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Before Toronto Blue Jays fans started dreaming of winning a World Series, they dreamed of seeing Shohei Ohtani sign with them in free agency.
The two-way megastar met with the Blue Jays on December 4, 2023, at their spring training complex in Dunedin, Florida, before ultimately signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first game of the Fall Classic will be Friday at 8 p.m. ET at the Rogers Center and will be broadcast exclusively on FOX, and Ohtani will be the first batter the Blue Jays face.
The Blue Jays gave Ohtani a hat and a jacket for Decoy, Ohtani’s dog. Both of those gifts, Blue Jays manager John Schneider joked, he’d like to have back.
“I hope he brought his hat, the Blue Jay hat that he took from us at our meeting. I hope he finally brought it back,” Schneider said Thursday.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays will face off in the 2025 World Series. (FOX)
“And the jacket for Decoy,” he added. “It’s like you’re already giving us our stuff back.”
Ohtani smiled when he heard Schneider’s remarks and simply said through a translator, “He’s in my garage.”
Last season was Ohtani’s first with the Dodgers, and he was sensational. He won the NL MVP, hitting .310 with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs and 59 stolen bases, while also helping the Dodgers win a World Series title.
This season, he returned to the mound and continued his dominant play. Pitching in a limited role in his return from elbow surgery, he hit .282 with 55 home runs, 102 RBIs and 20 steals while going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 62 in 47 innings.
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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani celebrates his victory against the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on October 17, 2025. (Brynn Anderson/AP Photo)
His strong regular season puts him in contention to win the fourth MVP award of his career.
Ohtani’s latest feat was one of the most legendary performances in MLB postseason history, as he hit three home runs while pitching six shutout innings and striking out 10 against the Milwaukee Brewers as the Dodgers completed a four-game sweep of the NL Championship Series.
“He’s a great player,” Schneider said. “But that aside, I think we have a great team and an incredible cast of characters and players. I think things worked out the way they were supposed to.”
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way infielder Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with third baseman and outfield coach Dino Ebel (91) as he runs home to score after hitting a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning of Game 4 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
The Blue Jays manager said he wasn’t sure how close the team was to signing the Japanese superstar.
“When we met him, you felt good and the feedback he was giving about our organization and the opportunities here,” Schneider said. “But you never really know how a player feels in free agency, and there’s a lot of things that have to line up for him personally as well, so you can’t really think about what if. You think about the 26 (players) we have.”
Nearly two years after Ohtani’s decision in free agency to choose the Dodgers over the Blue Jays, both teams are in the World Series.
