The waits of the Blue Jays and the last dance of Scherzer and Kershaw

ByDavid Mitchell
The waits of the Blue Jays and the last dance of Scherzer and Kershaw

IN YOUR BOOK Play Ball!, John Feinsten argued that baseball is a sport of waiting. Of waiting for a strike, waiting for an at-bat, waiting for an opportunity to help a team and waiting for your moment to reach or return to a World Series. Feinstein used the example of Dave Winfield, who had a Hall of Fame career, but was ridiculed by the owner of the New York Yankees himself by calling him ‘Mister May’ after his poor production in the 1981 World Series, in which he had one hit in 22 at-bats. The Yankees did not return to the fall classic during Winfield’s entire stay in the Bronx, so he did not have a chance to shut up ‘The Boss’. In fact, he had to wait 11 years to have his moment of redemption. But it took him one at-bat to achieve it: a double off Charlie Leibrandt in the top of the eleventh inning in Game 6 gave the Toronto Blue Jays the first title in history. That was October 24, 1992. (– Hiram Martínez)

‘Donnie Baseball’ and the end of his wait

TODAY, EXACTLY 33 YEARS Later, another former Yankee debuts in the World Series courtesy of the Blue Jays. Don Mattingly was Winfield’s teammate from 1982 to 1990. In his early years, he became a favorite of the demanding New York fans, who began calling him ‘Donnie Baseball’. He won a batting title, was the American League Most Valuable Player in 1985 and seemed headed for the baseball Hall of Fame when back injuries slowed his performance in the second half of his career. Mattingly played with the striped jersey in that dark period from 1982 to 1995 when Yankee Stadium turned off the lights in the last week of September. He only played in one postseason series and did his part to advance: in 1995, he hit .417 with a home run and six RBIs and a .440/.708/.1.148 offensive line in the Division Series that the Yankees lost 3-2 to the Seattle Mariners. He retired after that season and the Mules won the title in 1996. He then spent three seasons as a Yankees coach between 2004 and 2007, five as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and seven with the Marlins without coming close to a title. At 64 years old, he arrives as bench coach of the Blue Jays. It was a long wait for ‘Donnie Baseball’, it didn’t arrive as he would have wanted, but it will be there. (– Hiram Martínez)

3. Without Vesia, a hard blow to the champions’ bullpen

THE LOSS OF Alex Vesiadue to personal problems, represents a serious blow to the bullpen of the champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Vesia, along with Anthony Banda, is one of the most reliable left-handers in the Los Angeles club’s relief corps. Vesia consumed one inning against Cincinnati and, although he allowed two runs on September 30 in his first intervention in this postseason, he worked tight in the game on October 1 with two-thirds scoreless. Since then, he has been solid with three reliefs against the Phillies, one of them one inning, and two against the Brewers, all scoreless. Vesia’s replacement, based on what manager Dave Roberts said, could be Tanner Scott, a reliever brought in this year for four years and $72 million, who last season had a 1.75 ERA between Miami and San Diego; However, his first regular season with the Dodgers ended with a 4.74 in 61 outings and with 10 blown save opportunities. The month of September was disastrous for him with a high 6.48 earned run average and he recently underwent an incision to resolve an abscess in the lower body. Scott lost the closer position, today in the reliable hands of Roki Sasaki, as the season went by, surely, few remember that it was precisely Scott who scored the first save of the relief corps, in the opening game, against the Chicago Cubs, held at the Tokyo Dome. (– Vania B. Ravelo)

4. Will there be a sixth confrontation between Kershaw and Scherzer?

ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2008 the stars aligned without the fans knowing it at the time. Four future members of the Hall of Fame intersected in that game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers that the Californians won 5-3 in Chávez Ravine. Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux were removed as starters for that day and, in their place, those who climbed to the center of the diamond were the then rookies Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, two boys of 24 and 20 years old, respectively, who were at the beginning of their brilliant careers in which today they boast more than 3 thousand strikeouts, 200 victories, three Cy Young awards and, each, two World Series rings. Both must be recalled to Cooperstown five years after retirement. That 2008 game was the first of so far five meetings between them and on that occasion both left without a decision, while Scherzer struck out 11 enemies. The second clash between them took place on October 7, 2016, Dodgers in Washington, first game of the National League Division Series. Kershaw pitched five three-run innings and Scherzer, who suffered the loss, pitched six four-run innings. They met again on April 20, 2018 (Washington at Dodgers): Scherzer won with one run allowed in six innings; while Kershaw lost after seven innings and four runs, in addition to allowing a hit to Scherzer. The fourth confrontation took place on April 11, 2021 (Washington at Dodgers): Kershaw worked six scoreless pitches and Scherzer also six innings, but with one run, so the former took the win. This year, on August 8 (Toronto at Dodgers), their most recent confrontation occurred. Scherzer pitched six innings with six hits, two runs, both earned, walked three and struck out five, taking the loss; while Kershaw pitched six seven-hit, one-run rolls with four strikeouts. It will be very difficult for them to meet again, especially since Kershaw has announced that at the end of this season he will say goodbye to the diamonds and is not included in the Dodgers’ starting rotation; However, if the baseball gods conspire again for the happiness of the fans, as in 2008, the situation could arise that Scherzer starts a game in this World Series (perhaps the fourth) and in that same game Kershaw comes in for relief. I hope we see it. (– Vania B. Ravelo)

