2025 World Series

2025 World Series

We’ve reached the final -- and biggest -- stage of the MLB calendar. The stakes are at their highest, the lights are at their brightest and the chill of autumn is in the air.

That can only mean one thing: the World Series.

World Series Game 1, presented by Capital One: Friday, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, FOX
The 121st edition of the Fall Classic will get underway with Game 1 between the Dodgers and Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday night. And this matchup is unprecedented -- never have these two clubs met with the game’s ultimate prize hanging in the balance.

With the defending World Series champions trying to become the first back-to-back champs in 25 years, and their opponent looking to win it all for the first time in more than three decades, it promises to be a tremendous series.

But who will win? In how many games? And who will be the World Series MVP?

We put those questions to a panel of MLB.com experts, and here are the results: 

LOS ANGELES -- Every deck of cards has a full set, but it's rare within a Major League rotation: four aces.

Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani. It's the hand of a lifetime for the Dodgers, who have played it to a remarkable run of pitching dominance this postseason.

World Series Game 1, presented by Capital One: Friday, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, FOX
Last year, the Dodgers won the World Series in spite of their shoestring rotation. This year, their four starting pitchers have been the driving force behind their bid to become the first team in a quarter century to defend its title.

"We knew going into October that the strength of this club was going to be our starters," president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said after the NLCS. "But for them to do what they did eclipsed even our expectations. It was incredible theater to watch them pitch in these four games and pass the baton to one another."

Get tickets to see the Dodgers in the World Series!
Manager Dave Roberts announced on Tuesday that Snell and Yamamoto will start the first two World Series games at Rogers Centre. The Dodgers haven't set the rotation for the rest of the Fall Classic, but it stands to reason that they'll use the same order as in the NLCS -- with Glasnow in Game 3 on Monday and Ohtani in Game 4 on Tuesday -- allowing all four to pitch on the rest they're accustomed to.

The dominant quartet of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani has been nearly unhittable, posting a 1.40 ERA during these playoffs. While three of the four missed significant time during the regular season due to injury, they’re all healthy now, and it shows.L.A.’s bullpen is a question mark because of its shaky end to the regular season, but also because it was barely needed in the NLCS. If the starters once again make the relievers mostly obsolete, it could be a long -- or perhaps more accurately, short -- series for the Jays.If, on the other hand, Toronto’s marriage of contact and power in the lineup steals the headlines, this could be another dramatic series like the ALCS.“The Dodgers are a juggernaut that will not be stopped. As long as their starting pitchers are healthy and firing on all cylinders, they should win this Series with relative ease.” -- Mark Feinsand, senior national reporter
“Their rotation is overwhelming when everyone’s healthy and free to work deep into games, as we just saw in the NLCS with Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani. The Blue Jays do a lot of things really well, and Vladdy could very well take over another series, but the Dodgers’ top-end talent and championship experience give them the edge.” -- Adam Berry, senior club reporter
“The Dodgers seem inevitable. The Blue Jays feel like they have the vibes to overcome anything. This Series looks like a tossup, so my gut is going with the team that has Shohei Ohtani.” -- Dan Cichalski, senior manager, content operations
Toronto has a deep lineup and is excellent at home (54-27 during regular season, 4-2 in October). Getting to play Games 6 and 7 in Toronto will carry the day.” -- Matt Meyers, vice president of content
“It won't be easy. But if Bo Bichette is really coming back ... if the Blue Jays can 'steal' one of the first two games at home ... if they can get the Dodgers' starters out early enough to expose the soft underbelly of L.A.'s bullpen ... if Max Scherzer can replicate his ALCS magic ... if Vlad Jr. can keep punching at Shohei Ohtani's weight ... they can do this.” -- Andy Werle, supervising editor
“There's no denying the Dodgers are red-hot and are the chic pick to win back-to-back titles, but the Jays have a je ne sais quoi and never-say-die attitude.” -- Chris Begley, supervising editor
The two best hitters in this World Series garnered the most votes from our panel for Series MVP. Ohtani and Guerrero are good choices for obvious reasons -- the former is the best baseball talent on the planet, and the latter is having the best postseason of anyone. 

