The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays provided an all-time World Series battle in the seven-game set.
Los Angeles emerged victorious as baseball’s first back-to-back champions since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000. Game 7 marked an all-time classic with the Dodgers closing out the series with two consecutive road wins.
So many players stepped up on both sides, so it’s pretty hard to narrow down the best performances of the series. With that said, let’s give it a shot. Here are three studs and three duds from the 2025 World Series.
STUDS
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The 2025 World Series MVP earned in and then some after a playoff run to remember. He earned the winning decision in three games, including the ridiculous stretch of 96 pitches in Game 6. A day later, he tossed the final 2 2/3 scoreless innings to close out the clincher. Yamamoto posted a miniscule 1.03 ERA with 15 strikeouts in just two walks in 17 2/3 innings of work to secure the championship.
Shohei Ohtani (Hitter)
Ohtani picked up where he left off at the plate from his historic Game 4 of the NLCS with three home runs. Ohtani carried a Dodgers offense that flat out didn’t produce for most of the series. He’s the only Los Angeles batter that hit over .300 in the series. He slugged three more home runs and reached base nine times in the 18-inning Game 3 win, which set a postseason record.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The extended Blue Jays slugger did literally everything he could to deliver Toronto a championship. The ALCS MVP didn’t cool off in the Fall Classic. His key defensive plays complemented another hot stretch at the plate with a 1.074 OPS for the series.
DUDS
Freddie Freeman
Freeman added another chapter to his historic legacy with another World Series walk-off home run at Dodger Stadium. His solo blast ended Game 3 after 18 crazy innings in Los Angeles for the second time in seven years. Otherwise, his bat went quiet with a .207 batting average across the seven games.
Mookie Betts
Betts’ defense tells the story of his impact in the series. His bat didn’t meet the moment with a poor. 143 average and a .438 OPS, though his one clutch swing for a two-run single in Game 6 made the difference to send the series the distance.
Shohei Ohtani (Pitcher)
For as great as Ohtani looked at the plate, he never had it on the mound this series. He posted a 7.56 ERA in two starts and could not finish the third inning in Game 7 after Bo Bichette burned him on a three-run home run that got the scoring started.
More MLB: Blue Jays Star Projected To Sign 8-Year, $216M Deal After World Series Loss