A former Yankee's blunder may have cost Blue Jays in World Series loss vs Dodgers

It's not often that an MLB team can say it was inches away from a World Series title and be literally correct. But that's precisely what happened to the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7. Former New York Yankees utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa made an awful baserunning blunder that many Blue Jays fans are already considering unforgivable.

Here's how it went down. Kiner-Falefa was on third base in the ninth with the bags full for Toronto and one out. Daulton Varsho was at the plate against Los Angeles Dodgers dynamo Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the game knotted at 4-4. Varsho had a glorious chance to drive in the World Series-winning run (Kiner-Falefa), and when Varsho hit a weak grounder to second, the entire baseball world held its breath.

With LA's infield playing in, Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas received the grounder into his glove about as quickly as possible, but then Rojas momentarily lost his footing as he pivoted to throw the ball home and attempt a force out to save the Dodgers' season.

In this moment of hesitation from Rojas, most fans with a good eye for the game became instantly convinced that the Blue Jays had probably just won the World Series, as Rojas's delay had surely allowed Kiner-Falefa enough time to scramble home from third and beat the late throw.

But that's not what happened. Rojas's throw miraculously landed in the mitt of Dodgers catcher Will Smith a fraction of a second before Kiner-Falefa's sliding foot touched home plate. In fact, it was even closer than that, as instant replay revealed that Smith's foot (planted on home plate) actually lifted off of the plate for a split-second (as Smith received the throw), only to land back down on the plate just in time.

The play was close enough to be challenged by Toronto, yet clear enough via replay to show a force out beyond any debate.

Kiner-Falefa was out at home, and everyone quickly moved onto the next thing, as the bases were still loaded (now with two outs), and Toronto had another chance to win the game. Ernie Clement flied out to the left-center gap, however (in another absurd play by Andy Pages), sending Game 7 into extras, and sending the gritty Blue Jays closer to their eventual tragic fate.

Postgame video and photo analysis revealed that Isiah Kiner-Falefa arguably lost the Blue Jays the World Series

Given the handful of unforgettable plays that happened in Game 7, the ninth-inning force out at home described above wasn't exactly at the forefront of Blue Jays' fans minds when the Dodgers ultimately charged the field as World Series champions and began popping champagne in the clubhouse shortly thereafter.

That changed very quickly, though. In the minutes following the game, as social media collectively analyzed different angles of replay footage from the ninth-inning out at home, it became clear that Kiner-Falefa hadn't established an adequate lead off of third base before Varsho made contact. For this, IKF was immediately destroyed all over socials and, in many cases, blamed for the loss.

Citing a variety of camera perspectives on the play, fans and analysts came to the universal conclusion that Kiner-Falefa completely botched what would have been the World Series-winning run by hugging third base far more tentatively than required.

Given the stakes, some even labeled Kiner-Falefa's blunder among the worst plays in the history of the sport. Yikes.

Beyond Kiner-Falefa's overly conservative lead, some fans pointed out an alternative (or additional) mistake that IKF made during the play to doom the Blue Jays: he didn't slide head-first. Would doing so have won Toronto the World Series, despite Kiner-Falefa's awful lead? How about running straight through the base, proven to be a faster method? You make the call.

One thing's for certain: Kiner-Falefa is going to have a hard time getting over this one, and he should probably stay off social media for the foreseeable future.