Dodgers News: Brokenhearted Jays fans keep it all in the family…

LOS ANGELES — Two cities. One got a parade. The other got a couple of very valuable souvenirs. Two swings won the World Series for the Dodgers. And somehow, two heartbroken Blue Jays fans ended up holding both baseballs.

And get this, the two dudes are related.

When Miguel Rojas turned on a pitch in the top of the ninth at Rogers Centre on Saturday night and sent it screaming to left, every Dodger fan watching knew what it meant. Toronto had been two outs away from its first title since 1993. Then Rojas tied it 4–4 and kept the back-to-back dream alive. On TV you could see a man on the front rail in left make a clean, two-handed catch…and then freeze. That was 61-year-old John Bains, a lifelong Jays fan who had to live through the loudest road moment of the Dodgers’ season from about 10 feet away.

Here’s the twist: Bains didn’t actually throw the Rojas ball back, even though cameras showed him tossing a ball onto the field. He later told reporter Darren Rovell that he’d come to Game 7 prepared. “I had a feeling I might have to pull the switch,” Bains said. “It wasn’t even a World Series ball.” That’s veteran ball hawk behavior right there, the old switcheroo. He kept the real, game-tying homer from the Dodgers’ second baseman tucked away. And keep your eyes open for it on eBay.

And then the baseball gods said, “Let’s make it weirder.”

Two innings later, in the 11th, Will Smith did what Dodger fans will talk about for years. He caught every inning of a bruising series, then stepped in and powered a solo shot that landed in the Blue Jays’ bullpen area. The ball bounced, the moment swung to Los Angeles for good, and it ended up…with Bains’ son, Matthew. Same section. Same family. Same Canadian stomach punch. And the same night the Dodgers became the first repeat champs in 25 years.

What are the odds of that happening? Kind of like the odds of a double to centerfield getting lodged under the padding on the fence, I would imagine.

So from the Dodgers’ side of things, here’s what happened: in the biggest game of the year, two of the most unlikely heroes in blue — Rojas in the ninth, Smith in the 11th — delivered the swings that finished off Toronto. And the only people who got to take those baseballs home were two guys in Jays gear who had the misfortune (or good fortune) of sitting where the Dodgers like to hit the ball when history is on the line. That’s pretty on-brand for this run. This club went into Canada down 3–2 in the series and walked out with a 5–4, 11-inning win, a dynasty conversation, and a pair of souvenirs now sitting somewhere in Ontario.

Bains even admitted later that he and his son know what they’re holding. According to multiple reports, he floated the idea of valuing the Rojas ball at $1 million and the Smith ball at $1.5 million, because in his words, “They were both game-changing baseballs.” Hard to argue from a Dodger vantage point. Without the ninth-inning blast, Toronto dogpiles on the infield. Without the 11th-inning blast, the Jays can walk it off in the bottom half. With both, the Dodgers dogpiled instead.

What makes it all so funny from L.A.’s perspective is the contrast. Inside the clubhouse, that Rojas homer is going to live forever as the swing from the veteran utility man who yanked the door back open. Smith’s blast will be the one that finished the job and put more shine on a group that already had 2024 in its pocket. In the stands, it was the quietest two catches you’ll ever see, made by people who had spent the whole night hoping those exact baseballs never got hit. Baseball can be cruel like that. This time, it was cruel to Toronto and perfect for the Dodgers. Well, hope you guys had them balls authenticated so at least you can salve your pain with some cash, eh?

So, yes, Dodger fans, the two balls that swung Game 7 now live in Blue Jays country. For now. That’s fine. The trophy lives in Los Angeles again.

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