Where Blue Jays-Dodgers ranks among the best World Series of the last decade

Perhaps the worst part about the 2025 World Series is that it’s over. We feel comfortable guessing that the most dedicated Toronto Blue Jays fans, maybe some who have supported the team going back to their first game in 1977, will never forget what they saw in Toronto’s seven-game battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Everything that baseball fans could have asked for showed up in this year’s World Series. We had an 18-inning thriller and mammoth home runs. Grizzled veterans Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw took the mound in the same eight-day stretch as rookies Trey Yesavage and Roki Sasaki. And, of course, Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. delivered when their teams needed them.

It’s way too early to determine where the 2025 World Series ranks all-time, especially considering that this year marked the 121st Fall Classic. However, we already have an idea of where we’d rank Dodgers-Blue Jays among the six World Series this decade.

Before going any further, we want to make it clear that the following list is solely opinionated. We did not rank these entries on TV ratings, social media activity, or anything outside of the on-field play itself.

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6. 2020 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Tampa Bay Rays in six games)

Series MVP: Corey Seager, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers. Seager hit .400 with two home runs, five RBIs, and six walks for a 1.256 OPS.

Why does it rank here? As with much of the 2020 season, the only thing memorable about this decade’s first Fall Classic is that it took place amid the pandemic. Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, hosted the entire series, with a capped attendance of 11,500. That alone may have made it difficult for some fans to even bother watching, and Fox averaged a record-low 9.78 million viewers.

The reality of the 2020 World Series’ situation is unfortunate, partly because four of the six games were decided by one or two runs. Looking back, it’s surprising that Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw didn’t earn World Series MVP after going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a 14-3 K-BB ratio in 11 2/3 innings.

5. 2024 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers defeat New York Yankees in five games)

Series MVP: Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers. Freeman hit .300 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 1.364 OPS.

Why does it rank here? Last year marked the 12th time the Yankees and Dodgers battled in the World Series, and Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 should have set the stage for a thrilling Fall Classic clash. Instead, the series felt far more uncompetitive than the final composite box might have looked. Dodgers pitching limited Aaron Judge and the Yankees’ high-octane offense to a .212 average with 44 strikeouts, and three of the Bombers’ four starters failed to pitch more than four innings.

If you’re a Dodgers fan, you likely loved the first two entries on this list. Regardless of the sport, no one will argue against winning two championships in five years. However, with respect to the Dodgers, we personally had more fun watching the four other World Series showdowns this decade.

4. 2023 World Series (Texas Rangers defeat Arizona Diamondbacks in five games)

Series MVP: Corey Seager, SS, Texas Rangers. Seager hit .286 with three home runs, six RBIs, and a 1.137 OPS.

Why does it rank here? This was a fun one, even if the last two Fall Classics make it easy to forget about the 2023 World Series. The Diamondbacks made it back to the World Series for the first time since their legendary 2001 upset over the Yankees, while the Rangers hadn’t won a pennant since 2011. Considering how many teams choose not to spend, it was refreshing to see two organizations that haven’t been afraid to hand out noteworthy free agent contracts be rewarded with an opportunity to win a championship.

After falling short in 2010 and 2011, the Rangers finally completed the job and captured their first World Series title. Despite losing marquee offseason signing Jacob deGrom to Tommy John surgery after six starts, the Rangers kept pushing and only lost four playoff games. We won’t go so far as to call the Rangers a team that came out of nowhere, but we will acknowledge that they deserve more credit than they get.

3. 2021 World Series (Atlanta Braves defeat Houston Astros in six games)

Series MVP: Jorge Soler, RF/DH, Atlanta Braves. Soler hit .300 with three home runs, six RBIs, and a 1.191 OPS.

Why does it rank here? If the 2020 World Series is forgettable, partly because of the pandemic, then the 2021 Fall Classic is memorable for the opposite reasons. For the first time, baseball — and by extension, sports as a whole — felt like it’d returned to normal. There were no crowd restrictions or neutral sites as fans filled Truist Park and Minute Maid Park (since renamed Daikin Park, but it’ll always be Minute Maid to us) to see the Astros and Braves battle it out.

It’d been over 25 years since the Braves won a championship, a drought that ended with a Game 7 shutout in Houston. Longtime Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman recorded an RBI double in his final game with the Braves, and baseball was back ... at least, until a three-month work stoppage began in December.

2. 2022 World Series (Houston Astros defeat Philadelphia Phillies in six games)

Series MVP: Jeremy Peña, SS, Houston Astros. Peña hit .400 with a home run, three RBIs, and two doubles.

Why does it rank here? Are the Jose Altuve-era Houston Astros a dynasty? It’s a question worth discussing because, even though the Astros have only won two championships over the last decade, they’ve reached the World Series four times. This past season marked the first time since 2016 that Houston didn’t make the postseason, and they played in the ALCS every year from 2017 through 2023.

Whether or not that qualifies as a dynasty is a conversation for another day, though their 2022 title guaranteed that we’ll talk about it at some point. This World Series featured everything from a combined no-hitter to Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña becoming the first position player to earn World Series MVP honors as a rookie. We’ll see whether the Phillies can make it back and give Bryce Harper a chance at a long-elusive championship.

1. 2025 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers defeat Toronto Blue Jays in seven games)

Series MVP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers. Yamamoto went 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA and a 15-2 K-BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings. He also recorded the series’ final out.

Why does it rank here? What is there to say about the 2025 World Series that we haven’t already said? This year’s Fall Classic had something for everyone, whether they’re into massive home runs or stellar defense. Bo Bichette had a bat flip for the ages in Game 7, and Freddie Freeman’s 18th-inning walk-off home run in Game 3 ensured that fans on the East Coast could get at least an hour of sleep.

It’s not often that a best-of-seven series goes the distance and is unmemorable, especially not when the World Series is involved. The 2025 Fall Classic delivered on all fronts, and the more Shohei Ohtani, the better. We won’t need to wait long for the rematch, as Toronto hosts Los Angeles for a three-game set beginning Monday, April 6.