Title, TBD

A brief history of the timeline connecting the dots between teams repeating as World Series champions begins in 1908, when the Cubs of Tinker, Evers and Chance (along with Steinfeldt and a quartet of pitchers) took down the Tigers in five games.  Soon after, the Athletics (1910-1911), Red Sox (1915-1916) and Giants (1921-1922) followed suit, and they, in turn, were direct predecessors for the Yankees (1927-1928) and Connie Mack’s second Athletics apex (titles in 1929 and 1930).  And then, for the next 40+ years, this phenomenon shrunk, focused exclusively on the dynasty-rich Yankees:  a four-year run from 1936-1939; a five-year stretch from 1949-1953; back-to-back celebrations in 1961 and 1962.  

That would be it until the volcanic 1970s erupted with an uninterrupted flow of Athletics (1972-1974), Reds (1975-1976) and Yankees (1977-1978); that explosive run then reverberated until the 1992-1993 Blue Jays became the first expansion team to turn the trick.  And then, appropriately, one additional Yankees reign (1998-2000) closed the door on this experience.  

No Dodgers club shows up, despite the franchise being tied for the fifth-most World Series titles and claiming, outright, the second-most Fall Classic appearances.  The Boys of Summer in the 1950s couldn’t manage it, nor could the Sandy Koufax/Don Drysdale-led clubs in the 1960s.   An unchanging infield paired with deep and brilliant pitching staffs in the 1970s – à la the Cubs from the 1900s – fell short.  Even the recent assemblage – one that saw comers and goers and yet managed four World Series appearances over an eight-year stretch from 2017-2024 – has come up empty in bids for that cherry on top of the cherry that already had been plopped.

No Snider or Campanella or Reese or Robinson or Davis or Davis or Baker or Garvey or Lopes or Cey or Guerrero or Gibson to elevate to the special sphere of back-to-backers.  No Labine or Erskine or Podres or Newcombe or Sutton or Messersmith or Valenzuela or Hershiser to rise to an exclusive roster of twice-in-two-years(ers).  And no Kiké Hernández or Kenta Maeda or Cody Bellinger or Mookie Betts or Kenley Jansen or Joc Pederson or Max Muncy or Shohei Ohtani or Freddie Freeman or Clayton Kershaw to move this 21st century iteration to extra-special status.  

At least, not yet, not as the first pitch for the 2025 World Series inches closer to reality.

Aside from all the other considerations, the holdovers from the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series title-winning team have this opportunity, this one that knocks so rarely.  The Blue Jays – one of only seven franchises to actually follow through on the chance to go back-to-back – stand in their way.  

When Toronto singularized itself among the 28 existing franchises, Hall of Famers Paul Molitor, Roberto Alomar, Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield and Jack Morris were blended into a mix featuring franchise stalwarts like Jimmy Key, John Olerud, Joe Carter, Tony Fernández and Juan Guzmán.  Now, five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. leads the way, fresh off his personal back-to-back elevation:  2025 ALDS and ALCS pummelings in which he streaked beyond a 1.300 OPS in each series.  His teammate, George Springer – gunning for his second title, after a World Series MVP turn with the Astros in 2017 – is facing twined openings to raise his all-time postseason credentials while being a twice-crowned king.  Rookie Trey Yesavage has fanned more than a third of all the batters he’s faced on his way to a pair of postseason wins.  Ernie Clement is doing a decent Paul Molitor ’93 impression, slashing .429/.444/.619 over his 11 postseason games.  All told, the Blue Jays’ offense is averaging 6.5 runs per contest in these playoffs; only two teams with at least 10 games in a year have finished with a higher rate.   That’s a sizable roadblock to the dreams percolating from Los Angeles.   

On the other hand …

The Dodgers’ pitching staff owns a 2.45 ERA, an 89th percentile figure among the 133 teams in postseason history to play at least 10 games in any year.   Southpaw Blake Snell carries a sub-one ERA through his three starts (and owns three wins and 28 strikeouts); right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is under a 2.00 ERA after his three starts; Shohei Ohtani continues to redefine possibility.  Mookie Betts is aiming for his fourth time playing in the Fall Classic for the victorious squad, an honor reserved for only 59 players ever.  Max Muncy and Kiké Hernández are seeking to join the likes of Jim Gilliam, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Ron Fairly and Johnny Podres as players to play in at least three Dodgers World Series titles.  Clayton Kershaw’s career will end so soon – what might a Fall Classic appearance or two look like, feel like, transform like, as the inner-circle great delivers under the brightest lights for one final time?  So much to watch, so much at stake, so much to imagine.

Legacies, bejeweled status, three-dimensional pop-ups in the book of baseball – this is what will evolve and captivate over the next four or five, maybe six, perhaps even seven games.  Every morning after a contest, Game Notes will be covering the numerical and narrative intersections, tracing the advancements or retreats as the final two clubs and their representatives battle for the crown.  For now, let’s peer into the past for a focus on what – statistically – beckons as the apex for each club when it comes to a Fall Classic for the ages.  

