There were several what-if moments for the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series, but none probably came closer than Isiah Kiner-Falefa being thrown out at home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Infielder Miguel Rojas, who also hit a game-tying home run in the top of the ninth, threw Kiner-Falefa out on a force play at the plate by a matter of inches after a Daulton Varsho ground ball.

If Kiner-Falefa scored on the play, the game would’ve been over, and the Blue Jays would’ve won the World Series.

IKF’s small lead and a lack of a secondary was the difference for Toronto not winning a title. pic.twitter.com/LobrbNSCJa

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 2, 2025

Once the game had come to an end in eleven innings, many were quick to go back to that moment and point out how short of a lead Kiner-Falefa took off third base, and how a longer lead off either initially or once the pitch was thrown likely could’ve won the Blue Jays the World Series.

This is the best angle of the fateful force out at home in the bottom of the 9th of World Series Game 7. Isiah Kiner-Falefa was practically right at the bag when the play began, allowing the throw by Miguel Rojas to beat him. Just too many costly baserunning mistakes by Toronto. pic.twitter.com/I8HcjQVVnF

— Positive Residual (@presidual) November 2, 2025

Former Blue Jays player Chris Colabello jumped to Kiner-Falefa’s defence on Sunday.

“If Rojas doesn’t slip, he throws him out by 14 feet, regardless of how good his lead and secondary were. The risk/reward there of being further off the base is so distorted that it would have been egregious to even consider risking being even an inch further away from the bag,” Colabello wrote on X. “As a matter of fact, I may have told whoever was on third to be no more than a step off the bag. I’m willing to bet that 99% of baserunners on third in that moment are having ZERO consideration of scoring on a ball that is fielded cleanly by an infielder. The fact that the play was even remotely close is so incredibly misleading.”

Colabello played 111 games in Toronto across the 2015 and 2016 seasons, before a suspension for a banned substance caused him to be hit with an 80-game suspension. He never made it back to the major leagues after the suspension, though he maintains his innocence that he did not intentionally take performance-enhancing drugs.

“Scrutinizing this play to this length is so flawed, and fully takes away from how incredible the game and series were,” Colabello added. “It’s a shame that there is so much negativity surrounding the play, the ‘what ifs’ around it, and even more ridiculous is the backlash the public is putting on the player.”

Former Blue Jays All-Star Whit Merrifield, who played for the team in 2022 and 2023, also came to Kiner-Falefa’s defence.

“He did exactly right here. The #1 rule with bases loaded and less than two outs is you cannot get doubled up on a line drive to 3rd baseman. So your lead is as far as the 3rd baseman is from the bag. He did this perfect,” Merrifield wrote on X.

Kiner-Falefa himself stated the lead-off length was a coaching instruction and that he’d received threats after the game, including someone threatening to break his legs.