5. Springer repeats Carter’s story from 1993

THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS They came to this World Series just as they won it for the second time in their previous participation in 1993, with a three-run home run to turn the score around and take the victory. The difference is that George Springer’s hit last Monday at Rogers Center was in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series for a 4-3 victory, and Joe Carter’s hit was in the bottom of the ninth of Game 6 of the World Series for an 8-6 victory. Springer’s home run on Monday made Toronto become the third team to win a league championship series Game 7 overcoming a multi-run deficit, after the Atlanta Braves against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992, and the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox in 2003, according to AM850 Research. (–Ruben Castro).

6. Mariners, with an unwanted record in championship series

THE SEATTLE MARINERS They reached Game 7 of the American League Championship Series with a 3-0 record in all-or-nothing games (all in division series), but fell to the Blue Jays and became the second team in MLB history to lose their first four championship series appearances, according to AM850 Research. The desire to reach his first Fall Classic will have to wait. Right now they are racking their brains for letting 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series slip away. His four championship series losses are in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians (2-4), 2000 against the New York Yankees (2-4), 2001 against the Yankees (1-4) and now in 2025 against the Blue Jays (3-4). Chicago Cubs were the only team that had done so in 1984 against the San Diego Padres (2-3), 1989 against the San Francisco Giants (1-4), 2003 against the Florida Marlins (3-4) and 2015 against the New York Mets (0-4). (–Ruben Castro)

7. Albert Pujols, a Father?

IN THE BEGINNING This week we learned that Albert Pujols was not continuing in the race to be the manager of the Los Angeles Angels and shortly after, the team announced that Kurt Suzuki would occupy the position for the 2026 season. Immediately, it was reported that Pujols would interview with the San Diego Padres to be their manager and, from the outset, we can say that this is a better option for the Dominican than staying with the Angels, because San Diego has with which to compete in the immediate future, unlike the Californian team. We don’t know, at least for now, where Pujols and the Padres’ talks are headed, but if the agency that represents Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. is anything to go by, it’s the same one that represents the future member of Cooperstown. (– Juan Recio)

8. Be careful with the Caribbean Series and the situation in Venezuela

THE NEXT The Caribbean Series will be held in Venezuela, after Puerto Rico made the decision to hand over the venue, because it will host a group from the World Baseball Classic and wants to focus on that. However, the escalation in the political situation between the United States and Venezuela, as well as the bad moment in diplomatic relations between the Dominican Republic and that country, could directly affect the event. To make matters worse, the Copa América Baseball that was scheduled to be held in Venezuela, one of the events that, according to statements by the president of LIDOM, Vitelio Mejía Ortiz, to AM850 Digital, would be a tournament that the league would observe to help define the participation of the Dominican champion in the next Caribbean Series, changed its venue to Panama. Be careful with the future of the next Caribbean Series in Venezuela.

9. Baseball, the most difficult sport to play?

MANY PEOPLE They doubt that baseball is one of the most difficult sports to practice. Some argue that it is a sport for fat people… and others raise the thesis that it is so sedentary that it is not played in shorts. From personal experience, I think that it is one of the most complicated sports to execute. Without disparaging the most universal of sports, anyone kicks a ball from point A to point B or scores a basket, but not everyone hits a baseball. If you are one of those who doubts, enjoy this fun video of my colleagues from AM850 Mexico trying to hit a baseball. (– Damián L. Delgado Averhoff)

David Mitchell
David Mitchell

As a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience, I strive to uncover the heart and soul behind every game. Supported by a dedicated team of fellow enthusiasts and storytellers, I am committed to delivering insightful and engaging content that connects fans worldwide. Together, we celebrate the victories, challenges, and unifying spirit of sports through every article we craft.