Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman’s reaction after giving up a game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series summed up the tension of Major League Baseball’s 2025 postseason. “Just one pitch, and, uh, yeah,” Hoffman said following Miguel Rojas’ ninth-inning homer that forced extra innings. The Los Angeles Dodgers went on to win in 11 innings, securing their second straight championship.
This year’s playoffs featured several memorable moments across different series. In the American League Wild Card, Detroit catcher Dillon Dingler hit a crucial solo home run against his childhood team, helping the Tigers advance past the Cleveland Guardians. “The team with the biggest momentum or the most momentum was the one that was going to carry on,” Dingler commented.
The National League Wild Card saw Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki deliver a dominant relief performance to close out Cincinnati, earning praise from teammate Max Muncy: “All you can say is wow. That’s what we need right there.”
A notable highlight for New York came during their Wild Card matchup with Boston. Yankees rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler threw eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks against his hometown Red Sox. Schlittler said criticism from people back home made it “personal.” He added, “I’m from Boston. I didn’t like some of the things they were saying. I was just making sure I was going out there and extra locked in.”
In other key games, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs made a rare sliding catch and drove in an early run to help Chicago defeat San Diego in their deciding Wild Card contest.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had struggled in previous postseasons and slumped late this year, opened Toronto’s Division Series against New York with his first career playoff home run. He finished with three homers in four games as Toronto eliminated the Yankees. Blue Jays manager John Schneider noted: “There was a little bit of a different feel about Vlad today.”
Other standout performances included Andrew Vaughn’s go-ahead homer for Milwaukee in Game 5 of their Division Series clincher over Chicago; Leo Rivas’ pinch-hit RBI single on his birthday for Seattle to tie Detroit late in a marathon game; and Teoscar Hernández’s three-run shot that propelled Los Angeles past Philadelphia.
George Springer provided another dramatic moment by hitting a go-ahead three-run homer for Toronto while injured during Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against Seattle. Springer described his reaction: “I had a headache from screaming.”
Shohei Ohtani delivered what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called “probably the greatest postseason performance of all time,” pitching six scoreless innings with ten strikeouts and hitting three home runs to help sweep Milwaukee for another National League pennant.
The World Series between Toronto and Los Angeles featured swings in momentum before being decided by Mookie Betts’ double play at shortstop with runners on base in extra innings of Game 7. Betts admitted he felt nervous but focused on making the final play: “Honestly, nobody knows, because they weren’t in my head, but I was so nervous right there… As he was pitching the ball, I was talking to myself, ‘Be nasty, just move, just make a play — just be nasty, be nasty, be nasty.’”
The Dodgers’ victory marked back-to-back championships after another tightly contested postseason.