But Ohtani received nearly half of the votes in this survey, and given what he did in Game 4 of the NLCS -- 10 strikeouts over six innings on the mound and three homers at the plate -- you could certainly see him taking home World Series MVP honors.

“After watching Game 4 of the NLCS, it would be downright foolish to pick anyone other than the author of the greatest individual performance in the history of the game!” wrote senior club reporter John Denton.

Supervising editor Len Hochberg stated the matter succinctly: “Because he’s Shohei Ohtani.”

Game 1 of the 2025 World Series is this Friday, Oct. 24. National League champions the Los Angeles Dodgers will make their play for a second championship title in a row when they face the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre to begin the series. The Dodgers clinched their spot in the Fall Classic after sweeping the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers in four games, while the Toronto Blue Jays snagged the American League pennant after a 4-3 ALCS series against the Seattle Mariners. The best-of-seven series is scheduled to end on Nov. 1 if all seven games are necessary.

Every 2025 World Series game will air on Fox and Fox Deportes. Here's a full rundown of how to watch Game 1 and the rest of the 2025 MLB World Series

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Game 1 channel:

Game 1, and every other game of the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays, will air on Fox and Fox Deportes.

When is Game 1 of the 2025 World Series?

Game 1 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 24.

How many games are in the World Series?

The World Series is a best-of-seven series.

How to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays Game 1 without cable:

You can stream Fox on platforms like DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and Fubo, and the games will be available on Fox's new streaming platform, Fox One.

DirecTV gets you access to Fox and FS1, the channels you need to watch the World Series, plus the CW, ABC, CBS, Fox, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network and plenty more local regional sports networks.

DirecTV also offers unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN+'s new streaming tier, ESPN unlimited.

The best part is that you can try all this out for free for five days. So if you're interested in a live TV streaming service but aren't ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV.

Fubo TV gives you access to 100-plus live channels, including Fox and FS1, and many more so you can watch every ALCS game in one place. The cheapest plan starts at $85/month, making the live TV streaming service a significant investment. However, the inclusion of ESPN unlimited, a $30/month value, is a great deal if you watch sports year-round. Fubo subscribers also get access to ESPN unlimited, and unlimited cloud DVR storage.

With a subscription to Fox One, you can tune in to all your favorite Fox channels like Fox News, Fox Sports, Fox Weather, FS1, FS2, Fox Business, Fox Deportes, Big Ten Network (B1G), and local Fox stations all in one place. That means you can watch every World Series game in one place.

Fox One offers live programming, as well as shows and movies on demand. At launch, the base price for Fox One will cost $19.99 a month, or you can save with an annual subscription for $199.99. Fox Nation fans can even bundle it with Fox One for $24.99 a month, or opt for an annual subscription, which nets out to $19.99/month — that's like getting a year of FOX Nation free.

Hulu’s live TV tier includes access to live TV channels like Fox, Fox Deportes, ESPN, ABC, NBC, and more. That means you can watch this year's World Series live as it happens, and enjoy over 95 other channels — not to mention take advantage of all the great shows streaming on Hulu. 

You’ll also enjoy access to unlimited DVR storage, the ability to stream on multiple devices and more. Right now, you can get your first three months of Hulu + Live TV for $64.99/month. This special rate ends at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on November 5. 

In one corner of the 2025 World Series will be a team that spends more than any other in MLB and, over the past 10 years, wins more than any other in MLB. The Dodgers just swept the Milwaukee Brewers with a rotation that gets paid more than the entire Brewers roster combined. They feature Shohei Ohtani, the most talented player in the history of baseball acquired at a high-nine-figure expense. Their manager is openly joking (or not) about ruining baseball.

To most baseball fans, the Dodgers are a juggernaut, and that makes this year's Fall Classic a straightforward story for the general audience. David vs. Goliath, the Dodgers vs. a team that will have to beat them through grit and the power of friendship.

That might have been true had the Seattle Mariners occupied the other corner. That's a club that ranks in the middle of the pack payroll-wise in MLB and broke through with a roster built on talent that was either homegrown or acquired in shrewd trades.

However, given who actually won Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday, one thing needs to be plainly stated: The Toronto Blue Jays are no plucky underdog.

