George Springer’s Blue Jays had victory in their grasp in Game 7. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The Toronto Blue Jays have reflected on their agonizing loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.
The Blue Jays looked set to win their first World Series since 1993 when they entered the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead. But with one out, and Toronto’s Jeff Hoffman facing the Dodgers’ No 9 hitter, Miguel Rojas, the reliever threw a hanging slider which Rojas launched for the tying home run. Will Smith then hit the winning home run in the 11th inning off Shane Bieber, the first time the Dodgers had led all night.
“It sucks,” Hoffman said after the 5-4 defeat. “Supposed to end differently. Was just one pitch. I cost everybody here a World Series ring. It feels pretty shitty.”
Bieber had his own regrets. “Hung a slider to a great guy who hits sliders well,” Bieber said. “He was looking for it. I didn’t execute. This one stings. It’s going to sting for a while. This game is not for the faint of heart.”
The Blue Jays had plenty of chances to win their first title in 32 years. They had led the best-of-seven series 3-2 before losing the final two games in their own stadium. They also had the bases loaded in the ninth inning on Saturday night but could not find the decisive hit. Ernie Clement, who set an MLB record with 30 hits this postseason, said he was in tears for an hour after the game. He added he did not blame any of his teammates, despite the team holding a 3-0 lead after the third inning.
“We gave it everything we had,” Clement said. “When you fall short but you can say you left it all out there, there’s something to be proud of there. I would go to war with Jeff Hoffman every day of the week. I want him on the mound. I want Bieber on the mound. Ninety-nine times out of 100 those guys get the job done. Obviously, it just wasn’t our night.”
However, future hall of famer Max Scherzer, Toronto’s starting pitcher for Game 7, reflected on how far the team had come after finishing last in the AL East in 2024.
“I’m 41 years old and I never thought I could love baseball this much,” Scherzer said as he wiped away tears. “My love for the game was so strong because of their love for the game. That loss is so tough because you’re so close to everybody. This team had that closeness, had that camaraderie. We had that passion not only for the game but for each other.”
TORONTO — The Los Angeles Dodgers rolled out Shohei Ohtani one more time to start Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays—and it almost cost them the title.
When the situation seemed most dire at Rogers Centre on Saturday night, Los Angeles leaned on Ohtani’s compatriot Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who returned to the mound in extra innings with no rest after winning Game 6 and finished up the comeback victory. Will Smith’s 11th-inning homer was the deciding factor in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.
But there’s no denying the impact Ohtani and Yamamoto had on the series. The two Japanese players, who signed contracts worth a total of $1.025 billion as free agents last year, have now led the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series titles for any Major League Baseball team since the Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000.
“It’s all about heart,” Mark Walter, the club’s owner, said about Yamamoto, in particular. “He doesn’t want to lose. I think that’s the story of the whole team. You know, he basically won three games for us. That’s unheard of.”
Yamamoto, who was named World Series MVP, finished the playoffs 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA. He threw 96 pitches over six innings to win his Game 6 start on Friday night, and he followed that up with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief on 34 more pitches Saturday. He also pitched a complete game in Game 2, becoming the first pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2001 to earn three wins in a World Series.
“In today’s game, [Yamamoto] really showed that he’s the No. 1 pitcher in the world,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani’s own performance in Game 7 lasted 51 pitches and ended when Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer in the third inning. It was too much to ask Ohtani to start on three days of rest with the Dodgers short starting pitching. Ohtani was shaky right from the start, allowing base runners in every one of his three innings.
“I was just so honored to be able to start this game, and unfortunately I didn’t do too well, so I regret that,” Ohtani said.
Ohtani started Game 4 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits as he worked into the seventh inning of the 6-2 loss. That game came a day after Ohtani set a record by reaching base nine consecutive times on two homers, two doubles and five walks, four of them intentional.
It begged the question whether Ohtani had the stamina to pitch a day after he was on base so many times in a Game 3 the Dodgers won in 18 innings on a walk-off Freddie Freeman home run. Roberts noted after the Game 4 loss that Ohtani appeared mortal.
The same question came up when he was handed the Game 7 start.
“Shohei has the weight of the world on him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s the face of baseball. He’s going to be the MVP of the National League. It’s really special what he’s done. He’s just a great person and a great competitor.”
Yamamoto was a different story. After Friday night’s 3-1 win, Roberts said all pitching hands would be on deck for the finale, sans Yamamoto. But the right-hander arrived at the ballpark on Saturday and told the manager he was available.
“I know I would be pitching two days in a row, but all my teammates were playing a number of games in a row,” Yamamoto said. “I told him I’d be there if he needed me to close this series.”
And that’s what happened.
“What Yoshi did tonight is unprecedented,” Roberts said. “There’s a mental component to it. There’s a flawless delivery. And there’s an unwavering will.”
After Ohtani faltered, the game was the Blue Jays’ to lose, but the Dodgers kept pecking away. Down 4-2 in the seventh, Max Muncy homered, and in the top of the ninth, the unlikely Miguel Rojas, who wasn’t in the lineup until Game 6, tied it with a homer on one out against Jays closer Jeff Hoffman. That sent the game spinning into the bottom of the ninth locked at 4-4.
Blake Snell opened the ninth for the Dodgers, but with an out and runners on first and second, the bullpen door swung open, and Yamamoto entered the game. He immediately hit Alejandro Kirk with a pitch, loading the bases.
The situation for the Dodgers appeared dire, and the Blue Jays seemed on the verge of winning their first World Series title in 32 years. But Daulton Varsho tapped a ball to Rojas at second who converted a force at the plate. And centerfielder Andy Pages, a defensive replacement who had just entered the game for Tommy Edman, roamed wildly into left center to grab a fly ball hit by Ernie Clement.
That threat was over, but extra innings brought plenty more. The deciding factor came in the top of the 11th, as Smith homered with two outs off Game 4 starter Shane Bieber to give the Dodgers the lead.
In the bottom of the inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led with a scorch of a double into the left field corner and was moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt. Addison Barger walked, and Roberts moved the infield in for a possible play at the plate and Kirk at bat. On an 0-2 pitch, Roberts moved the infield back to double play depth. With that, Kirk smacked a grounder to shortstop Mookie Betts who stepped on second base, throwing to Freeman at first for the final two outs.
And that’s the way one of the greatest World Series in recent history ended.
