The sadness of the way the 2025 World Series ended is now in the rearview mirror for the Toronto Blue Jays. Spring training is underway and the focus is on 2026.
However, there are some moments from that Game 7 that no Blue Jays fan will ever forget. The humiliating consequences of some dramas unfortunately remain imprinted in the minds of many people. The play at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning in which Isiah Kiner-Falefa – the potential winning run – was out by mere inches was prominent among them.
Now safely away from Jays media and fans — but still within the division — IKF spoke from the Boston Red Sox camp, speaking candidly for the first time about that controversial game.
Did IKF not take a big enough lead from third base?
Situation: Game tied, bases loaded, one out. The World Series is at stake. Ground ball to Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas. The throw comes home, and Kiner-Falefa is cleared by inches.
The general consensus is that if IKF had taken a bigger lead at third, it would have beaten the throw home. The Jays, and the entire country of Canada, will be celebrating a World Series championship today. Many people also felt that the slide was not even necessary. The idea was that if he just kept running to step on home plate, he would make it safely.
But how does Kiner-Falefa see it?
Speaking to the media about the game for the first time since that fateful day, IKF essentially blamed the Jays’ coaching:
If I could pull it off, I would definitely get a few steps out. But you have to do what the organization wants and that’s the way it is, with runners in that position, they’re always going to keep the runner.
Kiner-Falefa gets a lot of ‘online hate’ after unsuccessful game at the plate
As he explained to Jen McCaffrey in The Athletic, IKF said he “got a lot of hate online in the days that followed”, and that he regretted not getting a chance to explain himself after the game.
“If it was going to be such a big deal, it would have been nice to have the cameras in front of me and have a chance to speak. But it flew by without me having a proper interview, so I thought that was unfair.”
As for the whole sliding instead of running through home plate thing, he said that, with one out, he was just trying to break up a potential double-play.
“I was just thinking early on, break up that double play right there and get your best, hottest hitter at the time. It almost paid off. Ernie (Clement) almost got the job done on the next one. Of course, that also ended in heartbreak, when Andy Paige stole the almost certain game-winning extra-base hit from Clement with a crazy catch, running over his own left fielder.
It’s all water under the bridge for Kinnar-Falefa now. But after signing with the Red Sox back in the AL East, he and Jays fans will get plenty of opportunities to reinvent himself this season. And it all starts on April 27, when Boston visits Rogers Center for a three-game set.
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