Former All-Star and now baseball analyst Alex Rodriguez isn’t known for cautious commentary.
But his recent evaluation of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays has sparked a ripple of debate across the league.
“The Dodgers have the best athlete in the world in Shohei Ohtani,” Rodriguez said. “And the Blue Jays have the best hitter in Vladimir Guerrero Jr.”
He added bluntly, “This is not David vs Goliath. This is truly Goliath vs Goliath.”
The statement carries extra weight given the narratives swirling around both clubs. The Dodgers return as defending champions, having captured the 2024 title, and they’ve operated at an elite level for years.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have resurged dramatically, clinching the American League pennant after trailing 2-0 and 3-2 in their ALCS battle.
Their Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners underscored both their grit and sudden ascension.
That bold evaluation casts the upcoming World Series as more than just a championship; in Rodriguez‘s eyes, it’s a clash of two generational, perhaps even historic, talents.
Redefining what it means to dominate
To lean into Rodriguez‘s framing: Ohtani is being hailed not just as a star, but as an athletic specimen.
His combination of pitching, hitting, and stolen bases has few equals in modern memory.
For Guerrero Jr., the focus is narrower but no less significant: his bat is what Rodriguez calls “the best hitter” in today’s game.
For readers less familiar with the backstory: Ohtani has long blurred the lines between pitcher and hitter, achieving feats like a 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base season.
Guerrero Jr., meanwhile, stands out with a unique heritage (born in Montreal, raised in the Dominican Republic) and a powerful swing that has turned him into one of the premier bats in the sport.
Rodriguez‘s commentary arrives at a time when both Toronto and Los Angeles are positioned to vie for the sport’s biggest prize.
By highlighting one player from each club in such defining terms, he is essentially separating them from their peers and elevating the narrative beyond team vs team.
Two heavyweights stepping into the spotlight
Consider the Dodgers‘ trajectory: that organization is accustomed to high stakes. In 2024, they not only reached but won the Fall Classic.
According to MLB records, the 2025 appearance marks their 23rd in franchise history.
Their rotation remains formidable, anchored by names such as Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Ohtani himself, the latter widely regarded as one of baseball’s most transformative athletes.
On the flip side, the Blue Jays‘ path to October featured dramatic swings. They posted an AL-best regular-season win total (94) and advanced to the Series following the division-round sweep of the New York Yankees and a gritty ALCS comeback versus the Mariners.
Game 1 kicks off at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on Friday via FOX and the FOX Sports app, with the Dodgers holding something of a favorite tag. But if the past weeks have taught us anything, it’s that labels don’t matter when two teams of this caliber meet.
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