“There was so many pressure points on how that game could have flipped, and we just kept fighting,” Roberts said. “I could go on and on about the great plays and performances. I’m still trying to unpack it all. This is one of the greatest games I’ve ever been a part of.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his sixth home run this postseason, rookie Trey Yesavage struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings and the Toronto Blue Jays pushed the American League Championship Series to the limit by beating the sloppy Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Sunday night.
The AL pennant will be decided Monday night in Toronto, the second Game 7 in Blue Jays history. Toronto lost to Kansas City in the 1985 ALCS.
“Got to enjoy it, man. This is what we sign up for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “It’s special and unique, but you have to look at it as a game.”
For one famous baseball family, it will also be a first. Guerrero’s father, Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, never played in a postseason Game 7 during his 16-year career.
“My dad was telling me, Game 7 is give it all you have,” the Toronto slugger said.
Seattle, the only big league team without a pennant, will play a Game 7 for the first time. The winner faces the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series beginning Friday.
“Win or go home,” Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez said. “We’re going to lay everything out there.”
Addison Barger homered and drove in three early runs for the Blue Jays, who turned three double plays behind Yesavage — two of them to escape bases-loaded jams.
That made Toronto the first team to induce consecutive bases-loaded, inning-ending double plays in a postseason game, and only the fourth team to turn two in a single postseason game.
“I knew my defense had my back,” Yesavage said.
Toronto also took advantage of Seattle’s season-high three errors. By comparison, the Blue Jays have made four errors in 10 playoff games.
“Balls just kind of in and out of the glove there that put a couple extra guys on base,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Unfortunately, it led to a couple runs.”
Guerrero’s sixth career postseason homer — all this year — tied him with José Bautista and Joe Carter for the most in Blue Jays history.
“This is what you look for from one of the elite players in the game,” Schneider said.
Bautista threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game.
Toronto had lost its previous four games when facing postseason elimination. That streak stretched to Game 5 of the 2016 ALCS against Cleveland and included wild-card round losses to Tampa Bay in 2020, Seattle in 2022 and Minnesota in 2023.
Guerrero’s leadoff homer in the fifth made it 5-0 and chased Mariners starter Logan Gilbert. The right-hander allowed four earned runs and seven hits in four-plus innings.
“I thought he had a good fastball, especially early,” Wilson said. “His split was good at times. This is a tough lineup and they did what they had to do to get the ball in play.”
Yesavage took a shutout into the sixth. He was charged with two runs and six hits, five of them singles. Five of his strikeouts came on his split-finger fastball, as did both double-play grounders with the bases loaded.
“I just believed in myself. I know my stuff plays at this level,” Yesavage said. “I know the defense behind me is going to play at the best of their abilities, and getting three double plays in back-to-back-to-back innings was huge.”
The 22-year-old Yesavage threw a season-high 31 splitters. He got 10 whiffs on splitters and five more on sliders.
“He brings the energy,” Guerrero said. “He’s young. He wants to win so bad.”
Three of Yesavage’s six major league starts have come in the playoffs. He’s won twice this postseason after winning one of three outings during the regular season.
Louis Varland got four outs and Jeff Hoffman struck out four over two hitless innings to end it.
The Mariners used two walks and a single to load the bases against Yesavage in the third but were denied when slugger Cal Raleigh grounded into a 3-6-1 double play started by Guerrero and completed by Yesavage covering first base. Raleigh’s first-pitch grounder came off his bat at 101 mph.
“Underappreciated, I think, is how Vlad can play really deep because of his arm,” Schneider said. “In that situation, too, you need some wiggle room for a guy that hits the ball really hard.”
Raleigh finished 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
Seattle came up empty again after another bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth when J.P. Crawford grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
The Mariners broke through and chased Yesavage in the sixth. Josh Naylor’s solo shot was his third home run of the playoffs. Yesavage exited after Randy Arozarena’s base hit, and Eugenio Suárez greeted Varland with a bloop RBI single.
Toronto took advantage of fielding errors by Rodríguez in center field and Suárez at third base to score twice in the second, when Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had RBI singles.
Ernie Clement hit a two-out triple off the left-field wall in the third and scored when Barger homered, his second of the postseason.
George Springer started at designated hitter for the Blue Jays and went 0 for 4 with a walk. Springer exited in the seventh inning of Friday’s Game 5 loss in Seattle after he was hit on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph pitch from Bryan Woo.
Guerrero was hit by a pitch from Seattle reliever Matt Brash in the seventh. Guerrero moved to second on Alejandro Kirk’s single and was advancing on a wild pitch when he scored on Raleigh’s throwing error.
Up next
Toronto is expected to start RHP Shane Bieber on Monday night. Bieber allowed two runs and four hits over six innings in Game 3, a 13-4 win for the Blue Jays. He struck out eight and walked one as he bounced back from a poor outing against the Yankees in the Division Series.
RHP George Kirby will start for Seattle. He allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers, over four innings in Game 3.
The Mets may already be in offseason mode, but two of their young talents have been able to carry their strong minor league seasons into the early days of the Arizona Fall League.
Nick Morabito and Chris Suero have been two of the top performers thus far for the Scottsdale Scorpions.
Morabito slotted right back into the leadoff spot for the squad on Sunday night and he made an immediate impact, starting the bottom of the first with a second pitch single up the middle.
The speedster would steal both second and third, and scored the games opening run on a throwing error.
He would reach base twice during the 12-run bottom of the second, drawing a walk and scoring on an RBI double, then lining his second single of the game right back up the middle when his turn came back around.
The game was called early after the ballpark was evacuated for a fire alarm going off, so Morabito finished the night 2-for-4 to bring his average to a stellar .391 through six AFL games.
He also has a double, triple, six stolen bases (in seven attempts), and a 1.039 OPS to this point.
The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the up-and-coming outfield prospects in the system, hitting .273 with an incredible 49 stolen bases (60 attempts) and a .348 on-base percentage in Binghamton this year.
Suero received the night off on Sunday, but he’s been swinging a good bat early in the Fall League, as well.
The Bronx-native has kept his power-stroke going, hitting a double and two homers over his first five games. He also has two steals and continues to show his versatility, seeing time at all three of his positions (C, 1B, LF).
Like Morabito, Suero enjoyed a bit of a breakout campaign this year, reaching Double-A at just 21 years old.
He finished with 16 homers, 35 stolen bases, 68 RBI, and a .379 OBP between Binghamton and Brooklyn.
