The Toronto Blue Jays made history on Monday, punching their ticket to their first World Series appearance in 32 years.
Whether you’re looking to learn more about baseball, host a World Series viewing party or simply want to make small talk about the Jays making a historic playoff run, here are some basics you should know.
Ever wonder why they call it the “World Series” when the Toronto Blue Jays are the only non-American team currently active in Major League Baseball?
The first-ever World Series was held in 1903 between the champions of the well-established National League and the upstart American League. The NL’s Pittsburgh Pirates faced the AL’s Boston Americans, known today as the Boston Red Sox.
Back then, the best-of-nine series wasn’t called the World Series, but instead the “World’s Championship Games.” Over time, the name was whittled down and came to be known as the World Series.
Except for 1903 and between 1919 and 1921, the World Series has been played as a best-of-seven series.
In each of the two leagues, which are divided into East, Central and West, six teams make it to the post-season.
This includes three division winners and three wild card teams. The top four teams in each division face off in the American League Division Series (ALDS) and the National League Division Series (NLDS).
This is followed by the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS), which is a best-of-seven matches between the top two teams in each league.
The winners of the ALCS and the NLCS face each other in the World Series.
After posting a 94–68 win-loss record in the regular season — the fourth-best in the entire MLB in 2025 — the Jays qualified for a bye, which meant they didn’t have to play in the wild-card series and could advance directly to the ALDS.
There, they eventually faced off against 27-time World Series winners, the New York Yankees.
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The Jays wrapped up the best-of-five ALDS series against the Yankees in four games, winning 3-1 and advancing to the ALCS.
This set up a showdown with west-coast frenemies, the Seattle Mariners, who had just come off a tight 3-2 series win against the Detroit Tigers.
The Mariners are also a team that gets support from many Canadians in the West due to its proximity to Vancouver, B.C., and the Canadian border, and having Canadians playing on the team.
The ALCS was not without its share of drama; in the first two games, it looked like Jays fans would see their dream end early. The Mariners won 3-1 in Game 1 and cruised to a 10-3 win in Game 2, both of which were played at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. It wasn’t looking good.
The Jays kept hopes alive by winning two back-to-back games on the road, but with a Mariners win in Game 5, Seattle was just one win away from booking their first-ever appearance at the World Series.
The Jays needed to win both remaining games as the series came back to Toronto. The Jays took Game 6, making Game 7 a winner-take-all matchup.
The final game was going Seattle’s way until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Jays’ George Springer, under pressure in a crucial game, hit a three-run home run that has already secured its place in Canadian sports history.
The iconic “Springer Dinger” put the Jays out front, clinching the team a place in the 2025 World Series against the fearsome Los Angeles Dodgers, the champs of the NLCS.
This is only the third time in franchise history that the Jays have made the World Series.
The last time was when the team won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.
The closest they came to the spot was during their last ALCS appearance in 2016, when they lost to Cleveland in five games, and in 2015, when they lost to Kansas City in six games.
Game 1 of the 2025 World Series kicks off on Friday at 8 p.m. eastern at the Rogers Centre, followed by Game 2 at the same venue on Saturday.
For Game 3 and Game 4, the Jays will hit the road to play at Dodger Stadium in L.A. on Oct. 27 and 28.
If necessary, the teams will play Game 5 in L.A (Oct. 29) and Games 6 and Game 7 in Toronto on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
The Dodgers are defending champions, going for a back-to-back title win.
While the Dodgers don’t have the most World Series appearances — that title goes to the New York Yankees with 41 appearances — they have the second-most World Series appearances with 23. They also had the fifth-best win-loss record in the MLB this year, one loss behind the Blue Jays.
Betting websites have the Dodgers as heavy favourites, predicting that the team will win their ninth World Series title.
The Jays will open the series with a home-ground advantage, however, as their record was better during the regular season. And who doesn’t love an underdog?
Shohei Ohtani made headlines in 2023 when he signed a US$700-million deal with the Dodgers. And the star player has certainly made his mark.
Ohtani won MVP for the National League last year, when he became the first player in MLB history to hit more than 50 home runs and steal more than 50 bases. And the Japanese sensation is in red-hot form this year too.
As the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers — the best team overall in the regular 2025 season — in the NLCS, Ohtani hit three home runs in Game 4 and one even left the park.
If the Blue Jays are to beat the odds and win their third title, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to need to have to bring his best to the World Series. The Montreal-born hitter was awarded the ALCS MVP trophy on Monday night.
Guerrero Jr. was crucial in the Blue Jays’ efforts to force the Mariners into Game 7, hitting six home runs in the postseason and showcasing one of the best Blue Jays playoff performances of all time.