On Toronto’s batting side, most every “most” and “highest” comes out of the 1993 Fall Classic, when the Jays battled it out with the Phillies and rather famously, captured that second consecutive crown when Joe Carter drove in Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor and then himself on a bottom-of-the-ninth home run.  Carter hit two longballs in that Fall Classic, as he did in the 1992 version.  No Blue Jay has more than two in a World Series, but Molitor also had that many in ’93.  In addition to sharing top honors for homers, Molitor’s 1993 also claims the most runs (10), hits (12, tied with Roberto Alomar in 1993), total bases (24) and extra-base hits (six, tied with Devon White from 1993).  White is tied with Pat Borders from 1992 for the most doubles, with three.  Tony Fernández drove in nine runs in 1993, the most RBI for any Jay in the World Series.  In 1993, Rickey Henderson drew the most walks (five).  Molitor sweeps the slash categories, owning the highest average (.500), on-base percentage (.571), slugging percentage (1.000) and OPS (1.571) among those with at least 12 plate appearances in a year.  That 1.571 stands – for the moment – as the 18th highest for any batter in any World Series with at least a dozen trips to the dish.  

As for pitching, the Triple Crown leaders come in the forms of Jimmy Key (two wins in 1992), Duane Ward (two wins in 1992), Juan Guzmán (12 strikeouts in 1993), Jack Morris (12 K’s in 1992) and David Cone (3.48 ERA in two starts in 1992).  Unlike Toronto’s side, where the pitching heights have little terrain to cover, the Dodgers’ map is much more extensive.  

Only four Blue Jays pitchers can claim two starts in a World Series; 37 Dodgers hurlers get to make that claim, and among them, Sandy Koufax gets the belt for the lowest ERA, his 0.38 in 1965 in three starts edging out Sherry Smith’s 0.53 from 1920.  Claude Osteen’s 0.64 in ’65 comes in third, followed by Johnny Podres’ 1.00 in 1955 and Orel Hershiser’s 1.00 in 1988.  Koufax fanned 29 Twins in that ’65 Fall Classic, the best any Dodger has done (it’s the third most for any pitcher in any World Series).  Nine pitchers have won two games:  Hugh Casey (1947), Podres (1955), Larry Sherry (1959), Koufax (1963 and 1965), Hershiser (1988), Tony Watson (2017), Kershaw (2020) and Blake Treinen (2024).   

For the batters, we receive a nice assortment of newish and old, “Of course”(s) and “Whaaaat?”(s).  Here’s the top-four finishers in all of the categories that were referenced when outlining the Blue Jays’ leaders.  For the franchise with the current designation as “Defending Champs,” we’ll open with the rate stats:

Batting Average (min. 12 PA)

.423    Bill Russell (1978)

.417    Steve Garvey (1981)

.417    David Freese (2018)

.400    Tommy Davis (1963)

.400    Corey Seager (2020)

.400    Joc Pederson (2020)

On-Base Percentage (min. 12 PA)

.556    Corey Seager (2020)

.529    Sandy Amorós (1955)

.500    David Freese (2018) 

.500    Joc Pederson (2020)

Slugging Percentage (min. 12 PA)

1.000   Freddie Freeman (2024)

.944     Joc Pederson (2017)

.840     Duke Snider (1955)

.833     David Freese (2018)

OPS (min. 12 PA)

1.364    Freddie Freeman (2024)

1.344    Joc Pederson (2017)

1.333    David Freese (2018)

1.256    Corey Seager (2020)

Runs

7     Ron Fairly (1965)

7     Reggie Smith (1977)

7     Davey Lopes (1978)

7     Corey Seager (2020)

Hits

11     Ron Fairy (1965), Maury Wills (1965), Bill Russell (1978)

10     Duke Snider (1952), Pee Wee Reese (1952), Charlie Neal (1959), Steve Garvey (1981)

Doubles

4     Justin Turner (2020)

3     Duke Snider (1953), Jim Gilliam (1953), Billy Cox (1953), Roy Campanella (1955), Maury Wills (1965),             Ron Fairly (1965)

Home Runs

4    Duke Snider (1952, 1955), Freddie Freeman (2024)

3    Reggie Smith (1977), Davey Lopes (1978), Joc Pederson (2017)

RBI

12   Freddie Freeman (2024)

  8   Duke Snider (1952), Gil Hodges (1956)

  7   Duke Snider (1955), Davey Lopes (1978), Pedro Guerrero (1981)

Total Bases

24    Duke Snider (1952)

21    Duke Snider (1955)

20    Ron Fairly (1965)

20    Freddie Freeman (2024)

Extra-Base Hits

6     Duke Snider (1952), Justin Turner (2020)

5     Jim Gilliam (1953), Duke Snider (1955), Roy Campanella (1955), Ron Fairly (1965), Joc Pederson                   (2017), Freddie Freeman (2024)

Walks

8     Jim Gilliam (1955)

7    Jackie Robinson (1952), Jim Gilliam (1956)

6    Pee Wee Reese (1947), Duke Snider (1956), Corey Seager (2020)

Ever since Boston’s Cy Young made his first offering to Pittsburgh’s Ginger Beaumont in Game 1 of the 1903 Fall Classic, the numbers and storylines have been layered.  Toronto’s first title in 1992 concluded when Mike Timlin, with the tying run on third in the bottom of the 11th inning, fielded Otis Nixon’s bunt and threw to Joe Carter at first, who gloved and leapt.  A year later, Carter’s swing brought more leaps as the Blue Jays accomplished that rare feat of back-to-back crowns.  The Dodgers’ first championship arrived in 1955 on a Johnny Podres pitch to Elston Howard, who grounded to Pee Wee Reese, who fielded and threw to Gil Hodges at first.  Their latest ended when Walker Buehler fanned Alex Verdugo to set in motion what might be the next back-to-back World Series title run.  So many names, so many stories, so many distinct moments have engineered a place in the Fall Classic mosaic.  And so we get settled in for what’s to come next, what will converge to decide the 121st World Series.  Let’s dig in.

Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.