In tossing six scoreless innings and hitting about 1,430 feet of home runs, Shohei Ohtani put up probably the most unique performance in postseason history Friday in NLCS Game 5 against the Brewers. It was perhaps the most spectacular athletic performance ever to take place on a baseball field. Maybe even any sort of field. But was it the greatest individual performance in major league postseason history?
That's a difficult question, one that many would argue hinges on context. Obviously, starring in Game 4 of the NLCS with a 3-0 series lead isn't the same as Game 7 of World Series.
But what is it up against? Here's a rundown of perhaps the top 10 single-game performances in MLB postseason history.
1963 World Series Game 1: Sandy Koufax fans 15 Yankees
Koufax threw two shutouts in the 1965 World Series, including one in Game 7 to finish off the Twins. Still, perhaps even more impressive was his two-game set in a sweep of the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. Koufax outdueled Whitey Ford twice in 5-2 and 2-1 victories, and his 15 strikeouts in Game 1 set a postseason record that has only since been exceeded twice, including once by...
Honorable Mention
1968 World Series Game 1: Bob Gibson’s 17-K shutout
Fairly or not, Gibson’s Game 7 loss keeps the Game 1 performance out of the top 10 here. Prior to that, he outdueled 1968 AL Cy Young winner Denny McLain twice in 4-0 and 10-1 complete-game victories. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, McLain came back out and won Game 6 and Mickey Lolich, working on two days’ rest after winning Game 5, got the better of Gibson as the Tigers won Game 7 by a 4-1 score.
Honorable Mention
2022 ALDS Game 1: Yordan Alvarez walks it off in ninth
In all of postseason history, two individual performances have amounted to at least a 1.0 Win Probability Added, which is a measure of how each event in a game changed win expectancy (a first-inning homer might increase a team's chances of winning from 50 to 60 percent, which would be a 0.1 win expectancy, while Kirk Gibson's famous walkoff homer in the 1988 World Series was worth 0.87). The first of those was pulled off by Babe Ruth the pitcher, who allowed one run over 14 innings to win Game 2 of the 1916 World Series for the Red Sox. The second was by Alvarez, who had already driven in two runs against the Mariners when he hit a three-run homer off Paul Sewald with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Astros a 7-5 win. That changed the Astros' win expectancy from nine percent to 100. But, of course, it was Game 1 of the ALDS.
Honorable Mention
2010 NLDS Game 1: Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in postseason debut
The Blue Jays never reached the playoffs in Halladay’s 12 seasons in Toronto, so the 33-year-old, who was about to win his second Cy Young Award in his first season with the Phillies, was making his postseason debut when he faced the Reds to start the 2010 NLDS. What followed was his second no-hitter of the year (the first was also a perfect game), as he allowed just a single walk to the Reds.
10) 1921 World Series Game 8: Art Nehf shuts out Yankees
Yes, Game 8, as this was the fourth and final World Series to use a best-of-nine format. The New York Giants’ starter, Nehf, was matched up with Waite Hoyt for the third time after losing Game 2 by a 3-0 score and game 5 by a 3-1 margin. This time, Nehf got the better of the future Hall of Famer in a 1-0 game, ending the series with the Giants winning 5-3. It helped a bit that Babe Ruth was limited to a pinch-hitting appearance by a bad knee.
9) 1999 ALDS Game 5: Troy O’Leary & Pedro Martinez finish off Cleveland
Pick either. After losing the first two games of the best-of-five series, the Red Sox stormed back to take Games 3 and 4 by 9-3 and 23-7 margins. Game 5 was setting up as another shootout, with Cleveland leading 8-7 after three in spite of O’Leary’s grand slam in the third. That’s when Martinez, who had been forced to leave Game 1 with a shoulder problem, took over. He pitched six hitless innings with eight strikeouts, and O’Leary hit a second homer, a three-run shot, to break an 8-8 tie in the seventh. The seven RBI from O’Leary is still tied for the postseason record.
8) 1967 World Series Game 7: Bob Gibson goes distance, homers in win
Gibson didn't really need to homer off Boston's Jim Lonborg, who was also going for third win of the World Series, to pull off the Game 7 victory here, but it was the cherry on top. Gibson won Games 1, 4 and 7 in the series, allowing a total of three runs in his three complete games.
7) 1977 World Series Game 6: Reggie Jackson hits three home runs
With the Yankees trying to close out the Dodgers, the newly coined “Mr. October” made sure the nickname would stick, homering on all three of his swings in an 8-4 win. Jackson walked in his first plate appearance and scored on a homer from Chris Chambliss. He then homered in the fourth, fifth and eighth, plating a total of five runs in the 8-4 victory.
OTD in 1977, Reggie Jackson crushed 3 homers in Game 6 of the World Series, earning himself the nickname “Mr. October.” pic.twitter.com/3aMBggsvwZ
6) 1956 World Series Game 5: Don Larsen’s perfect game
Larsen had allowed nine runs -- five earned -- over 5 2/3 innings in two career postseason appearances for the Yankees when he suddenly turned in one of the most famous performances of all-time in the 1956 World Series, pitching a perfect game in a 2-0 win over the Dodgers. Facing a lineup loaded with five future Hall of Famers, he struck out seven while going 27 up and 27 down. It was the only ever postseason no-hitter until Halladay’s in the 2010 NLCS.
5) 1962 World Series Game 7: Ralph Terry downs Giants in Game 7
Mickey Mantle versus Willie Mays turned out to be a dud, as both superstars struggled in the second and final World Series matchup (both were rookies when the Yankees and Giants previously met in 1951). Terry, in his one and only All-Star campaign, turned out to be the difference maker. After taking a tough 2-0 loss in Game 2, he went the distance in a 5-3 victory in Game 5 and then hurled a shutout in Game 7, with Willie McCovey lining out to second baseman Bill Richardson to end a 1-0 game.
4) 2011 World Series Game 6: David Freese ties it, wins it against Rangers
A rather anonymous regular until this point, Freese had already put together a whopper of a postseason by the time the Cardinals-Rangers World Series got to Game 6. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first four plate appearances that night, but he had a two-run triple over Nelson Cruz’s head to tie game in the ninth and then a walkoff homer in the bottom of the 11th to send the series to Game 7. He had a two-run double in that one, too, as the Cardinals won the championship. In all, he hit .397 with five homers, eight doubles and 21 RBI in 18 postseason games.
