The stat that points to a Blue Jays World Series win

The Toronto Blue Jays head into the World Series cast as underdogs against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are aiming to repeat as Major League Baseball champions when the two teams clash on the diamond.

Although the Blue Jays finished the regular season with a better record and earned home-field advantage for Game 1, it’s the Dodgers who enter the Fall Classic as the betting favorites. But history offers a compelling counterpoint.

Since the current playoff format was introduced in 1985, this marks only the fifth time that the World Series will feature one team that swept its League Championship Series and another that went the full seven games. In the previous four instances, the team that endured the seven-game battle went on to win the World Series.

From Game 7 to seventh heaven

The Dodgers punched their ticket to the World Series with a dominant 4-0 sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, while the Blue Jays had to grind out a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners. And if history is any guide, the numbers may be tilting in favor of the Canadian club.

Take 1988, for example. The Oakland Athletics swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, while the Dodgers needed seven games to get past the New York Mets in the NLCS. The result? Los Angeles won the World Series in five games.

In 2006, the Detroit Tigers cruised past the A’s in a sweep to win the American League, while the St. Louis Cardinals battled through seven games to defeat the Mets. The Cardinals went on to win the World Series, also in five games.

Just a year later, in 2007, the Boston Red Sox emerged from a grueling seven-game ALCS against the then-Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Boston went on to sweep Colorado in the World Series.

The most recent example came in 2012. The Tigers whitewashed the Yankees to reach the World Series, while the San Francisco Giants needed seven games to eliminate the Cardinals. Despite the fatigue, the Giants swept Detroit to claim the championship.

So while the Dodgers boast a formidable rotation and a powerhouse lineup led by Shohei Ohtani - making them a popular pick to win it all - the numbers suggest the Blue Jays, champions of the American League, have more than just a puncher’s chance.

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