Few nations in human history have enjoyed as long and tranquil a friendship as the United States and Canada, who for two centuries shared the longest border in the world, one with barely a fence or a checkpoint in sight. If you’ve ever been to places like Montana or North Dakota or Alberta or Saskatchewan, you know of what we speak: Half the time you’re not even sure you’ve crossed the border at all. Best of friends, we were, and long forgotten was the unpleasantness of the War of 1812.
Some of that tranquility was sundered this year by American musings that the United States should annex Canada. Would the Mounties fight the Marines? Our shared rivers would run with blood, maple syrup and Molson. But such provocations were just the opening salvo in a much larger war that begins tonight in Toronto: the World Series, featuring the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
America executive editor Sebastian Gomes is a Blue Jays fan and a Canadian; America senior editor James T. Keane is a Dodgers fan and an American. We sat down together virtually to share our thoughts on this year’s matchup. Who will win? How long will it take? What are the subplots and sidebars to this battle of titans?
Who has the edge?
SG: Let me begin by congratulating the Dodgers for uniting the people of Canada and the United States in a historic way. Has there ever been a moment when almost every resident of both countries was in complete agreement? Literally no one outside of Southern California wants the Dodgers to win this. One commenter on social media said, “I would root for Jeffrey Dahmer if he were playing the Dodgers in this series.”
The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, have a great story this year. Almost no one gave them a chance to win the very competitive American League East, and many prognosticators had them finish with a losing record, in part because they had to play so many intradivisional games against the Red Sox and Yankees. But they won plenty of those matchups (including a sweep of the Yanks in July). Even so, they only won the division by beating the Yankees in a tiebreaker. These Blue Jays are a team that knows how to come from behind, that is used to being underestimated, that isn’t afraid of the American mega-franchises that try to buy their way to pennants.
If the Toronto bats can perform the way they did against Seattle, and if they can quiet the billion-dollar quartet of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández atop the Dodger lineup, I think we could see them dispatch the Dodgers in a long series. I’m thinking George Springer or Vlad “The Impaler” Guerrero Jr. takes home the MVP award—and Shohei Ohtani wishes he hadn’t ghosted Toronto for L.A.’s money in 2023.
JK: This is the biggest Toronto/L.A. beef since Drake and Kendrick Lamar went lyrically toe to toe. Not since Seth Rogen moved to the City of Angels have Canadian/American relations been so imperiled. I haven’t seen Canadians this worked up since Katy Perry kissed Justin Trudeau, though admittedly that was good theater. Or is it theatre?
Enough with the jokes. I have no doubt that the Blue Jays inspire great devotion from all the denizens of their home country, and I have nothing against Australia. What’s this? Those are two different countries? Is Canada City the capital of both?
The Dodgers won last year’s World Series against the Yankees with ease. They won in 2020. They should have won in 2017, but the Houston Astros cheated, led by Alex Bregman, who is of course a Canadian. (Eds: No he’s not.) What we’re looking at with the Dodgers here is the formation of a modern-day dynasty. I can’t see how the Blue Jays can stand up to it, especially after a grueling seven-game American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, the only other major league team from Canada, I think.
With two games in Toronto to kick off the series, I can see the Blue Jays stealing one early. And they won’t go down without a fight: These are not the Milwaukee Brewers, after all. But the Dodgers will be well-rested and have been at the top of their game in this postseason. They just have too many weapons for the Blue Jays to counter.
What will be the deciding factors?
JK: I know that everyone makes a big deal about the Dodgers hitters, especially their first five. But allow me to point something out: The Milwaukee Brewers were ranked third in all of baseball in runs scored this season, topping 800 trips around the basepaths. That’s five runs a game. You know how many they scored against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series? Four.
Not four runs a game. One run a game, four times. The Dodger pitching—from an untouchable starting rotation to Roki Sasaki and a suddenly less-than-terrible bullpen—completely shut the Brewers down. With the exception of Shohei Ohtani’s performance for the ages in Game Four, the Dodger bats weren’t exactly tearing it up either. Some of those games felt like 1985 out there: 2-1, 3-1.
So while I hope that Ohtani continues to do things no mere mortal can accomplish, and while I count on Kiké Hernández and Max Muncy (a hero to tubby middle-aged men everywhere) to perform their usual postseason heroics alongside the Dodger stars, I think the old adage will prove true: Pitching wins postseasons.
SG: That’s funny—I thought the old adage was “700 million dollar contracts win postseasons,” at least in La La Land. Not every team can go out and buy a pennant, of course, but then again, bringing in all the talent in the world won’t help if they can’t play together. Just ask the Yankees and Red Sox and Mets. What is much more important, especially in the postseason, is if a group of guys has gelled as a team. That means overcoming adversity and learning how to rely on each others’ strengths, and it means coming up big when it counts. The Blue Jays have been doing that all season—and on the regular since July.
The way I see it, continued heroics from reliever Jeff Hoffman, ALCS hero George Springer, Bo Bichette (who could return from injury) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will get the headlines—but the Toronto victory will be the result of several other “stars” miraculously aligning: the bullpen somehow getting much better overnight (🫣), manager John Schneider not making obviously terrible decisions, and shutdown starts from the stoic 22-year-old Trey Yesavage and the 41-year-old Mad Max Scherzer. But above all, it will be a team effort where the rest of the squad plays small ball and relies on its best-in-baseball defense. The Blue Jays have been hitting incredibly well in the postseason, too.
Also: This Blue Jays squad? They. Never. Strike. Out.
Any other storylines to point out?
SG: While the Blue Jays aren’t exactly in the poorhouse with regard to spending or revenue, there’s a David and Goliath storyline here that actually also has implications for baseball’s future. The Dodgers have vastly outspent every other team in baseball the past few years; because a lot of that money has been deferred, it doesn’t even show up in their already-astronomical team salary. Toronto can more or less keep up (at least for the time being), but what about Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City and other small-market teams? Are we looking at a future where the sport is dominated by five haves surrounded by 25 have-nots?
Further, baseball’s current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of next season—and you can bet both players and management will come to the table with plenty of opinions about how to divvy up the financial pie. We could be looking at a strike, a lockout, maybe even a cancelled season.
On an unrelated issue: If you’re a fan of baseball history, the Blue Jays offer a lineage worth noting. Three players on the team are the sons of former major leaguers: Daulton Varsho (son of Gary Varsho), Bo Bichette (son of four-time All Star Dante Bichette) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.). I remember some of those stars playing in my own lifetime. Let’s hope the next two weeks are a classic example of “like father, like son.”
JK: Clayton Kershaw hasn’t gotten much attention in this year’s playoffs—in part because he’s only had one appearance, and it didn’t go all that well—but Dodger fans are certainly all aware that this is the final series of Kersh’s Hall of Fame career. It’s hard to overestimate how beloved Kershaw is by Angelenos. In addition to his three Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships, National League MVP award, 3,000-plus strikeouts and undisputed ownership of history’s nastiest curveball, he’s also spent his entire 18-year career sweating through the Dodger blue. He’s been kind of an icon for the team as well in the way his own ups and downs have mirrored those of the Dodgers, particularly in the postseason.
What if this series goes long, and there’s a chance for Kershaw to finish out a crucial game? Dave Roberts would be a madman to let the 37-year-old warhorse give it a try…but L.A. fans will never forgive him if he doesn’t grant #22 a chance to be atop the hill for one last moment of glory.
Predictions?
SG: Blue Jays in seven, with Ohtani also taking a beating in Vegas.
JK: Dodgers in five. It’s 54° 40′ or fight!
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