Article: Daulton Varsho and the Battle for 90 More Feet

[Mac]

The already-memorable 2025 Toronto Blue Jays further cemented their legacy with a victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the ALCS. George Springer, Jeff Hoffman, and others continued to create playoff moments we will always remember for the now-American League champions, but there were smaller plays in the series' final two games that speak to how this team plays and why they are four wins away from baseball’s ultimate prize.

One of the guys who embodies the spirit of this team is Daulton Varsho. Despite being limited to 71 games this year, any lingering negativity from fans over the trade that brought him to Toronto has finally been put in the rearview mirror. Like many of his teammates, Varsho seemingly has only one speed on the diamond, and even though he had a relatively quiet series, his energy was all over the final two games against Seattle.

After Springer’s seventh-inning heroics put Toronto ahead 4-3 in Game 7, the Blue Jays had an opportunity to widen their lead in the eighth. Varsho led off and hit a first-pitch slider off the newly finally-inserted Andrés Muñoz for a base hit. Ernie Clement followed with a seeing-eye single, and as Varsho takes second base, he glances back and notices Victor Robles picking up the ball as urgently as a nickel that fell out of his pocket.

One look at Robles' positioning was all Varsho needed to make his decision to take third base. It was a perfect read that gave Toronto a runner at third with no outs, something that felt crucial at that point in the game, although a bad luck double play off the bat of Addison Barger prevented Varsho from being cashed. Hoffman didn’t need the insurance run anyway, but Varsho’s baserunning almost became a difference maker, much like it was in the previous night’s Game 6.

A good baserunner busts down the line to put himself in a position to advance should the unexpected happen, which is exactly what Varsho did when he singled to start the second inning. Varsho kept his eye on Julio Rodríguez, as the Mariners center fielder moved to his left to field the sharp line drive off the Rogers Centre turf. As Rodríguez played the high-bouncing ball, Varsho already had momentum towards second base and could quickly read and react to the play, which is what he did as soon as the ball clanked off the glove of Rodríguez. 

Varsho didn't have to wait to see how far the ball deflected; the botched fielding was all he needed to decide to continue another 90 feet, and with ease. Standing at second, he provided somewhat of a distraction to Eugenio Suárez, who booted an otherwise ordinary groundball off the bat of Clement in the next at-bat. Varsho and Clement came around to score the first two runs of the ballgame that inning, giving the Blue Jays an early lead in the must-win.

When the game rolled into the top half of the third, it was Varsho’s celebrated defence that helped keep the Mariners in check, albeit in a way that won't add to his highlight reel. Shane Bieber walked J.P. Crawford to lead off the third, and with one away, Leo Rivas hit a ball deep towards Barger in right field. Crawford had to hold up to ensure the ball wasn't caught, but any thought he might have had of moving up to third when the ball went off the wall was rendered moot by Varsho.

You might be saying to yourself, Mac, this is the ALCS, wasn’t everyone doing this? Not really!

Neither ball-off-the-wall play had a direct impact on the result; Seattle stranded the bases loaded in the third, and Clement would have scored from anywhere when Barger followed with a home run.

Instead, these plays highlight how the Blue Jays play and why they’ve come this far in the postseason. Barger nailed Josh Naylor at third base with a laser throw from right field in a big moment in Game 4, and Toronto's crisp play in the ALDS served in contrast to that of the defeated Yankees. As any team does, the Blue Jays need their best hitting and pitching performances to win the World Series, but the one thing every player can continue to control is the intensity with which they run and defend the basepaths.

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