Former Ranger's brain fart might've cost Blue Jays World Series in game of inches

It was Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. The game was tied 4-4 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning. Dalton Varsho was at the plate with a 1-2 count, opposed on the mound by Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had just loaded the bases by hitting Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk with a pitch after relieving lefty Blake Snell with one out and two runners on. Former Rangers utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa was at third base representing the winning run, holding a small lead off the bag. As we all know, the Dodgers ended up winning the matchup in extras, due to an 11th-inning Will Smith home run, to clinch their second straight World Series title. But if Kiner-Falefa had a larger lead off third base, the Blue Jays would have won the World Series.

Kiner-Falefa doesn't deserve the sole blame for the Blue Jays' heartbreaking World Series loss, as many other players made brutal mental errors or allowed big hits throughout the series. Still, no one can deny that a slightly bigger lead from Kiner-Falefa would have allowed Toronto to win its first Fall Classic since 1993. Sure, Kiner-Falefa had to ensure he wouldn't get doubled off on a line drive, and he told reporters postgame that he was instructed to stay near the bag, but Toronto's coaches and Kiner-Falefa should have known that a larger lead was necessary. His primary lead off the base, 7.8 feet, ranked 357 of 381 primary leads in the World Series, per Statcast. Because of his short lead, Kiner-Falefa was barely thrown out at home by second baseman Miguel Rojas after Varsho hit a ground ball.

Also, why did Kiner-Falefa slide at home? The Dodgers just needed a force out, not a tag, to prevent the Blue Jays from scoring and winning the game. If Kiner-Falefa had run through home at full speed, there is a good chance he would have been called safe at the plate, and there would have been a World Series parade in Toronto. Instead, Smith hit his huge extra-innings homer to give Los Angeles the game-winning run, and Yamamoto continued his postseason heroics to earn the win and World Series MVP.