How important was the Blue Jays' Game 1 World Series win over the LA Dodgers?

The Toronto Blue Jays 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers wasn't just a win, it felt more like a statement. For most of the past week, the Blue Jays players, coaches and fans had to endure the majority of the media market make claims that the Blue Jays were basically going to get steamrolled by the Dodgers.

But through the first nine innings of the 2025 World Series it was the Blue Jays who were steaming and rolling their way to a Game 1 win and a 1-0 series lead. And as history shows, winning Game 1 of the World Series is incredibly important for teams who go on to win it all.

How important was the Blue Jays' Game 1 World Series win over the LA Dodgers?

Since 1995, 24 out of the 30 teams who have won Game 1 of the World Series have gone on to win the whole thing. That's 80% of the field crossing the finish line in the pole position.

1995 is a good year to start with for measuring this success as that was the first season in which MLB added the Division Series to it's playoff format. In the last ten years, there has only been three instances in which the team that opened the series with a win didn't go on to win the World Series.

Those teams were the 2016 Guardians, who won Game 1, 6-0 over the Cubs but lost in seven games; the 2017 Dodgers, who won Game 1, 3-1 over the Astros but lost in seven game; and the 2022 Phillies who won Game 1, 6-5 over the Astros but lost in six games.

Even in Toronto's own playoff history, winning Game 1 doesn't guarantee a World Series celebration. In 1992 the Braves won Game 1, 3-1 over the Blue Jays but Toronto rallied back with three straight wins before clinching the series in Game 6.

So while winning Game 1 isn't a linear path to getting to pop the champagne bottle at the end of the series, this Game 1 win for the Blue Jays was a tone setter and maybe a wakeup call for the Dodgers, who were heralded as the clear series favourites. But as Ernie Clement and Nathan Lukes of the Blue Jays said when asked about the 'David vs. Goliath matchup,' "David won didn't he?"