3) 2025 NLCS Game 4: Shohei Ohtani homers three times, strikes out 10
Could anyone else do what Ohtani did in finishing off the Brewers? No, not a chance. He hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium and touched 100 mph on the radar gun twice, throwing the 11 hardest pitches of the game. Ohtani’s three-homer game was the 13th in postseason history, and he struck out 10 over six scoreless innings in the 5-1 victory. Ranking his performance on a list like this just comes down to how much one wants to weigh leverage. If Ohtani had been mediocre with a 3-0 series lead in the NLCS, the Dodgers still might have won the game and almost certainly would have won the series. That’s not the case with most of these other candidates.
2) 2014 World Series Game 7: Madison Bumgarner closes out stellar series
About the closest anyone has ever come to winning a World Series by himself, Bumgarner entered Game 7 against the Royals having already pitched seven innings of one-run ball in Game 1 and a complete-game shutout in Game 5. Going into Game 7, it was figured that he might have one or two innings in him on two-days rest, but he took the ball to begin the fifth for the Giants and never gave it up, throwing five scoreless innings to finish off a 3-2 victory.
In Game 7 of the 2014 World Series, Madison Bumgarner became the only pitcher in postseason history to record a save while pitching at least 5 innings.
1) 1991 World Series Game 7: Jack Morris outlasts John Smoltz in 1-0 win
The performance that made him a Hall of Famer. Morris, in his lone year with the Twins, won Game 1 against the Braves and then took a no-decision in his first matchup with Smoltz in Game 4, which Atlanta went on to win. Game 7 saw both pitchers work on three days’ rest, and Smoltz was incredible for 7 1/3 innings in the scoreless duel. Morris, meanwhile, kept plugging along, throwing 10 scoreless innings before Gene Larkin singled in Dan Gladden to give the Twins the title. No one since has pitched more than nine innings in a postseason game.
On this date in 1991: Game 7 of the World Series. John Smoltz vs. Jack Morris. Morris outlasted Smoltz, tossing 10 shutout innings before the @Twins walked it off for their second World Championship. #Twins#postseason#MLBpostseason#WorldSeries
Japanese pitcher Shohei Ohtani (16) celebrates with his teammates after striking out American Mike Trout to win the World Baseball Classic on March 21, 2023, in Miami. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)
The film puts those moments on pause to share the long and complex relationship between the United States and Japan through the prism of baseball, and through the stories of four Japanese players — Ohtani included — and their journeys to the major leagues.
Baseball has been a national pastime in both nations for more than a century. A Japanese publishing magnate sponsored a 1934 barnstorming tour led by Babe Ruth. Under former owners Walter and Peter O’Malley, the Dodgers were at the forefront of tours to Japan and elsewhere.
In 1946, however, amid the aftermath of World War II, the United States government funded a tour by the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. Director Yuriko Gamo Romer features archival footage from that tour prominently in her film.
“I thought it was remarkable,” she said, “that the U.S. government decided, ‘Oh, we should send a baseball team to Japan to help repair relations and for goodwill.’ ”
On the home front, Romer shows how Ruth barnstormed Central California in 1927, a decade and a half before the U.S. government forced citizens of Japanese ancestry into internment camps there. Teams and leagues sprouted within the camps, an arrangement described by one player as “baseball behind barbed wire.”
The film also relates how, even after World War II ended, Japanese Americans were often unwelcome in their old neighborhoods, and Japanese baseball leagues sprung up like the Negro Leagues.
In 1964, the San Francisco Giants made pitcher Masanori Murakami the first Japanese player in Major League Baseball, but he yielded to pressure to return to his homeland two years later.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Masanori Murakami, shown on the a pro baseball field in 1964, was the first Japanese athlete to play in Major League Baseball. (Associated Press)
Now, star Japanese players regularly join the majors. In that 2023 WBC, as the film shows at its end, Ohtani left his first big imprint on the international game by striking out Trout to deliver victory to Japan over the United States.
On Friday, Ohtani powered the Dodgers into the World Series with perhaps the greatest game by any player in major league history.
In previous generations, author Robert Whiting says in the film, hardly any American could name a prominent Japanese figure, in baseball or otherwise. Today, Ohtani’s jersey is baseball’s best seller, and he is a cultural icon on and off the field, here and in Japan.
Fans cheer as Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani hits his third home run during Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Former Yankees catcher Jesús Montero has died at the age of 35.
According to reports from Venezuela, Montero was critically injured earlier this month when his motorcycle was hit by a truck.
The Yankees released a statement regarding Montero on Sunday afternoon:
The Yankees are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jesús Montero. We send our sincerest condolences to his family & loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlfUpPmgMt
Originally signed by the Yankees as an international free agent in 2006, Montero developed into one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He made his major league debut on September 1, 2011 against Boston and went on to play 18 games for the Yankees the rest of the season, posting a .996 OPS with four home runs and 12 RBI.
Montero was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with Hector Noesi in January 2012 in a deal that brought Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to New York.
He played 226 career games in the majors with 28 home runs and 104 RBI.
The New York Yankees announced Sunday that former top prospect Jesús Montero has died at the age of 35 years old.
“The Yankees are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jesús Montero,” read a post on the team’s official X account. “We send our sincerest condolences to his family & loved ones.”
The Yankees are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jesús Montero. We send our sincerest condolences to his family & loved ones. pic.twitter.com/jlfUpPmgMt
The former catcher’s motorcycle reportedly crashed into a truck on Oct. 4 and he had been hospitalized ever since in critical condition. He was unable to recover from multiple injuries, authorities said.
“We join the baseball community in mourning the passing of former Major League player Jesús Montero,” Major League Baseball posted on social media Sunday.
We join the baseball community in mourning the passing of former Major League player Jesús Montero.
As a Minor League prospect, Montero appeared in the All-Star Futures game twice before debuting for the New York Yankees in September 2011. He posted a .996 OPS with 4 home runs… pic.twitter.com/AO6Yrxb5mo
The Venezuela native, a power-hitting catcher in the minors, was ranked one of the sport’s top-10 prospects by Baseball America for three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012.
Montero was the No. 1 prospect in the Yankees’ organization when he made his major-league debut in 2011 at 21-years-old. He played in 18 games for the Yankees that season, hitting .328 with four homers and 12 RBIs.
The following January, Montero was traded to the Seattle Mariners in a package for starting pitcher Michael Pineda. In his first season with the Mariners, he hit .260 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs in 135 games. Over the next three seasons, he played in a combined 73 games, making his final MLB appearance in 2015.
