You don’t often hear professional athletes use words like “true love” to describe their relationships with their teammates.
An hour after the Toronto Blue Jays walked off the field at Rogers Centre in the early hours of Sunday morning, heartbroken at their extra innings defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in game seven of the World Series, that is how pitcher Chris Bassitt described how he feels about the group.
“It’s hard to replicate true love,” Bassitt said while losing an attempt to fight back tears. “You can try to replicate this. A lot of people will try, but it’s not really possible.”
Love was a word echoed by every Blue Jay that faced the media after the game. Many of the postgame answers weren’t about the game, or what went wrong on the field. They were about each other, how they were sad the group will never be the same again, and how much they’ll miss coming to the ballpark every day.
Many of them shared that this is the best team they have ever played on, including future Hall of Famer, and World Series champion, Max Scherzer, who said he “never thought [he] could love baseball this much”.
There are many fans across Canada — new ones, lifelong ones, and some whose support for the team was rekindled over the last few months — who would agree with him. Some lucky enough to remember the 1992 and 1993 Blue Jays teams that won back-to-back World Series titles were able to share the 2025 Blue Jays with their friends, family, and fellow fans as well.
There was something special about this year’s edition on and off the field that captivated a nation unlike anything seen at Rogers Centre since Joe Carter’s famous home run in 1993.
Max Scherzer walks off the mound at the end of his start on Saturday night. (Photo: TSN)
As fans, of course we want our teams to win, but there is also an expectation that players work as hard as they can and reciprocate the passion that the fans have for their team. That seems like a bare minimum, but it isn’t always how it plays out.
This Toronto Blue Jays team was genuine, had that heart in spades, and the reaction to losing the World Series was proof of it.
Trey Yesavage, Jeff Hoffman and Shane Bieber each gave up late home runs, points that ultimately lost Toronto the World Series, but every time one of their teammates was asked about those moments, they all spoke about how they still trust them in big moments, and would turn to them in those moments again.
When he spoke after the game, Hoffman said that he “cost everybody in here a World Series ring”, and you could almost hear hearts shatter again across Canada. It was him who gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning to Miguel Rojas that tied the game when he was trusted with getting just two more outs to clinch the World Series title.
That is the cruelty of sport — someone gets to win, and someone has to lose. Good teams win together, but they also don’t let losses come between them.
Blue Jays fans are rightly disappointed in how it played out. For many — including the team itself — it will be days, weeks, months, or possibly even years before the pain of losing game seven fades.
At the same time, there is room for reflection about just how special a team the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays were, and the wild rollercoaster ride of emotions they put fans through — from coast-to-coast-to-coast within these borders, and around the world.
The players seemed to truly embrace that they weren’t just playing for a city, but for an entire country. The emotions during O Canada ahead of each game, but especially game one of the World Series — from those on the field and in the stands — was an incredible scene.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr, born in Montreal but raised in Dominican Republic, seemed to really lean into his role as one of the prominent Canadian players in the sport as well during these playoffs — along with his Dodgers first base counterpart Freddie Freeman.
He arrived at Rogers Centre on Saturday for the biggest game of his life wearing a Team Canada hockey jersey, game-worn by the great Marie-Philip Poulin. Captain Clutch, as Poulin is affectionately known after countless medal-winning moments in the Canadian red and white, was in attendance as well, sporting a Vladimir Guerrero Jr jersey.
Guerrero Jr provided some now-iconic moments throughout these playoffs, a year before a 14-year contract extension kicks in that will likely make him a Blue Jay for life. A grand slam against the Yankees and the ensuing bat flip was one of eight home runs he hit in these playoffs — and he tied the former record for most hits in a single postseason with 29 — beaten only by teammate Ernie Clement who reached 30.
Most memorable, though, may be the postgame speech after the Blue Jays eliminated the Mariners to reach the World Series. With tears of joy streaming down his face, Guerrero Jr spoke with Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, who expertly paused to let him take in the moment.
The home runs are the signs of a superstar, and the championship ring would have been the signs of a legend, but playing with so much love for the place you represent is what makes you a hero to many. So many Blue Jays embraced that this season, seemingly more than any team had in a decade since the days of Jose Bautista, Kevin Pillar, Josh Donaldson, Marcus Stroman, and more.
The Blue Jays are Canada’s team, and Guerrero Jr is the embodiment of that.
People will remember the several missed opportunities with runners on base in games six and seven at home. They’ll remember Will Smith hitting a home run in the top of the 11th inning, or Andy Pages making an incredible catch in the bottom of the ninth inning to rob Ernie Clement of a walkoff hit and a Joe Carter moment.
They will also remember Bo Bichette’s three run home run, back-to-back diving catches from Daulton Varsho and Guerrero Jr, and the ovation for Scherzer after he walked off the mound. Bichette and Springer played injured throughout the postseason, with Bo only able to join the roster for the World Series — where he got his playoff moment.
The shortstop’s contract is up at the end of the season, but he maintained his desire to stay in Toronto long-term after the game. Of course the money has to add up as well, but the team and its fans will of course want to see him stay united with Guerrero Jr and manager John Schneider, who worked their way up through the minor leagues together and became a beloved trio in the big leagues.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette as members of the single-A Dunedin Blue Jays together. (Photo: Toronto Blue Jays)
Those are just some of the moments from game seven. There were countless more from one of the greatest World Series in recent memory, and a postseason many will never forget. Multiple players had all-time great playoff runs, but in the end they fell agonizingly short of the ultimate prize.
Vladdy’s grand slam against the Yankees. Springer’s home run against the Mariners, and Hoffman striking out Julio Rodriguez to win game seven of the ALCS. Scherzer yelling at Schneider to let him finish an inning. The nine-run inning in game one against the Dodgers, highlighted by an Addison Barger pinch hit grand slam. Trey Yesavage’s rise from playing in single-A to start the year before working his way up and ending 2025 as Toronto’s World Series ace. Davis Schneider and Guerrero Jr hitting back-to-back home runs in game five in LA.
That’s just scratching the surface. Not to mention a regular season full of highs that ended with Toronto winning its first division title in ten years, clinched on the final day. “David vs. Goliath” was an external theme all year, and especially in the World Series. In the end, the Blue Jays proved that absolutely wasn’t the case, and they deserved every success they had in 2025.
It was a season that started with little expectation and ended about as close to a championship as you can get without winning it.
It is a heartbreaking way to end the season, but for all of those moments, and so many more, it’s easy to look back on the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays with pride.
Bring on 2026.
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