The Dodgers Did It Again

Toronto’s dream dies in a Game 7 thriller

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🧾 ON DECK TODAY

1️⃣ 🔥 FIRST PITCH: Oh Canada — Toronto’s heartbreak and LA Repeat
2️⃣ 👍 THE GOOD: Will Klein goes from nobody to October legend.
3️⃣ 👎 THE BAD: The strike call so bad, even your beer booed.
4️⃣ 🙈 THE UGLY: Dodger fans cross a line with George Springer.
5️⃣ 🚠 ONE FOR THE ROAD: Frank McCourt’s free ride to nowhere.

🔥 FIRST PITCH — Oh Canada (…and Ouch)

Oh Canada.
So close. So damn close.

After 32 years, you were two outs away from your first title since Joe Carter touched ’em all — and then, in true baseball fashion, the dream vanished.

Congratulations to the Dodgers — a worthy, relentless champion. The first repeat World Series winner in 25 years.

Toronto threw everything it had at L.A., and somehow, the Dodgers survived every punch.

Sure, the billion-dollar rotation will headline the parade, and Yamamoto and Will Smith will soak in the champagne. But this title doesn’t happen without Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages — the unlikeliest heroes in a sport that doesn’t care about your script.

Ninth inning. One out. Toronto up one. Ohtani’s on deck. Everyone’s waiting for the superhero moment.

Then here comes light-hitting Miguel Rojas — the guy pitchers circle as the “easy out.” Boom. A freaking home run. Off Jeff Hoffman. As Ohtani just watched.

And as if that wasn’t cruel enough, Rojas twisted the knife again in the bottom of the ninth — fielding a rocket with the bases loaded and gunning home for the force.

Then there’s Andy Pages — benched for his bat, subbed in for defense, and suddenly making a game-saving catch that sent him crashing into Kiké Hernández. Toronto fans everywhere probably felt that collision in their ribs.

It was pure Charlie Brown-meets-the-football energy. Every time the Jays reached for the dream, someone yanked it away.

Oh Canada… this one’s gonna sting for a while.

But what a series. What a season.

Now, as the champagne dries and confetti gets swept away, the real storm brews off the field.

The CBA expires after 2026, and the whispers are loud — a 2027 lockout could be coming.

The billion-dollar bullies (Dodgers, Mets, Yankees) will be front and center, owners will scream for a salary cap, and players will answer with a very loud “hell no.”

We’ve seen this movie before. There will not be a salary cap in baseball. Period.

So small-market owners have a choice: compete or complain.
Stop cashing revenue-sharing checks and pleading poverty.

A $67 million payroll in Miami or $84 million in Pittsburgh is embarrassing. Before we start capping the Dodgers, how about setting a floor first?

Make it $150 million minimum. Can’t afford it? Time to sell. The average franchise is worth nearly $3 billion.

Stu Sternberg saw the writing on the wall, cashed out in Tampa Bay, and walked away a billion richer. Maybe others should follow.

As the Dodgers celebrate another champagne-soaked title, baseball now faces the real game — the one played in boardrooms and bargaining rooms.

Because if baseball’s taught us anything… when the lights go out on the field, the fireworks just move indoors.

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👍 THE GOOD — Will Klein

Who the hell is Will Klein?

That’s what most baseball fans were asking this week during that wild, 18-inning Game 3 marathon.

Talk about an unlikely World Series hero.

As the innings dragged on and both bullpens emptied, the Dodgers were down to their last arm. One pitcher left.
Will Klein.

The bearded right-hander had spent most of the season buried in the minors.
He’d never thrown more than two innings in a game.

In Game 3, he threw four scoreless innings — four innings of pure guts — keeping the Dodgers alive until Freddie Freeman finally walked it off with a homer.

Klein got the win.
And waiting to shake his hand afterward? Sandy Koufax.

From anonymous to unforgettable — not bad for a 24-hour legend.

🧨 THE BAD — Wow! That was Bad!

Umpiring this postseason — yeah, it’s starting to sound like a broken record — but this one was truly awful.

Game 3. Runner on first. Tyler Glasnow fires what everyone in the building knows is ball four to Daulton Varsho.
Varsho starts his casual trot to first… and then — plate umpire Mark Wegner calls a strike?!

A very late call. Total chaos.
Bo Bichette, the runner on first, is already moving on what should’ve been ball four.
But since it’s suddenly a strike, he’s hung out to dry — tagged out.

A gift out for the Dodgers if there ever was one.

And yes, this was that 18-inning marathon. Because of course it was.

🔴 THE UGLY — Springer’s Injury, Cheered

We all knew George Springer was going to hear it from Dodger fans this week.
But cheering an injury? That’s a new low.

In the seventh inning, Springer took a big swing and fouled it off.He immediately stepped out of the box, clutching his side and signaling for the trainers.

As he headed to the dugout, clearly in pain, the crowd cheered.

Fox Sports’ Joe Davis — who also calls games for the Dodgers — didn’t let it slide:

That shouldn’t be cheered. Ever. Under any circumstances. No matter the history.”

Ah yes, the history.
Springer was part of the 2017 Astros team that cheated their way through the World Series.
Dodger fans clearly haven’t forgiven or forgotten.

Some posted online:

“Karma for the cheater!”
“He’s a cheater. Probably a faker too.”

Sure it was all in fun. 😱
But not a great look for Dodger Blue.

Springer was back for Games 6 and 7, but that moment — and that reaction — stuck.

🚠 🚡 ONE FOR THE ROAD — Frank’s Free Ride

It’s the talk of L.A.: a gondola to Dodger Stadium.
A cable car to ferry fans from Downtown to Chavez Ravine — supposedly to ease the eternal traffic jam.

A gondola. What could be more fun?

And who’s behind it? Frank McCourt.
Yes — that Frank McCourt.

The same former Dodger owner who turned the franchise into a national punchline.
He and his then-wife treated the team like an ATM, drove it into bankruptcy, and somehow still walked away with $2 billion.

Now he wants to give fans a free lift to the ballpark. His little gift to L.A.

Forgive us if we’re not racing to climb aboard, Frank.

During McCourt’s reign, things got so ugly MLB had to step in and save the Dodgers.
Commissioner Bud Selig called the team’s finances “a matter of deep concern,” after learning McCourt was diverting assets for personal needs.
Translation: beach houses instead of bullpen help.

Fast-forward a decade — the Dodgers are a global powerhouse, the opposite of McCourt’s mess.
Back then they were a “small-market team” in Los Angeles, outspent by the Minnesotas of baseball.

And now this guy wants to fly us to the ballpark?

Come on, Los Angeles. You really want to get back on board with Frank McCourt?
The last time this city trusted him, it ended in bankruptcy court and late-night jokes.

Good luck with the gondola, Frank.
I’m sure it’ll be a huge success. 😏

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That’s a wrap!

Catch us on YouTube @Boxseats123

Until next pitch, keep it high and tight.

John Boxley - High N Tight

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