He was waived by the Mariners the following offseason and spent stints in the minor league systems of the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles.
In the Venezuelan Winter League, he played six seasons with the Navegantes del Magallanes, Cardenales de Lara, and Águilas del Zulia. He retired at age 31 after the 2020-2021 season.
“Venezuelan baseball sadly bids farewell to Jesús Montero … leaving behind a legacy of effort and passion for the game,” the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League said in a statement posted Sunday on X. “Today, baseball mourns his passing. But it also remembers him with gratitude: for every home run that thrilled the fans, for every day in which he proudly defended his country’s colors, and for every young person who saw in him an example that dreams can be achieved.”
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani displays trhe NLCS MVP trophy as teammates and fans cheer after they swept Milwaukee on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Wow, what a week in sports. USC defeats Michigan, a Dodger pitches a complete game for the first time in the postseason since 2004 and they sweep the Brewers to go to the World Series for the second consecutive year after being 0-6 against Milwaukee during the regular season. Perhaps Michael Conforto will be added to the roster and win MVP in the World Series.
Jeff Hershow Woodland Hills
While basically sleepwalking through the first three games of the NLCS, Shohei Ohtani saves his best for last. He goes “Hollywood” and produces the single greatest performance in MLB history as the final curtain comes down on the Milwaukee Brewers and extends the Dodgers' magical journey to repeat as World Series champions.
Stay tuned for the sequel!
Rick Solomon Lake Balboa
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, it’s superhuman Shohei! He pitches a shutout, strikes out 10, and hits three tape-measure home runs. Wow!
Marty Zweben Palos Verdes Estates
In the history of Major League Baseball, has there ever been a player like Shohei Ohtani? I don't think so. Shohei is the best ever. Enough said.
Chris Sorce Fountain Valley
Now that the Dodgers have effortlessly powered their way back into the World Series, it’s quite obvious that $400 million actually does buy what it used to!
Jack Wolf Westwood
At last, the second coming of the Dodgers has happened. We've been waiting for it and hoping for it, and now it's here. Great offense, great defense and superb pitching. Our new chant should be "all the way L.A., all the way."
Cheryl Creek Anaheim
Statistically speaking, there is a case to be made in comparing the postseason accomplishments of Sandy Koufax and Blake Snell. From a historical perspective, there is no comparison.
Koufax is a legendary lifetime Dodger who pitched until he physically was no longer able to do so. Snell famously refused to take the ball in his last Giants start to save himself for a free agency money windfall.
Bill Waxman Simi Valley
Stop the presses! The world is still spinning on its axis! Holy Toledo, Dave Roberts finally figured out a starting pitcher's arm doesn't fall off after 100 pitches. Too bad he didn't come to that revelation during Blake Snell's Game 1 performance, but better late than never as the saying goes.
Ken Blake Brea
Money men
For many of us (back here in the Heartland), Sal Frelick’s miraculous play in Game 1 represents the “never give up” spirit of the Brewers. You can have all the money in world, but it cannot buy that type of magic. And if the Dodgers do defeat the Brewers, then MLB must ask themselves whether or not limitless money should be allowed to kill that type of team spirit.
If the Dodgers do indeed roll on, then for another minute we will be awestruck by the relentless, money-fueled, dancing Dodger machine. However after a few more moments of watching the smug glow from Hollywood, many of us (back here in the heartland) will just be turning it off!
Ken Kraus Georgetown, Texas
Quality stuff
I just finished reading the in-depth piece on Roki Sasaki by Jack Harris and all I can say is WOW! I get sports news from many sources but Los Angeles Times beats everything else, no contest. Learning about all the behind-the-scenes machinations that brought Sasaki from an injured, defeated rookie to the postseason MVP and Dodgers' season savior was fascinating and gives me a deeper appreciation for the struggles he faces. Keep up the great work: Dodgers, Sasaki, and L.A. Times!!!
Cheryl Norris Simi Valley
End of the line?
Very disappointing to read about the athletic director at UCLA unaware of what true leadership is, and how best to apply it, in support of a team not giving up and willing to fight the remainder of this season.
Coaches are being terminated due to mismanagement of teams, so why not the Bruins' AD?
J.R. Flores Cypress
Time to punt
Coach Sean McVay's lack of urgency with the Rams' kicking game is beyond frustrating. The kicker and the special teams coach should have been fired after the Eagles game. Instead these problems, which have lingered since last season, are still here. The Rams need to have a kicking game they can depend on for points. With a good chance to make the playoffs, the time to make a change is now.
Mike Gamboa Buena Park
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
That’s one of two consensus opinions I found in speaking with six scouts/executives from different teams about the Tarik Skubaltrade speculation that has become the talk of the baseball industry over the last 48 hours.
At least it was the talk before Shohei Ohtani’s sublime performance late Friday night, but in a way, the stories are connected, especially for a team like the Mets, who need someone like Skubal to have a chance at competing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for baseball supremacy in 2026 and beyond.
More on that to come. For now, the larger point, as the scout/execs point out, is that the Detroit Tigers are in a very difficult position. They would be risking the wrath of their championship-starved fan base if they trade Skubal, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, after reaching the postseason the last two years, yet they’d almost certainly lose him to free agency a year from now if they choose not to trade him.
“That’s why it’s hard to predict which way this thing will go,” said an executive from a mid-market NL team. “In a vacuum, it’s a no-brainer, unfortunately, considering Skubal is a (Scott) Boras guy and all that. You make the best trade you can and move on. But in the real world, that’s a tough sell when you haven’t won in 40 years.”
It’s 41 years, actually, since the Tigers won the World Series in 1984. And there is another layer to their conundrum.
For years, the late Mike Ilitch, the Tigers’ owner, operated with one of the higher payrolls in baseball while trying to win another title, spending big in free agency and once locking up Justin Verlander to a seven-year, $180 million extension that at the time was the highest in the game. But Ilitch died in 2017 and his son, Christopher, has run a more budget-conscious operation since taking over.
“It’s kind of like Hal (Steinbrenner) taking over after George died,” said one midwest-based scout. “The fans there long for the days when they felt like Mike Ilitch would spend whatever it took to try to win. The son is not very popular as it is. Trading Skubal would make him persona non grata in Detroit.”
