New Boston Red Sox infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is best known by Major League Baseball fans these days for a play that happened with a division rival.
Last November, in Game 7 of the World Series, Kiner-Falefa was a half-step late to home plate with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Toronto Blue Jays, and he was widely panned for not getting a large enough lead to beat the throw home after Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas stumbled while fielding a ground ball.
It was a gut-wrenching moment for the Blue Jays, who went on to lose the game 5-4 in 11 innings. But Kiner-Falefa, who said Tuesday he wasn’t given a chance to speak to the media after the play, maintains that he had no hand in the “mistake,” if there was one.
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Kiner-Falefa “did what (he) was told”
Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa (7) throws to first for an out against Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) in the eleventh inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Kiner-Falefa said Tuesday that he had no say on the length of his own primary or secondary lead, as the Blue Jays were clearly keeping him close to the bag in the unlikely event of lefty hitter Daulton Varsho lining out directly to the third baseman.
“It was organizational policy (regarding the length of the secondary lead),” said Kiner-Falefa, per MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “I had the right intention the whole time. The biggest regret is there were no cameras in my face after the game. I think if it was going to be such a big deal, it would have been nice to have a camera in my face and have a chance to speak.
“But it blew up without me getting a proper interview. I thought that was kind of unfair. Everybody was going off without me really being able to talk about the play. That was tough. At the end of the day, I did what I was told.”
Kiner-Falefa’s job now is to move past the incident and help the Red Sox take down his old team atop the American League East this season.
To that end, it can’t be easy to have an infamous moment like that one hanging over one’s head, especially for a role player, and Kiner-Falefa should get props just for facing the music on Tuesday in such a head-on manner.
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