It’s no exaggeration to say the Blue Jays crowd was brutal toward Shohei Ohtani in Toronto during Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. Fans relentlessly booed the $700 million superstar with chants of “We don’t need you!” at nearly every at-bat — all because he chose the Dodgers over Toronto in 2023 free agency. Turns out, Blue Jays fans have a long memory.

Now, the World Series shifts to Los Angeles. This makes you wonder if another controversial star will get the same treatment. Will the passionate fans at Dodger Stadium unleash their own long memory on a certain $150 million Blue Jay?

Even if the home crowd was planning to be polite, their manager just gave them a clear signal. Dave Roberts was asked how Dodgers fans should react to Blue Jays star George Springer. Dodger Blue tweeted his sly response. “That’s up to the fans. Heck of a player, having a great postseason. Dodger fans have a long memory, and that’s what makes them great.”

Let’s translate that from manager-speak, shall we? “That’s up to the fans” is his way of giving permission to be loud. And to be fair, Roberts’ comment, “Heck of a player,” is not an exaggeration.

The 36-year-old Springer is having a fantastic comeback season, hitting .309 with 32 home runs and 84 RBIs with his second-best career OPS of .959. And he is the main reason Toronto is in the World Series for the first time in 32 years.

In season-defining ALCS Game 7, when his team was trailing 3-1 against the Mariners, Springer hit a go-ahead three-run homer that punched their ticket to the Fall Classic.

But Dodgers fans will surely see more than that. They see the man who was the 2017 World Series MVP, who crushed a record-tying five home runs against them — a performance now forever linked to the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Roberts’ “long memory” comment was no random phrase; it was a nod to a wound that never truly healed.

The tension around George Springer in Los Angeles runs far deeper than this World Series alone. For many Dodgers fans, the grudge goes back to 2017, when Springer led the Astros to a championship later tainted by MLB’s confirmation of electronic sign-stealing. His breakout performance that year made him the face of that controversy, fairly or not.

So, when Roberts mentions that Dodger fans remember, he’s right. This isn’t just another matchup — it’s a collision of old emotions, lingering resentment, and baseball’s long memory finally circling back under the October lights.

But before fans get too fired up,

There is another side to this story

We know Baseball is not a gentle game, but Springer has been playing through serious pain this October. He is clearly not playing at one hundred percent since he took a 96-mph fastball from Bryan Woo directly to his knee in the ALCS Game 5 against the Mariners. Then, in Game 2 of this World Series, he was hit again. Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was almost in control most of the game, somehow drilled him on the forearm with a first-pitch fastball. Springer was visibly in pain but took his base and later scored his team’s only run.

So, the Dodgers fan, you have to decide if he is a battered star or a worthy villain? But it will be fascinating to see if the LA crowd shows any sympathy for that.

Besides that, this World Series has already been a wild ride for both teams. After LA took an early lead, Toronto stunned the Dodgers in Game 1 with an 11-4 blowout. They broke the game wide open with nine runs in the sixth inning alone. Their rally was capped by an unbelievable pinch-hit grand slam from Addison Barger, which was the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.

In Game 2, the Dodgers tied the series thanks to a legendary night from Yoshinobu Yamamoto and won the game 5-1. Now, the series moves to Los Angeles for Game 3 at Dodger Stadium, where Games 4 and 5 will also be scheduled, and then returns to Toronto for Games 6 and 7, if needed.

The Blue Jays are starting 41-year-old, two-time World Series winner Max Scherzer for Game 3. The Dodgers are countering with Tyler Glasnow, who was unhittable in this postseason run.

But the main question remains: How do you think the fans should greet Springer? Let us know in the comments.