In short, this isn’t Garrett Crochet, who was traded for prospects last winter by the rebuilding Chicago White Sox, or even Corbin Burnes, traded by the small-market Milwaukee Brewers from a team that had enough pitching depth to continue winning.
Skubal is far more essential than that to the Tigers and the city of Detroit.
Oct 5, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning during game two of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Still, the same scouts and execs don’t rule out a trade. For it to happen, however, it would take a more attractive package than either Crochet or Burnes brought back.
Which leads to the second consensus opinion that emerged from my various conversations: That is, no team is more motivated or well-positioned than the Mets to make such a trade happen.
“I’d make them the favorite to get Skubal, no question, if the Tigers decide to trade him,” said an NL scout. “They have the pieces to get it done and they obviously have the need. Steve Cohen apologized to the fans for missing the postseason -- what does that tell you? He’s going to want to make big-splash moves to change the narrative.”
So the question on the Mets’ end would be just how far they’re willing to go for a player they could lose to free agency after one season.
“Steve Cohen changes that equation,” said one team exec. “His money takes significant risk out of losing the player. And when you look at the Mets, as badly as they played down the stretch, they’re still talented enough that a pitcher like Skubal could be the difference-maker that gives them a chance to compete with the Dodgers and win it all next year.
“But I’d still expect them to draw a line somewhere as to how much they’d be willing to give up, knowing they could sign Skubal in a year without giving up assets.”
So what would it take? The scouts/execs all made the point that this has to be more than trading prospects, as the Tigers, even without Skubal, would go into next season trying to win, with the core of a team that had the best record in baseball until a September collapse.
“They would want players who could help them win next season, plus prospects too,” said a team exec. “They’re going to ask for (Nolan) McLean. He’s a guy you can sell to your fans as a rising star who can be another Skubal. You get him with some other pieces and maybe your fans can live with it.
“But if I’m the Mets, McLean is the one untouchable. The ceiling is too high and you have him under control for six years. Other than that, it’s finding the right combination of players on your major league roster and top prospects.”
Sep 18, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) pitches in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park. / Rick Osentoski - Imagn Images
Scouts identified catcher Francisco Alvarez, third baseman Brett Baty, and lefty starter David Peterson as possibilities the Tigers would want off the major league roster.
One suggested Clay Holmes as well.
The prospects in demand, other than McLean, figure to be pitchers Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, infielder Jett Williams, first baseman Ryan Clifford, and outfielder Carson Benge.
“It has to be some combination of those players,” said a scout.
Two players sparked much debate among the scouts/execs: Alvarez and Benge.
“Other than pitching, Alvarez could be the key,” one exec said. “It depends how the Tigers’ scouts evaluate him. He showed some growth after the Mets sent him to Triple-A, but is he still a 30-home run guy as he was projected to be when he came up? As a catcher, that would make him a difference-maker and something to help justify the trade from a PR standpoint.
“If you’re the Mets, you have to make the same evaluation. Is it worth giving up a catcher who’s still young (Alvarez turns 24 in November)? I’d have a hard time doing that, on top of what else you’d have to put in the deal.”
Then there is Benge, the minor leaguer who could be the long-term answer to filling the Mets’ hole in center field. Scouts love him for his athleticism and advanced approach at the plate.
“He has a chance to be a .300 hitter with power who can play center field,” one scout said. “How many of those guys are there in the game these days? If I’m the Mets, I’m doing everything I can to keep him.
“You know you’re going to have to give up pitching, probably either Tong or Sproat, plus Peterson. And you can live with giving up Jett Williams. But Benge could be special offensively and he fills a big need for the Mets.”
The bottom line is the scouts/execs believe the two teams could find enough common ground on a trade package to make it work if the Tigers become committed to making a deal. But only two of the six people I spoke to think the chances of it happening are more than 50-50.
The other four think it’s far more likely the Tigers will listen but ultimately decide that Skubal is worth more, even for one more season, than what the Mets or anyone else is offering.
“I just don’t think they’d want to deal with the uproar it would cause among their fans,” one exec said. “That’s a very real factor, especially when you haven’t won a championship in so long and the public perception is that Skubal gives them a chance next year.
“But I’ll say this: if the Mets are willing to go the extra mile, in terms of what they’d give up, they could make it awfully tempting for the Tigers to ignore all the outside noise and decide, let’s do it.”
When the Yankees made the Juan Soto deal a couple of offseasons ago, Trent Grisham was seen as a throw-in.
His first season in pinstripes saw Grisham appear in just 76 games and was used primarily as a late-game defensive replacement. Fast forward to 2025 and Grisham became a revelation for the Yankees.
The 28-year-old had a career season and helped stabilize the Yankees outfield, playing center alongside Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. But with the unceremonious end to the Yankees' season, Grisham will be testing the market as a free agent.
With Bellinger testing free agency, and Judge being the only constant, the Yankees' outfield could be in flux, but should they take a chance and bring back Grisham?
Aug 30, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the 11th inning at Rate Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Why Yankees should re-sign Trent Grisham
As presently constituted, the Yankees will have Judge play right field and potentially a bunch of kids manning the outfield. Jasson Dominguez will likely get another crack at becoming an everyday player, but what about the third outfield spot? The Yankees need stability as a win-now team, and they can't possibly trot out two kids every game, and New York could do worse than bringing back Grisham.
Again, Grisham had his best offensive season in 2025. His 34 homers are twice as many as his previous career high (2022 with the Padres) and his 74 RBI are 12 more than his previous high in 2021. It wasn't just his homers and RBI. Grisham set career marks in slugging (.464), hits (116), walks (82) and OPS (.811).
Grisham was also extremely clutch for the Yankees. According to FanGraphs, he hit .308 with seven home runs and 1.259 OPS in high-leverage situations, including five blasts with two outs and runners in scoring position.
And the former two-time Gold Glover is still very good in CF, despite his seemingly lackadaisical approach.
Grisham will also be a more affordable option than Bellinger or other free agent outfielders like Kyle Tucker, so there is a spot for Grisham if the Yankees are in need of a veteran outfielder.
New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham (12) during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. / John Jones-Imagn Images
Why Yankees should not re-sign Trent Grisham
Let's face it. Do you expect Grisham to come close to his offensive production moving forward?
