Honestly, the 2025 World Series felt like one for the ages. With the Blue Jays and Dodgers squaring off and no clear favorite going in, it really played out like a true clash of titans. Game 3 dragged all the way into the 18th inning with both teams completely emptying their bullpens. It was exhausting, chaotic, and incredibly fun to watch.

No matter which side you were rooting for, the series was equal parts thrilling and entertaining. And just when we thought it couldn’t get more intense, Game 7 went into extra innings, enough to test the nerves of even the calmest fans. Dodgers president Andrew Friedman felt that pressure firsthand, as he not only endured the stress of a seven-game nail-biter but also made a costly judgment call in the middle of the series.

“I may or may not have spiked a bar stool in that game three. And it’s because of the range of emotions. Will Smith hits a ball to center, and my mind is definitely a Homer and Varsho goes back and catches it. And so I’m like the excitement of Homer to the catch next inning, and I might have accidentally let the bar still slip,” Friedman opens up in a Dodgers Territory podcast.

The 2025 World Series also topped our stressmeter to its maximum! And that sliding catch by Daulton Varsho in Game 3? Nobody saw that coming.

In the bottom of the sixth, Varsho straight-up stole a hit from Will Smith with a smooth sliding grab on a ball that was absolutely crushed. Off the bat, it looked like a no-doubt homer. And if that ball leaves the yard, the game probably wraps up by the ninth.

But instead, both teams just locked in defensively and refused to give up. Both teams were locked in, allowing no runs and making no mistakes as the game just kept going. It finally ended when Freddie Freeman launched the walk-off homer for the Dodgers, putting everyone out of their misery.

Given the chaos on the field, Friedman’s emotional reaction from his viewing area is hardly surprising. When you’re dealing with 18 innings of chaos and the dugout is scrambling just trying to manage arms and bodies, it’s hard to pin everything on one guy.

The game’s insanity is best captured by the numbers: a grueling six hours and 39 minutes fueled by 609 total pitches from 19 different arms, making it the second-longest postseason game ever. The offensive futility was just as historic, with a record 37 runners left stranded.

Still, in the end, the Dodgers came out on top, but the emotional toll of a game like that made Friedman’s judgment slip feel almost inevitable.

Shohei Ohtani was the difference-maker between the Dodgers and the Jays

Even with the Dodgers emerging victorious, it’s hard to say the Blue Jays were any less of a team. Those two went toe-to-toe the entire series, trading punches all the way through, and the margins were razor-thin. But if there was one clear difference-maker, it was Shohei Ohtani.

In that marathon Game 3, Ohtani reached base an incredible nine times and crushed two home runs, rewriting chunks of the postseason record book in the process. And over the whole World Series, he was a force, hitting .333 with three homers and five RBIs when it mattered most.

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Even his pitching played a role. His 7.56 ERA was unimpressive, but he consistently took the mound in high-leverage moments. Taking the mound in clutch moments gave the Dodgers the flexibility and safety net the Blue Jays simply didn’t have. That two-way option changed how the series could be managed.

Take Ohtani out of the equation, and who knows how this thing ends? The outcome might look very different, and that hypothetical is likely one Friedman has replayed in his head.