TORONTO — Early Sunday morning in the Blue Jays' clubhouse, the players who had been so close to winning the championship were trying to make sense of what had happened.
Still in full uniform, Ernie Clement cried as he said this. Nearby, Chris Bassitt spoke of the “true love” these players have for each other. When asked to describe the emotions of the day, Bo Bichette needed just one word: “sad.”
Others worried they hadn't done enough. Jeff Hoffman wondered aloud if he had cost his teammates a World Series ring. John Schneider thanked and apologized to Blue Jays fans. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa viewed hateful messages on his phone, including threats to break his legs.
“I just really love every guy here,” Clement said, crying as he spoke. “I cried for probably an hour. I thought I was done crying, but I love these guys so much. All I care about is hanging out with these guys for a couple more hours.”
It wasn't the ending the Blue Jays envisioned when they took a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. After losing to the Dodgers 5–4 in 11 innings, they came as close as they could to winning the World Series without winning one. Their 32-year World Series drought continues.
It's painful to come so close to the sport's ultimate goal and miss out – especially when there's no guarantee they'll get another opportunity as good as this any time soon. But beyond that, this group truly loved each other and brought out the best in each other.
It would be appropriate to seal these ties with a championship. It would be wrong if this all ended in defeat.
“I will remember this group forever,” Bichette said. “This group taught me what a team is. I think that's probably the most valuable lesson in my career, so they mean a lot to me.”
Along with Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and Ceranthony Dominguez, Bichette could become a free agent this winter. The 27-year-old infielder says he would like to re-sign in Toronto, and his teammates certainly have that impression, but there are no guarantees in free agency. Either way, the 2026 Blue Jays will be different from this group—and many weren't ready to say goodbye just yet.
“These people mean so much more to me than baseball,” Miles Straw said. “Obviously we wanted to do this for the country and for everyone, but sometimes baseball can be tough and this was a tough one, but if I could do it over again, I would take the same group of guys every year for the rest of my career.”
Nearby, Bassitt echoed the same sentiment: “This is the most special group we've been a part of on and off the field. I'll definitely cherish this group forever.”
By getting ready and showering, players offered support to those who may have been feeling the worst. Hoffman received a big hug from Bassitt and words of encouragement from Clement, who said, “I would go to war with Jeff Hoffman any day of the week.”
Devastated by how it all ended, Kiner-Falefa replayed his base run over and over again, wishing he could score from third on a ground ball to second baseman Miguel Rojas.
“They told us to stay close to the base,” Kiner-Falefa said. “They don't want us doubled with a hard line in this situation. (Dolton) Varsho hits the ball really, really hard. (Max Muncy) right there, I'm looking for a backup pick from Will Smith in this situation. I can't double right away, so it's almost like the bases loaded. They wanted a smaller lead and a smaller secondary, so that's what I did.”
After learning that Kiner-Falefa was receiving a barrage of hateful messages for his baserunning, Straw rushed to his defense.
“If you say that, look in the mirror and re-evaluate yourself,” Stroh said. “There's no place for that in sports. We're all human. We give 100 percent to the team, the Blue Jays, and no one should ever get that kind of thing. We're all trying. We want to win.”
Another player stopped to chat with Schneider, thanking the coach for trusting him when he struggled early in the season.
This entire scene confirmed what the players have been saying for months: This group truly loves and supports each other in a way few major league teams do. Looking back, I realize that this is probably one of the reasons they made it this far.
Because the 2025 Blue Jays had talent, there is no doubt about it. But they also surpassed their accomplishments, increasing their win total by 20 en route to the AL East title and playoff victories over the next two best teams in the American League, the Yankees and Mariners. Crushing finale or not, this season was a resounding success.
It's impossible to quantify, but the camaraderie that exists in that room probably contributed to some degree to the results on the field. That would certainly help explain why outsiders were often surprised by the Blue Jays' success, even though the players in the room expected it.
Whether this can be repeated is a question for another time. At this point, there is disappointment that this season ended the way it did and an understanding of what that meant.
“One amazing ride,” said one player. “It was a hell of a lot of fun.”
