Between Dodgers' DH/pitcher Shohei Ohtani and Blue Jays' first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., baseballs might be flying out of ballparks during World Series.
With first pitch in Game 1 of the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays just hours away, fans are going to be watching a couple of sluggers real closely.
The Dodgers have designated hitter-pitcher Shohei Ohtani on their roster; the Blue Jays counter with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Because they are going to be in the spotlight starting Friday night, let's take a look at their statistics this season.
For Ohtani, he put together an incredible regular season. He finished with 55 home runs, hit .282 and collected 102 RBIs. He had an OPS of 1.014 and a slugging percentage of .622.
What about the postseason? Dodgers fans have long memories and his Game 4 performance in the National League Championship Series already is in the history books. Six innings of two-hit ball while striking out 10 Brewers. At the plate? Nothing to sneeze about with three home runs, including one that totally left Dodger Stadium.
Guerrero Jr., in the regular season, hit 23 home runs with a .292 batting average. He had an OPS of .848 and a .467 slugging percentage. He's coming off a monster American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners. Guerrero Jr. had a four-hit game in a 13-4 Blue Jays victory over the Mariners.
In his last five games, Guerrero Jr. has 10 hits which includes three home runs. He was 10-for-26 at the plate against Seattle. Now, in the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, he was 9-for-17 with three homers.
Here's the question, though. Who will step out and make a big difference for their teams? Guerrero Jr. gets a little edge early on as Games 1 and 2 will be played at Rogers Centre, home field for the Blue Jays in Toronto. Guerrero Jr. knows how the stadium handles fly balls and drives in the alleys.
Ohtani will have a little time to learn the ballpark's nuances while taking some batting practice ahead of Game 1.
But Ohtani has proven quite adept at adapting to different stadiums' quirks throughout this season. He might just slam a homer or two in these first two World Series games.
Blue Jays fans will also be watching to see what ALCS Game 7 hero George Springer does against a pretty solid Dodgers pitching rotation. Likewise, Dodgers fans know that Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández have a knack for the long ball, too.
When the Dodgers and Blue Jays kick off the 2025 World Series at 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday night, the baseball world will be tuned in to see these two teams with great sluggers go at it.