It's very likely that 2025 Grisham is an outlier. His offensive numbers, especially his power, were way higher than in previous seasons. Here's a breakdown of his numbers in his last five seasons:
2021: .242/.327/.413, .740 OPS, 15 HR (132 games)
2022: .184/.284/.341, .626 OPS, 17 HR (152 games)
2023: .198/.315/.352, .666 OPS, 13 HR (153 games)
2024: .190/.290/.385, .675 OPS, 9 HR (76 games)
2025: .235/.348/.464, .811 OPS, 34 HR (143 games)
Ok, if you want to roll the dice on Grisham, he picked a great time to have a career year. There could be a team out there that will believe the 2025 production and pay Grisham close to what he wants. What that number looks like is not clear, but at just 28 years old, Grisham could be looking for a long deal, or at least one with multiple options in it.
The Yankees can extend the qualifying offer to Grisham, which would cost the team $22.02 million in 2026 and could make other teams balk at offering him a nice contract if they don't want to give up a draft pick to sign him. Could Grisham get a deal worth more than that qualifying offer? Perhaps, but the real question is, should the Yankees even extend that offer?
The Yankees could use that money toward bringing back Bellinger or even swinging for Tucker.
Jul 19, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham (12) drives in a run on a fielder’s choice against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Verdict
The one reason the Yankees should re-sign Grisham is if they believe the offensive production he delivered in 2025 is legit. But I have a hard time believing it is, and I don't think they do either.
Now, should they extend the qualifying offer? Probably not. If Grisham can get a lucrative deal elsewhere, God bless him, but if the Yankees want to try and bring him back, make him a solid offer, but not one that would exceed what his QO would have been, and only after other options are off the table.
SEATTLE (AP) — As Eugenio Suárez crossed home plate, he formed a heart with his hands as he has countless times.
Suárez suddenly stopped, pointed toward his wife in the stands behind home plate and took a second to embrace the moment. His bat had brought the Mariners within a victory of the first World Series trip for a team that started play in 1977.
Suárez hit a go-ahead grand slam after Cal Raleigh’s tying drive in a five-run eighth inning, giving the Mariners a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and a 3-2 lead in the American League Championship Series.
“I’ve been waiting for games like this my whole career,” Suárez said. “Today, I had it. Today, I had it in front of our crowd, in front of my family, my two daughters, my wife, and the moment is very special right now.”
Suárez also homered in the second inning for Seattle’s first run, and the Mariners became the first home team to win in the series.
Game 6 is at Toronto on Sunday night.
“For our fans, they’ve been waiting a long time for this moment and we’re here to give it to them. We’re here to fight for a World Series,” Suárez said.
Raleigh, a switch-hitting catcher who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, was hitting right-handed for the first time in the series when he led off the eighth by pulling a 2-0 sinker from loser Brendon Little.
“I came in and really couldn’t have pitched worse,” Little said.
The 348-foot drive rose 155 feet above the field on a high arc and had a 6.7-second hang time before it dropped over the left field wall at T-Mobile Park.
“It felt like Cal’s ball was in the air for like an hour,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
Raleigh’s fourth homer of the postseason tied the score 2-2.
“Obviously it was really high, so you never know in this building,” Raleigh said. “Luckily today the roof’s closed.”
Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor walked, and Seranthony Domínguez relieved and hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch.
Suárez fouled off a 2-2 fastball, then hit an opposite-field drive to right, and the ball landed several rows into the seats for his fourth slam this season.
“Obviously, this is the biggest home run of my career,” Suárez said.
Suárez, who had put Seattle ahead in the second against Kevin Gausman, entered the game in a 6-for-50 slump. He was reacquired from Arizona at the trade deadline, finished the regular season with 49 homers and has three in the playoffs.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Suárez said. “It’s been a while (since) I’ve had a game like this today. It was awesome being able to hit that grand slam there to give the win to my team, to the fans. They’ve been here supporting us all year long.”
Seattle’s Bryce Miller was pitching shutout ball when he was removed after allowing Addison Barger’s leadoff single in the fifth, and George Springer hit an RBI double off Matt Brash.
“He’s got a right knee contusion. He had X-rays, which were negative, which is a good thing.,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “George is about as tough as they come. I think he’ll have to really, really be hurting to not be in the lineup on Sunday.”
Pitching for the first time since Sept. 19 after recovering from pectoral tightness, Woo allowed Ernie Clement’s go-ahead single in the sixth.
Gabe Speier got the win with a perfect, nine-pitch eighth inning. Toronto wasted many chances, going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Raleigh turned only the second 2-3 grounded double into play in postseason history when Clement tapped the ball onto the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning. Raleigh grabbed the ball with a foot on the plate for a forceout, then threw to first.
The prior 2-3 DP in Game 2 of the 2000 ALCS was turned by Wilson with the New York Yankees’ Bernie Williams at the plate.
“That’s what he’s done all season long,” Wilson said of Raleigh, “both sides of the ball."
Up next
Rookie RHP Trey Yesavage, who started Game 2 of both the AL Division Series, will start for the Blue Jays in Game 6. The Mariners scored five runs off the 22-year-old on Monday.
The Giants appear to have found their next manager.
San Francisco is “closing in” on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello to lead the team for the 2026 MLB season, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported in a shared column published Saturday, citing industry sources.
The Athletic reached out to the Giants, who had not yet responded to a request for comment at the time this article was written. Vitello, also reached out to by The Athletic via text message, said, “There is nothing to confirm.”
Vitello has been on Buster Posey’s radar for a while, per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic. Meanwhile, Texas Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, who was another frontrunner for the job, recently was pulled out of the running.
Tony Vitello has been on Buster Posey’s radar for a while, and sources have said Posey kept circling back to him during the search this month. Nick Hundley was the other early frontrunner but I heard he pulled out of the running recently. Update here from The Athletic: https://t.co/tGAeyGUvGd
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani did something that has never happened before in the annals of postseason baseball.
Ohtani took the mound to start against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. He walked the first batter and then struck out the next three on the way to six shutout innings.
He then led off the bottom of the first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers and parked a full-count pitch deep into the right field pavilion, his first of three homers on the night.
Not even Babe Ruth did that. But Ohtani did, showing everyone why the Dodgers were willing to pay him $700 million over 10 years, with $680 million of that money deferred.
“That first inning. It was amazing,” said Dodgers owner Mark Walter, the NL championship trophy nestled in his arms after the Dodgers claimed the best-of-seven series by sweeping the Brewers with a 5-1 win, booking a spot in their second straight World Series. “There’s not much more you can ask from a player.”
