LATHAM, NY (NEWS10) — The Toronto Blue Jays are World Series bound, ready to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Jays wouldn’t be there without closer Jeff Hoffman. The Shaker graduate put on heroic performances in Games 6 and 7 to send the Jay past the Mariners to the biggest stage in baseball, doing it all with his family in the crowd and a support system back in the states.
Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth inning of Game 7 to complete the save, and send the Blue Jays to the World Series. That’s hardly where his heroics began.
The Blue Jays trailed the Mariners three games to two heading into Game 6. In that game, Hoffman threw two scoreless innings, striking out four, throwing 35 pitches in a 6-2 Blue Jays win. It raised questions surrounding whether he’d be ready for Game seven the next day.
Hoffman and his family didn’t share in any of those doubts. “He got home that night, hung out a little bit, went upstairs, got himself ready, he did all recovery stuff,” said Jeff’s father, also named Jeff Hoffman. “The next day, went to the field to get ready. When I talked to him that night, he says, ‘Game 7.’ He’s going to be out there.”
Jeff’s parents, wife, kids, and siblings were among a large contingent of family watching on from the crowd as Hoffman sent Toronto to its first World Series since 1993. “The stadium was so loud, I couldn’t even hear what was going on,” said Hoffman Sr. “Everybody was standing and I was trying to see what was going on on the field. They were just mobbing each other and the families were going crazy. It was hard to describe. It’s a feeling that I don’t think I could describe to anybody.”
The support for Hoffman ranged far beyond the Rogers Centre, back through the Capital Region to Virginia, where his former head coach at Shaker, Stephen Frank, watched on with pride. “I’m just really happy for him,” said Frank. “You see the emotion that he has when he when he’s done and to come through in that spot for his team and his teammates and you see the rest of the team celebrating, just proud of him and all the success that he’s had.”
The now 32-year old Hoffman has battled his share of adversity in his career. He had Tommy John surgery before being drafted by the Blue Jays in 2014. He was traded by Toronto, before struggling to catch on as a starter with the Rockies and Reds.
But Hoffman reinvented himself as a reliever with the Phillies, making his first All-Star team in 2024. “Other guys could have packed it in,” said Frank. “Being a starter and what he threw then to being a closer and what he throws now, It’s different. He has been able to adapt and overcome some things and change some things so that he can put himself in a position to be successful. It’s a great story for anybody that watches your show, anybody playing baseball in Section 2, anybody that follows the sport or even outside of sports, to see a guy that just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, culminating in those three punch outs in Game 7.”
Even before this season, Hoffman met moments of adversity. After the Phillies didn’t resign him, he almost signed with both the Atlanta Braves and the Baltimore Orioles, but both teams failed his physical based on medicals.
Both were decisions he disagreed with, giving him an extra chip on his shoulder this year. “He had a little extra, especially when he played those teams, but he’s a professional” said Hoffman Sr. “He just wants to win. He wants to be the best at his craft. He works really hard. He gives up a lot in his personal life to be the best. It was a great year. He was fourth in Major League Baseball in saves, so it worked out. Everything worked out.”
It certainly did work out. He returned to the team he was drafted by, leading them to the World Series, pitching to a 1.23 ERA so far in the postseason. “This is what full circle looks like and I couldn’t be happier,” Hoffman told FOX following his save in Game 7. “I can’t wait to to keep it going.”
While Jeff is embracing the highest heights of pro baseball, he hasn’t forgotten about where he came from. “He’s got so much support from his hometown and from former players and friends and stuff like that,” said Hoffman Sr. “He knows how special this is. This is where he grew up. This is where he spent his whole life. He came to Shaker and this is home for him.”
It’s been a whirlwind for the Hoffman family, who will be back in the Rogers Centre for the Blue Jays home games in the World Series, starting with Game 1 on Friday night. So, has dad been able to prepare himself to watch his son pitch in a World Series game? “No,” Hoffman Sr. said with a laugh. “It’s been a crazy three or four days, whatever it’s been. Hopefully he gets in the game and can do what he can do and shuts something down and win the World Series. It’s crazy, crazy to think about.”
Game 1 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers gets underway at 8:00 PM Friday on FOX.
