By Fabian Ardaya, Mitch Bannon, Eno Saris and Katie Woo

Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers will soon be on their way to Toronto, where the reigning World Series champions will look to defeat the ascendant Blue Jays and become baseball’s first repeat winners in a quarter century. For the Blue Jays, it will be their first time in the Fall Classic since the second of their back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, and a chance to make up for past failures in an era of the franchise headed by superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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The two franchises have competed for premium free agents in recent winters, from Toronto’s dogged pursuit of Ohtani to its maneuvering to land Roki Sasaki out of the international market before both players wound up in Los Angeles. Their lone head-to-head in the regular season also featured one of the most memorable games of the regular season, with the Dodgers taking the first two of a three-game set before the Blue Jays rallied late — headlined by a late Ernie Clement home run — in the finale.

The Dodgers are chasing history, and a potential dynasty, with a rotation that has performed as well as any in recent postseason memory. They will be tasked with facing a lineup that applies constant pressure and puts balls in play, striking out at the lowest rate in the sport. This international set will provide plenty of flavour and spice.

Tale of the tape

The 2025 World Series will be a battle of heavyweights. Both clubs represent big markets and both have the accompanying deep pockets. Look no further than the payroll carried by each club and the hardware collected by each team’s players. On their rosters, the Blue Jays and Dodgers collectively have 73 All-Star selections, nine Cy Young Awards and six MVP awards — though all of the latter belong to the Dodgers.

Teams Blue Jays Dodgers Payroll $278.8m (5) $415.2m (1) World titles 2 8 Pennants 3 26 M