TORONTO – One of the highlights of Toronto skipper John Schneider’s first day at the World Series — aside from the 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers — was getting a chance to connect with former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston.

“He’s always been great to me,” Schneider said before Game 2 on Saturday. “He just said, ‘I love what you’re doing, I love the way your team plays and you should be very proud of what you’ve done.’

“And I said, ‘That means a lot coming from you.’”

Gaston, who threw the ceremonial first pitch to Schneider before Game 1, guided the Blue Jays to World Series titles in 1992 and ’93.

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After throwing the pitch, the 81-year-old Gaston asked Schneider to autograph the ball for him since he planned to put it on his mantle.

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“I did and I made him a promise that I need to get one from him,” Schneider said with a smile.

DOGGED APPROACH

Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman said his team is well aware the defending-champion Dodgers entered the World Series as heavy favourites.

Los Angeles dropped only one playoff game entering the Fall Classic and boasts a lineup that includes sluggers Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and others.

At the start of the series, the Dodgers were listed as a -220 favourite on BetMGM to win the series while the Blue Jays were at +180.

“We know we’re severe underdogs but that doesn’t matter to us,” Heineman said. “We were severe underdogs at the beginning of this season. We weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs, yet alone the World Series.

“To the group inside (the clubhouse), that doesn’t hold any weight to us. We know what a special group we have.”

Before Game 2, the sportsbook had L.A. down to a -120 favourite to win the series while the Jays were at +100.

BACK TO BACK

The Dodgers are aiming to become the first team to win consecutive World Series crowns since the New York Yankees won three titles between 1998 and 2000.

Major League Baseball’s current 24-year streak without a repeat champion is the longest of its kind in the history of the so-called Big Four sports (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL).

The Dodgers are the first defending champions to return to the Fall Classic since the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2025.

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press

TORONTO – More than three decades after hitting the biggest home run in Blue Jays history, Joe Carter is still feeling the love from Toronto.

Carter threw out the opening pitch to all-star shortstop Bo Bichette ahead of Game 2 of the World Series as the Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Carter received a rousing ovation from the packed Rogers Centre, especially after donning Toronto’s home run jacket and jogging through the home dugout.

“I’ve had the emotions for 32 years. I come back here so often,” said Carter, who famously hit a three-run homer to win the 1993 World Series. “I get that wherever I go here in Toronto, which is great. They just appreciate what I did.

“I didn’t do it myself. I just happened to come up in that situation because I was the next guy in line.”

Carter played for the 1992 and 1993 Blue Jays when they won back-to-back World Series. The five-time all-star finished his career with a .259 batting average, 396 home runs, and 1,445 runs batted in over 16 years in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto, the Baltimore Orioles, and the San Francisco Giants.

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He knows, however, that it’s his climactic home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series that he’s best remembered for.

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“It’s going to be a ruckus crowd. It’s going to be loud,” said Carter in a pre-game news conference about an hour before throwing the opening pitch. “I wish I could go back and be (acrobatic St. Louis Cardinals shortstop) Ozzie Smith right now because I said I would kind of run out there and do a backflip with the round-off, you know, a tuck.

“But at 65, no, it’s going to be a walk out there. But it’s going to be fun.”

Carter was also at Rogers Centre for Toronto’s 11-4 victory over Los Angeles in Game 1 on Friday. After the game Carter joined Blue Jays manager John Schneider and his staff in the coaches’ room of Toronto’s clubhouse.

Schneider said it was a treat picking Carter’s brain and that of former Toronto manager Cito Gaston, who threw out the opening pitch before Game 1.

“For one, you forget how big these guys are, like, they’re physical presences,” said Schneider. “I think that swing, obviously the most recognized swing in our franchise.

“So to have him be a part of it is just as cool as having Cito here yesterday and getting to share a few minutes with him and exchange some thoughts.”

Carter said there were quite a few similarities between Toronto’s championship teams of the early 1990s and this year’s club.

“One thing that we had in ’92 and ’93 it was the cohesiveness of the team playing together. Even though we had great players, everybody pulled for one another,” said Carter. “We had the great chemistry in the clubhouse, on the field, and every day it was somebody different. It wasn’t just one guy you could focus on.

“What this 2025 Blue Jays team has is you’ve got from one through nine, everybody coming through.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2025.

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press