We might be stating the obvious here, but Toronto is a large market for MLB. It ranks among the league's largest metropolitan areas and, even more importantly, is the only team in Canada, a country with a population more than twice the size of the New York City area. MLB treats the entire nation as the Blue Jays' television market, though some provinces are technically shared with other teams.

With that in mind, let's go through the club's payroll.

This spring, the Blue Jays signed franchise star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million extension before he was due to hit free agency this coming offseason. It was the third-largest contract in MLB history and second-largest when Ohtani's heavily deferred $700 million deal is adjusted for inflation.

Toronto's home run leader, George Springer, and strikeouts leader, Kevin Gausman, were both acquired with nine-figure deals in free agency. Last winter, the Jays signed three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, closer Jeff Hoffman and slugger Anthony Santander to deals totaling $141 million. They also traded for middle infielder Andrés Giménez and his $106.5 million contract. Then they bought big at the trade deadline, most notably bringing in another Cy Young winner in Shane Bieber.

Does any of that sound like an underdog to you?

Only four teams (the Dodgers, both New York teams and the Philadelphia Phillies) spent more on payroll this season than the Blue Jays' $258 million. If the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers, their payroll will be the second-largest ever for a World Series champion — after, well, the 2024 Dodgers.

Only two teams (the Dodgers and Phillies) have more players on nine-figure contracts than the Jays' five. By FanGraphs' roster breakdown, Toronto was tied with L.A. for the most players acquired via free agency, and L.A.'s is the roster with more homegrown players.

With all of those resources, Toronto posted the best record in the American League this year — with one more win than the Dodgers — and held off the New York Yankees for both the AL East title and a trip to the ALCS. If the Jays win this series, it will be a cathartic moment for a franchise, fan base and country.

Don't let any of the above fool you into thinking we're saying the Blue Jays and Dodgers are on even ground. They're not.

The Blue Jays have a large payroll, but the Dodgers have a gargantuan payroll hovering around $400 million, which will see them pay a luxury tax somewhere in the neighborhood of $169 million. Had these Blue Jays played the Dodgers a few years ago, they would have been on somewhat even footing, but something has changed, which the Blue Jays know all too well.

It's really not hyperbole to say that Ohtani's heavily deferred $700 million contract might be the biggest bargain in baseball. Toronto certainly knows it, as it tried to sign him to an identical contract in late 2023 (again, large-market team).

Ohtani has both been an MVP-level player for two years on the Dodgers and turned the organization into a financial powerhouse in Japan, where Ohtani's celebrity goes well beyond anything you see in North America. Through sponsorship revenue, his contract is likely profitable before he even takes the field, hence why the Dodgers are able to make so many more moves, such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto's pitcher-record $325 million contract.

The Ohtani revenue stream continued last offseason with a flood of World Series money, which led to the Dodgers signing another $400 million or so in free-agent contracts.

Teams with the Dodgers' money don't typically spend money like the Dodgers, who put a larger percentage of their revenue into their roster than every other team but the New York Mets. You might notice the Blue Jays are third on that list.

One team spending more than the others has rarely created a problem in MLB. Despite some financial outliers, the league has seen 16 different teams win the World Series in the 25 years since the last Yankees dynasty, and even that stretch saw New York spend only marginally more than its contemporaries.

The Dodgers look like a juggernaut in October because their starting pitching has finally come together and dominated to the point that their compromised bullpen is an afterthought. About a month ago, they were sweating out a division race with the San Diego Padres. A year ago, Ohtani's presence hid plenty of cracks in the team's foundation during the regular season.

Yes, money is helpful, and there's a conversation to be had about when the disparity becomes truly unfair, but is that point really when a rich team wins 93 games during the regular season, as the Dodgers did this year? Shouldn't the fact that the Dodgers ended up with the fifth-most wins in MLB, despite a $400 million payroll, be a sign that the system actually kind of works?

We'll see if anything changes in the World Series. A Dodgers win would increase calls for a salary cap, because it would show that spending enormous amounts of money is effective, among other things.

But what would a Blue Jays win mean? It would mean spending a large amount of money is effective, among other things.
 

Posted on 2025/10/24 09:50 AM