Jeff Hoffman's Achilles heel returns at worst possible time for Blue Jays

It was a script that Toronto Blue Jays fans had seen too many times before throughout the 2025 regular season. Closer Jeff Hoffman trying to lock down a game that felt necessary to win but couldn't get the job done. Hoffman had a good season for the Blue Jays but he also had had one real weakness.

In the biggest moment of the year, in a spot that was 32 years in the making, the weakness reared it's ugly head one more time, just for laughs, and ultimate cost the Blue Jays a World Series title.

Jeff Hoffman's Achilles heel rears it's ugly head at worst possible time

In 2025, Hoffman had a tendency to give up home runs far too frequently for a guy that was supposed to be the shutdown arm in the bullpen. In fact the 15 home runs he allowed during the regular season were the most given up by a reliever in 2025. However, once the playoffs began, Hoffman was lights out and had seemingly corrected that unfavorable trend.

In nine games out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays, Hoffman was brilliant. He threw 11 innings, giving up just five hits and allowed just one earned run, while walking four and striking out 16. His ERA was a miniscule 0.82 and his WHIP sat at 0.818. It was a continuation of his brilliant work down the stretch for the Blue Jays.

Over his final 12 games of the season, from Aug. 31 onwards, Hoffman allowed just seven hits in 11.2 innings pitched, while striking out nine hitters and allowing just one home run while picking up four saves along the way. It was a stretch that gave the Blue Jays and their fans a ton of confidence in their closer to get big outs once the postseason began.

And that's exactly what Hoffman did through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and the first the first six games of the World Series. Hoffman was called upon to pitch in Games 2, 3 and 5 and he only allowed two hits, while striking out four batters and not allowing any runs to score in 3.2 innings of work.

In Game 7, it was a different outcome. Hoffman was asked to get the final four outs of the game. The biggest four outs in Blue Jays history in over three decades. Entering in the top of the eighth, Hoffman got Tommy Edman to ground out to second base on four pitches to end the inning.

The Blue Jays then carried a one-run lead into the ninth. Hoffman struck out Enrique Hernandez on four pitches for the first out of the inning. He then had a 3-2 count on the Dodgers No. 9 hitter Miguel Rojas. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Hoffman left an 86.3 mph slider right into Rojas' wheelhouse and the Venezuelan born backup infielder sent the ball over the left field wall to tie the game.

Hoffman got out of the ninth without further damage and the Blue Jays had an opportunity to walk off the game - but it wasn't meant to be. The baseball gods played a cruel game of giveth and taketh away from Hoffman. He had been so reliable over the last eight weeks and it seemed like those home run issues were a thing of the past. But it was an issue that popped up again at the worst possible time for the Blue Jays.