This World Series Game 7 will be remembered for a very long time. It will be remembered in Los Angeles as the Dodgers overcame the odds and won the World Series. In Toronto, it will be remembered for how close the Blue Jays came to winning the World Championship, but ultimately fell short. But how close were the Blue Jays really to winning it all? Some fans think that it was all down to one player, who did not perform well in the running aspect.

After the heartbreak in Toronto, all the Toronto Blue Jays fans started to look for someone to blame, and it came down to Isiah Kiner-Falefa and his base running. One fan pointed and commented, “IKF’s small lead and a lack of a secondary was the difference for Toronto not winning a title.” After seeing this comment, former Red Sox legend Jeff Frye said, “Shut the hell up!!!” But is he right?

In the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7, the Toronto Blue Jays stood inches from glory. With the bases loaded and one out, Isiah Kiner-Falefa was on third as the potential winning run. Daulton Varsho’s grounder to Miguel Rojas offered the moment Toronto had waited 32 years for.

Rojas bobbled the ball but recovered, firing home to Will Smith, who caught it just before Kiner-Falefa’s foot crossed the plate.

The play immediately sparked debate across baseball about Kiner-Falefa’s short lead off third base. His primary lead was measured at 7.8 feet, ranking 357th of 381 in the World Series. His secondary lead was 8.9 feet, ranking 366th of 376, according to The Athletic.

Coaches had instructed runners to stay close to avoid being doubled off, a rule supported by former Blue Jay Whit Merrifield. The approach followed protocol, but it left Kiner-Falefa with no room to adjust when the ball was hit.

Even so, that play was not the only reason Toronto’s season ended in heartbreak. Miguel Rojas had tied the game with a home run in the top of the ninth, and Will Smith later homered in the eleventh.

The Blue Jays also stranded several runners in scoring position, missing chances to put the game away. Kiner-Falefa’s out symbolized a game of inches, but the loss reflected a series of missed opportunities.

In the end, Isiah Kiner-Falefa became the face of a loss built by inches. Toronto searched for a villain when the truth was scattered across nine tense innings. Baseball, as always, needed just one inch to turn heartbreak into history.

Blue Jays star takes blame for the World Series loss

There are bad days at work, and then there’s giving up that pitch on baseball’s biggest stage. The Toronto Blue Jays learned the hard way that the World Series doesn’t hand out sympathy rings.

One swing by the Los Angeles Dodgers flipped destiny, and by the time the champagne popped in L.A., Toronto’s clubhouse was drowning in silence, and one star was already taking all the blame.

Jeff Hoffman faced the harshest spotlight of his career after Game 7 of the World Series. Entering the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead, the Toronto Blue Jays were three outs from their first title since 1993. With one out, Hoffman hung a slider to Miguel Rojas, who crushed it for the tying home run. “Supposed to end differently. Was just one pitch,” Hoffman said, his words heavy with regret and accountability.

But Hoffman’s pitch wasn’t the only moment that unraveled Toronto’s title hopes. The Blue Jays had led the best-of-seven series 3-2 and stranded the bases loaded in Game 6.

Shane Bieber also faltered in the 11th, giving up Will Smith’s go-ahead home run. Ernie Clement, who set a postseason record with 30 hits, said he “cried for an hour” yet refused to blame anyone.

Veteran Max Scherzer called it “so tough because you’re so close to everybody,” a reminder that this loss ran deeper than the box score.

Baseball can be cruel, and Jeff Hoffman now knows its sharpest edge firsthand. The Toronto Blue Jays will replay that hanging slider long before next spring arrives. In the end, the Dodgers celebrated, the Jays mourned, and baseball quietly reminded everyone that heartbreak still keeps score.