As the Dodgers celebrated their championship, I asked myself: what time is it in Japan? I determined that it was high noon in Tokyo, where millions were watching the amazing Yoshinobu Yamamoto throw a wicked breaking pitch that turned into an easy game-ending double play.

Game 7 put baseball on top again. It was a great game, a game of inches, as we’ve heard over the years, from that out at home to Andy Pages running a mile from center field to make a spectacular catch. It must have reminded some Dodger old timers of Sandy Amoros catching that fly ball hit by Yogi Berra that clinched the 1955 World Series for Brooklyn. (Sandy was a Cuban player, and I recall my father telling me about that game shown on Cuban TV)

This is from Sarah Langston:

The 2,477th game of the 2025 season, including playoffs -- five more than any other year in history -- delivered a classic.

We got 11 innings of winner-take-all World Series baseball, the third such Fall Classic game to go at least 11, joining 1997 and 1924 (12 innings).

There were 146 innings pitched, the second-most in a World Series, behind 1912, when there were 147 2/3 innings pitched in an eight-game series (due to a tie).

In the end, the Dodgers prevailed, 5-4. 

Games 6 and 7 demonstrated once again that you can’t run out the clock. You have to get the last out, and that’s what I love about the game. Once again, we saw second-tier players stand up and make a difference. Miguel Rojas is the latest on that list that include a Pirate catcher named Hal Smith in the 1960 World Series.

Congratulations to both sides, and most of all the game of baseball. It has changed over the years with the designated hitter and starting pitchers only going six innings. Yes, I do miss Bob Gibson (three times in game 7) or Jack Morris going the distance in that 1991 classic against the Braves. And there is much strategy in today's game, too many stats that a devout baseball fan like me still finds a bit hard to understand. Something called WAR for example?

It was a great night because you can't run out the clock or determine a championship by penalty kicks. So the good things have not changed in baseball and I hope that they never do. I cannot say it enough: Congratulations to both teams and the old game of baseball.

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Image Pixabay