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The 1988 Dodgers vs. the 2025 Blue Jays

Steve Virtue 

Vice President Corporate Affairs | Trusted Advisor | Communications & Government Relations Leader 

October 27, 2025

In 1988, the Dodgers had no business winning it all. They weren’t the most talented team. They didn’t have the biggest payroll. They were massive underdogs against the powerhouse Oakland A’s.

But the Dodgers had something money can’t buy: character.

The Dodgers had their stars mind you. Kirk Gibson could barely walk, yet delivered one of baseball’s most iconic moments. In his only at bat in the World Series, he hit the game winning home run off the AL MVP and future Hall of Famer, Dennis Eckersley.

Veteran pitcher Orel Hershiser pitched like a man possessed. But like the 2025 Blue Jays, this was a team of outcasts, castoffs and journeymen played with unshakeable belief in the power of the team. Guided by veteran manager, Tommy Lasorda, the leadership required to move this team, was unquestionably similar to the 2025 Blue Jays.

Meanwhile, the 2025 Blue Jays have assembled a roster loaded with talent and backed by serious money. On paper, they should dominate. But paper doesn’t play the game. Jays manager John Schneider is a true leader, inspiring and empowering his team with a phrase “everybody, everyday”. It takes teams to win, not just individuals.

The lesson?

Like those 1988 Oakland Athletics, the 2025 Dodgers are a behemoth of talent. Shohei Ohtani is perhaps the greatest baseball player in history. Their line up is full of MVP candidates and future hall of famers. They are a juggernaut of talent, and the defending World Series Champions. They have been a playoff team each of the past 10 years and won the World Series twice since 2020.

Raw talent gets you in the door. Big salaries fill seats. But championships are won by teams that refuse to quit, that believe in each other when no one else does, that show up every single day with something to prove.

Heart. Grit. Persistence. That’s what turns good teams into legendary ones.

The ’88 Dodgers weren’t supposed to win. They just didn’t know it.

Who will the 2025 Blue Jays choose to be?

#Baseball #Dodgers #BlueJays #Championship #TeamFirst #Heart #Character