The first inning heroics was only the beginning of the night for Ohtani, whose three homers were wedged into a pitching performance that went into the seventh inning. He left at 100 pitches without allowing a run on two hits. He walked three and struck out 10, and he was credited with his second win in two starts this postseason. Ohtani’s historic Game 4 earned him the series MVP.
“You can’t script this,” Walter said. “Six innings of shutout ball and three home runs? That’s crazy.”
The three homers totaled 1,342 feet, the second in the fourth inning striking the right field pavilion roof some 469 feet away where few players have feared to tread. It hit the roof and rolled off into the concession area behind it.
“That was the greatest postseason performance of all time and there have been a lot of postseason games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s a reason why he’s the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound. What he did with the bat. He created a lot of memories for a lot of people.”
The Brewers, whose 97-65 record was the best in MLB this season, were inept in the series scoring five runs on 14 hits in the four games.
“We were part of an iconic performance, maybe the best individual performance ever in a postseason game,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, echoing the common sentiment. “I don’t think anybody can argue with that. A guy punches out 10 and hits three homers. I’m proud of our team, but it came to an end tonight.”
The Brewers had previously handled Ohtani well; in the first three games, they held him to 2-for-11 in the series with no homers, five whiffs and a .721 OPS. He finished the series 5-for-14 while his OPS leapt to 1.643 with the results of the one game. He’s had five homers now in the postseason, all of which came in two games; he had two homers in Game 1 of a Wild Card Series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
“The last couple days I felt pretty good at the plate,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “And just because of the postseason, the small sample size, the lack of performance really skews in this short period of time.”
Still, between a four-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in an NL Division Series and this NLCS, Ohtani has struggled. He went 6-for-32 (.188) with the three homers, five RBIs, 14 strikeouts and six walks, three of them intentional.
His slump lifted Friday night.
“He’s probably the greatest free agent signing of all-time,” Walter, who signed Ohtani in late 2023, said. “I mean, he’s unbelievable. We’re just lucky to have him.”
The Dodgers bring in over $100 million a season in marketing and advertising from Asian firms, thanks to their three Japanese pitchers: Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaski.
“We make a lot of money from those guys, for sure,” Walter said. “But it takes a team to win, it really does.”
The Dodgers will play either the Seattle Mariners or the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series beginning Friday night in either Los Angeles or Toronto, depending on the results of the American League Championship Series. The Mariners lead 3-2 with Game 6 on Sunday night at Rogers Centre. Game 7 is on Monday night, if necessary.
In Seattle on Friday night, the Mariners were trailing the Blue Jays, 2-1, in the eighth inning in T-Mobile Park when Cal Raleigh tied it with his fourth playoff homer. He led Major League Baseball with 60 on the season this year.
Raleigh’s homer happened almost simultaneously to Ohtani’s first-inning blast about 1,000 miles away. Eugenio Suarez followed Raleigh with a grand slam later in the inning to seal the 6-2 win, sending the Mariners back to Toronto with two chances of qualifying for the World Series, a first in franchise history.
Ohtani could be the greatest player in baseball history. Is he also the greatest free-agent acquisition of all-time?
“You bet,” Walter said.
Even before Ohtani blasted three homers and struck out 10 batters over six scoreless innings in a historic performance to secure his team’s place in the World Series, the Dodgers were a target of complaints over the perception they were buying championships. Their payroll this season is more than $416 million, according to Spotrac.
During the on-field celebration that followed the 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, manager Dave Roberts told the Dodger Stadium crowd, “I’ll tell you, before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!”
What detractors ignore is how the Dodgers aren’t the only team that spent big dollars this year to chase a title. As Ohtani’s contract demonstrates, it’s how they spend that separates them from the sport’s other wealthy franchises.
The New York Mets spent more than $340 million, the New York Yankees $319 million and the Philadelphia Phillies $308 million. None of them are still playing.
The Dodgers are still playing, and one of the reasons is because of how opportunistic they are.
When the Boston Red Sox were looking for a place to dump Mookie Betts before he became a free agent, the Dodgers traded for him and signed him to an extension. When the Atlanta Braves refused to extend a six-year offer to Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers stepped in and did.
Something else that helps: Players want to play for them.
Consider the case of the San Francisco Giants, who can’t talk star players into taking their money.
The Giants pursued Bryce Harper, who turned them down. They pursued Aaron Judge, who turned them down. They pursued Ohtani, who turned them down. They pursued Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who turned them down.
Notice a pattern?
Unable to recruit an impact hitter in free agency, the Giants turned their attention to the trade market and acquired a distressed asset in malcontent Rafael Devers. They still missed the postseason.
The Dodgers don’t have any such problems attracting talent. Classified as an international amateur because he was under the age of 25, Roki Sasaki was eligible to sign only a minor-league contract this winter. While the signing bonuses that could be offered varied from team to team, the differences were relatively small. Sasaki was urged by his agent to minimize financial considerations when picking a team.
Sasaki chose the Dodgers.
Players such as Blake Snell, Will Smith and Max Muncy signed what could be below-market deals to come to or stay with the Dodgers.
There is also the Ohtani factor.
Ohtani didn’t want the team that signed him to be financially hamstrung, which is why he insisted that it defer the majority of his 10-year, $700-million contract. The Dodgers are paying Ohtani just $2 million annually, with the remainder owed after he retires.
Without Ohtani agreeing to delayed payments, who knows if the Dodgers would have signed the other pitchers who comprise their dominant rotation, Yamamoto, Snell and Tyler Glasnow.
None of this is to say the Dodgers haven’t made any mistakes, the $102 million they committed to Trevor Bauer a decision they would certainly like to take back.
But the point is they spend.
“We put money into the team, as you know,” Walter said. “We’re trying to win.”
Nothing is stopping any other team from making the financial commitments necessary to compete with the Dodgers. Franchises don’t have to make annual profits to be lucrative, as their values have skyrocketed. Teams that were purchased for hundreds of millions of dollars are now worth billions.
Example: Arte Moreno bought the Angels in 2003 for $183.5 million. Forbes values them today at $2.75 billion. If or when Moreno sells the team, he will receive a huge return on his investment.
The calls for a salary cap are nothing more than justifications by cheap owners for their refusal to invest in the civic institutions under their control.
The Dodgers aren’t ruining baseball. They might not do everything right, but as far as their spending is concerned, they’re doing right by their fans.
Matthew Pouliot
