home? Should he have run through home?
Smith weighed in on the controversial play and defended Kiner-Falefa’s lead off.
“That’s just a tough spot to come up a few inches short. I don’t think he did anything wrong. That’s just how it had to be,” Smith said.
The discourse surrounding the single play also pointed out Blue Jays third base coach Carlos Febles marked the exact spot where he wanted Kiner-Falefa to lead off. While many pointed out the infielder was close to the bag, the fear of getting doubled off prompts coaches to keep runners close to the bag.
As for running through home, it’s almost impossible to know where the throw was taking Smith and sliding is the standard baserunning practice. There are so many nuances to the game of baseball, and the play involving Kiner-Falefa and Smith at home clearly demonstrate the quick decisions made on a single play.
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