Why are the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League?
That was the biggest question on my mind the last time the Blue Jays reached the World Series back in 1993.
I was a naïve six-year-old collecting loonies from the tooth fairy hoping that one day she might forget a blank check under my pillow.
It didn’t make any sense to me at the time that the only team that wasn’t based in the United States played in the American League and not the National League.
That same six-year-old would never forgot Juan Guzman’s trademark blue glove, John Olereud wearing a helmet in the field, or Duane Ward running the bases with a jacket on in the 1993 World Series.
32 years after Joe Carter touched them all, the Blue Jays are back on baseball’s biggest stage but under much different circumstances.
This time around, it’s the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers that are the defending World Series champs.
This time around, Toronto is a considerable underdog.
Can a Blue Jays team that has defied the odds this season do it one more time to win the 121st World Series?
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers heading into Game 1 of the World Series in this Friday October 24th, 2025, edition of Morning Coffee.
Blue Jays Enter World Series As Massive Underdogs
The Blue Jays are back in the World Series for the third time in franchise history.
Unlike in 1992 and 1993, Toronto will be the underdog against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers.
In the 1992 World Series, the Blue Jays were -125 to beat the Atlanta Braves.
They were an even bigger favourite in the 1993 World Series at -170 to beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Toronto’s odds to win this year’s World Series have ticked up from +184 to +190 at FanDuel since Monday.
At that current number, the Dodgers are the fifth-biggest World Series favourite all-time, per Sports Odds History.
LA is also the second-biggest road favourite in a World Series dating back to 1950.
At +190, the Blue Jays are the biggest World Series underdog since the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros as a +195 underdog in 2019.
Of course, nobody will be surprised that Toronto is an underdog once again after defying the odds all season.
The Blue Jays were +6500 to win it all at FanDuel on MLB Opening Day.
Over the last three decades, only five teams with longer odds have made it to the World Series.
Only one of those teams went on to win it all.
The Florida Marlins opened +7500 to win it all in 2003.
The Marlins went on to upset the New York Yankees in six games as a +190 underdog in the 2003 World Series.
What will it take for the Blue Jays to shock the baseball world one more time?
An upset win in Game 1 tonight is crucial.
The Dodgers haven’t played in exactly one week since they completed a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS.
The combination of a long layoff and their travel from LA to Toronto might just be enough to keep them from being at their best in the series opener on the road.
In Game 4 of the NLCS, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history with more home runs (3) than hits allowed (2) in a postseason start 🤯
Can the Blue Jays slow down the favourite to hit the most home runs in the World Series? 🤔#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/yuT6DEyNPL
— TSN EDGE (@TSN_Edge) October 23, 2025
There’s no way to look at these rosters and make the case for the Blue Jays as the better team.
However, there is a historical precedent for an upset.
This is just the fifth time that since the LCS became a best-of-seven that one team is coming off a sweep and the other won their LCS in seven games.
In each of the previous four instances, the team that was coming off a seven-game series won the World Series.
Toronto is +130 to pull off the upset win in Game 1.
The Dodgers have the edge on paper across the board.
If the Blue Jays are going to need a fast start to have a chance to make this series interesting.
If you’re a regular reader of my Morning Coffee column, then you already know that LA was my pre-season pick to win the World Series.
You also know that I doubled down on the Dodgers to win it all after their odds inflated to +700 before the start of the MLB postseason.
LA has rewarded my faith in them with bets on them to win Game 1 and the series against the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Now they’re set to play the Blue Jays in the World Series.
Transparently, I haven’t hedged my bets on the Dodgers with Toronto to win the World Series at +190.
That doesn’t mean I won’t cheer for the Blue Jays.
So, here’s what I’m going to do.
Give me the Dodgers Game 1 / Series Double one more time at +100 as a FanDuel Best Bet for the World Series.
If LA wins tonight and wins the World Series, it will mark a significant boost to my FanDuel account.
If the Blue Jays win tonight, we’ll celebrate the upset.
Toronto has defied the odds all season to get here.
Now the Blue Jays are four wins away from completing one of the most improbable seasons in MLB history with a World Series championship.
I’ve locked in the ultimate emotional hedge for Game 1.
Have a great weekend, everyone!