Springer's dinger leads the Toronto Blue Jays to their first AL pennant in 32 years

The Toronto Blue Jays are heading to the World Series. After winning the AL East division and finishing the regular season with the best record in the American League, the Blue Jays took care of the New York Yankees in the ALDS in four games before their showdown with the Seattle Mariners in the ALCS.

The ALCS went the distance and ended in a classic Game 7 winner-take-all finale with the Blue Jays prevailing 4-3 over the Mariners thanks to, what else, a late come from behind rally by the comeback kings.

Blue Jays are heading to the World Series for the first time since 1993

Through the first six innings, the Blue Jays offense looked anemic. It looked like all the magic from a long summer of countless magical moments was about to expire. Down 3-1 going into the seventh inning, Toronto needed the bottom of the order to ignite a spark - and that's exactly what they did.

Addison Barger led off the inning with a walk, followed by Isiah Kiner-Falefa hitting a ground ball up the middle to get runners on first and second with nobody out. No. 9 hitter Andrés Giménez then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the runners over.

That brought George Springer up to the plate. Springer was 0-for-2 with a walk going into that at-bat, but had struck out on three pitches with runners on base in his previous plate appearance. The Mariners had been busting Springer inside for the majority of the night, pummeling him with high inside fastballs and reliver Eduard Bazardo didn't deter from that strategy throwing the first one inside for ball one.

But on the next pitch Bazardo missed his spot and Springer made him pay, smoking 96 mph sinker 381 feet, and depositing it over the wall in left for a three-run home run to put Toronto ahead 4-3. Springer leapt his way around the bases, feeling the joy and elation from over 44,000 strong inside Rogers Centre.

It's a home run that will go down in Blue Jays history as one of the biggest ever hit by a player in a Toronto uniform. It gave the Blue Jays a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh in the seventh game of the ALCS.

It was a one-run lead that was protected by Chris Bassitt, who worked a perfect eighth inning, and then Jeff Hoffman shut the door to earn the biggest save of his life. Hoffman got six outs just one night earlier on 30+ pitches, and needed 17 more in Game 7 to finish the job by striking out the side and sending the Blue Jays to the World Series for the first time since 1993.

It's been a wild roller coaster ride of a season and it's not over yet. The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays are champions of the American League and will now get to play in the World Series.