Lessons learned from the World Series

The Dodgers aren’t the easiest team to replicate. 

Now back-to-back World Series champions, Los Angeles is reaping the benefits of the highest payroll in the game highlighted by, arguably, the best to ever do it. Multiple MVPs fill the top of the lineup while Cy Young winners take the mound. 

The Blue Jays, though, were right there. 

Hardly a small-market team themselves, Toronto was a play or two away from their first title since 1993. Their star first baseman put together one of the best postseasons of all time, an unheralded utility man was mere feet away from immortality, and a few grizzled veterans nearly pushed them over the top. 

The Orioles are hoping to join them at the summit. 

A 74-88 record and a cellar’s view of the American League East may appear to put a World Series appearance far out of reach. But the O’s were one game better than that in 2025. It was actually Toronto that accumulated those 74 wins in 2024 with a window that appeared to be slammed shut. 

They pried it back open. 

Though the elements of a World Series formula can’t be perfectly replicated, there are lessons to be learned from both clubs, and they don’t all include signing Shohei Ohtani. 

Being there and doing that 

George Springer turned back the clock in 2025, delivering one of the best seasons of his career at 35 years of age. While plenty of his value was felt in the regular season, it’s the playoffs where the outfielder really shines. 

Fighting through injuries, Springer posted a 1.053 OPS against the Mariners in a seven-game championship series before hitting a whopping .381 in the World Series. That’s just what he does. 

In his 19 career World Series games, Springer is hitting .351 with a 1.172 OPS. 

And was there any doubt that Max Scherzer would deliver in Game 7? The 41-year-old isn’t the same “Mad Max” we grew accustomed to seeing in Washington, but with a championship on the line against one of the best lineups ever constructed, Scherzer delivered 4 ⅓ innings of one-run baseball with three punchouts. 

Practically all of the Dodgers’ core has experience deep in the postseason, and it showed at the most critical times. Veterans including Max Muncy, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman didn’t light the world on fire with their overall numbers in this series, but showed up when it mattered most. 

Acquiring players like Springer and Muncy is easier said than done. They’re valuable commodities for a reason. But as the clutch moments continue to pile up, it becomes increasingly difficult to overstate the importance of adding veterans with meaningful and plentiful postseason experience to a playoff-bound clubhouse. 

It takes more than nine 

Who had Miguel Rojas on their bingo card? 

When all goes according to plan, Rojas isn’t in the Dodgers’ lineup. Tommy Edman mans second with Andy Pages in center, pushing Rojas into a utility role. But with Pages struggling at the dish, manager Dave Roberts turned to Rojas, a 12-year veteran doing whatever necessary to help the team win. 

A game-tying home run two outs away from runner-up honors certainly qualifies. 

Kiké Hernández appeared in just 91 games for the Dodgers in the regular season, but just has a knack for showing up in the postseason. Over more than 100 postseason games, Hernández has an .826 OPS, 119 points better than his career average. 

Addison Barger wouldn’t have been high on the list of most important Blue Jays entering the year. In fact, he wouldn’t have been on the list, as he started the season in Triple-A. But he was nearly unbeatable against LA, hitting a whopping .480 with a 1.216 OPS in seven games. 

Star power is incredibly important, but it takes 26, and usually, many more. 

Don’t rush growth 

Could the Blue Jays ever win with a core of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette? Should one or both be dealt? 

Those were the questions surrounding the Blue Jays entering this season. Now, those calls have been answered. 

Guerrero just put together one of the best postseasons of all time, collecting 29 hits and eight home runs, walking 14 times compared to seven punchouts. He flashed gold glove defense at first, too. 

Bichette, now an impending free agent, wasn’t healthy until the World Series, but delivered a hit in each of the seven games, including a three-run home run off Ohtani last night. “Healthy,” is being generous, too. 

These successes didn’t happen without failures. 

Guerrero’s previous playoff series were short stays, as he totaled as many hits as times being swept: three. Bichette went hitless in his first postseason series in 2020 but improved with each game that followed. 

Even Smith, last night’s hero for Los Angeles, hit just .183 in his first two years in the playoffs. Mookie Betts was swept out of his first AL Division Series while hitting .200. Freeman turned 30 before he reached a championship series. 

The Orioles’ young core didn’t hit the ground running in their first playoff appearances. But that’s far from a reason to panic.

The O’s may seem far away. Toronto did in 2024, too. But from the Blue Jays, and even the Dodgers, there are lessons to be learned that could help Baltimore get a few steps closer.