The Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers are set to face off in the 2025 MLB World Series. Both teams were among the best in the league during the regular season, though the Dodgers were a Wild Card team due to missing the bye.
But these two teams have some interesting history in recent years, as Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was linked to both the Dodgers and Blue Jays in free agency two years ago. He wound up signing with the Dodgers, sparking a rivalry between the Blue Jays and Ohtani.
Ahead of the World Series, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez shared a quote from Blue Jays manager John Schneider. Toronto’s manager jokingly asked Ohtani to return the merchandise that they gave him for Decoy, Ohtani’s dog, which they gave when trying to court Ohtani to sign with Toronto.
John Schneider jokes with Shohei Ohtani, asks for Decoy’s Blue Jays merch back
“I hope he brought the hat, the Blue Jays hat he took from our meeting.” Schneider said with a smile, according to Gonzalez, “And the jacket for Decoy. Give us our stuff back.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider, with a smile, on the failed courtship of Shohei Ohtani:
“I hope he brought the hat, the Blue Jays hat he took from our meeting. And the jacket for Decoy. Give us our stuff back.”
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 23, 2025
While the Blue Jays, like any team that went after Ohtani, wish he had signed with their team, Schneider isn’t actually demanding Ohtani return the merchandise they gave him for Decoy.
It’s a playful response to being asked about the Blue Jays’ inability to sign Ohtani. Instead of making a milquetoast comment on missing Ohtani, Schneider decided to joke with Ohtani, asking for the merchandise they gave to Ohtani and Decoy during the courting process.
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Ohtani wound up signing a massive $700 million deal with the Dodgers over the next 10 seasons. While the Blue Jays wanted Ohtani, by not signing him, they were able to more easily lock up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and keep some assets open for other players.
The Blue Jays and Ohtani will face off in the World Series, the second time they’ve played this season. Earlier in the year, Ohtani and the Dodgers won the series in Los Angeles 2-1, winning 5-1 and 9-1 in August.
Now, the Blue Jays and Dodgers will play for the 2025 World Series Championship, with the series beginning on October 24th in Toronto, as Blake Snell and Trey Yesavage take the mound to begin a tough World Series showdown.
