Blue Jays Give IndyCar’s James Hinchcliffe His World Series Moment

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer (4) rounds the bases after hitting a three run homer that would ultimately win the game and send the Toronto Blue Jays into their first World Series since 1993 in Game Seven of the ALCS at Rogers Centre in Toronto. October 20, 2025. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Toronto Star via Getty Images

Former IndyCar Series driver and current IndyCar on FOX analyst James Hinchcliffe was seven years old the last time his hometown Toronto Blue Jays played in the World Series.

Beginning with Game One of the 2025 World Series on Friday night, the former race driver who started on the pole for the 100^th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 gets to relive his baseball moment.

The American League Champion Toronto Blue Jays meet the National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game One of the 121^st World Series of Major League Baseball.

“I’m very excited,” Hinchcliffe told me the day after the Blue Jays dramatic come-from-behind Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series on October 20. “I was up late last night watching the game on FOX, and it was an incredible game. What a nail biter.

“I’m thrilled for the city and for the country. That’s what is so cool about being from Canada when it comes to basketball and baseball. We only have the one team, and the entire country really unites around sports. Hockey sort of fractures Canada, but baseball and basketball bring it back together. The Toronto Raptors got their championship back in 2019, so we’ve had some recent success there.”

Hinchcliffe And Canada’s Long World Series Wait Is Over

Canada’s baseball fans haven’t experienced its home-country team in the World Series in 32 years.

Hinchliffe, however, has vivid recollections of the Blue Jays World Series triumphs.

“I remember the Jays winning back-to-back World Series in the early 1990s,” Hinchcliffe recalled. “I went to one of the games the second year in 1993, at the Dome and it was an incredible experience.

“Watching last night (Game 7 of the ALCS), I was texting with my mom, and it was bringing back memories for me. It was pretty cool and pretty emotional. I’m excited to see what they can do.

“Obviously, great opponents in the Dodgers. It’s going to be a great Series. I can’t wait to watch it.”

Growing up in Toronto, Hinchcliffe admitted he never played much baseball as a youngster. He had his focus on motorsports and one day making it to IndyCar.

“I was too busy carting,” Hinchcliffe revealed. “I didn’t really play anything else. I had a one-track mind, no pun intended.”

Hinchcliffe’s Blue Jay World Series Favorites

Ask Hinchcliffe about those great Blue Jays teams that won back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993, and the man who won six IndyCar Series races rattles off the names like a true fan.

“Joe Carter was a legend back home,” Hinchcliffe said. “Roberto Alomar, who was our second baseman for a long time was one. Kelly Gruber, Juan Guzman, there were a lot of guys on that team that were superstars in Toronto, as they should have been, as are some of the guys on the team now like George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero. It’s a sport that really brings not just the whole city, but the entire nation of Canada together.”

Hinchcliffe watched the decisive Game 7 of the ALCS in his hotel room in Austin, Texas on October 20. One day earlier, Hinchcliffe was part of the F1 TV streaming service telecast of the United States Grand Prix at nearby Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

Hinchcliffe will also be on the F1 TV telecast of this weekend’s Grand Prix of Mexico in Mexico City.

He chose to watch Game 7 alone so that he could be totally absorbed in the drama that culminated when Springer hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead.

That score held up through the third out of the top-of-the ninth inning, and the Blue Jays and Canada began a wild celebration.

Hinchcliffe did the same in his hotel room in Austin.

“I watched it right here by myself in my hotel room, screaming at the TV,” Hinchcliffe said. “Luckily, I kept it under control enough that I didn’t get any calls from security.”

Hinchcliffe, FOX Sports, The World Series And IndyCar

The 2025 World Series will air nationally on FOX and will be available on FOXSports.com, the FOX Sports App, FOX One and FOX Deportes.

Hinchcliffe just completed his first season as part of the broadcast team for IndyCar on FOX working alongside Will Buxton and former driver Townsend Bell. Prior to that, Hinchcliffe also worked for NBC Sports when it had the IndyCar contract that ended after the 2024 season.

FOX will televise all games of the 2025 World Series, as it has every year since 2000. Prior to that, FOX broadcast the World Series in 1996 and 1998. NBC carried the World Series in 1997 and 1999 as part of a shared broadcast agreement before FOX became the exclusive home to Major League Baseball and the World Series beginning in 2000.

The FOX crew for the World Series includes Joe Davis as the play-by-play announcer, John Smoltz providing the color commentary, Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci as on-field reporters. Tom Rinaldi will be the features reporter.

The FOX Sports World Series pre-game and post-game crew include host Kevin Burkhardt and analysts Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Derek Jeter.

By completing his first season with FOX Sports, Hinchcliffe can appreciate and respect the way FOX covers Major League Baseball and the World Series.

“It’s funny you say that I was paying extra close attention to the commentators during that game, and especially when the game ended and during the celebrations and taking notes a little bit about what they were saying, what they weren’t saying, when they weren’t saying it,” Hinchcliffe said. “I’m a student ultimately, and I still look at my TV career in its infancy. There is always room for improvement and people to learn from.

“I had the mental notebook out and made a few notes with how those guys called that, because it was a great call. It was really fun.”

Hinchcliffe Makes Comparisons Between IndyCar And Baseball Telecasts

The baseball crew at FOX is a bit more understated than the IndyCar crew at FOX. Part of that is baseball often has a quieter environment than the overwhelming noise during an IndyCar race.

“Well, it’s different,” Hinchcliffe explained. “There are a lot of natural lulls, I guess you could call it, in a baseball game packed in with brief moments of intense action, whereas with motor sports, it’s not just IndyCar it’s NASCAR, it’s all of it, there is constant motion. The lulls are rare. Lulls are caution periods.

“It is a bit different. It requires a different sort of tempo, a different cadence, different timing. So, they’re not directly comparable in that sense, but there’s definitely still some techniques and things you can pull out of one and apply to the other and vice-versa.”

Hinchcliffe’s Broadcasting Ability Impresses His Bosses At FOX

According to Hinchcliffe’s bosses at FOX, the former IndyCar Series driver has learned his TV lessons well.

They also understand why this year’s World Series matchup means a lot more to Hinchcliffe.

“Earlier this year, when the FOX IndyCar team was in Toronto for the race, we went to a Blue Jays game and Hinch was teaching Will (Buxton) the rules of the game and all about some of the local traditions,” said Jacob Ullman, FOX Sports Senior Vice President, Production and Talent Development. “It was a great team experience, so having Toronto representing the American League in the World Series on FOX is a bit of a full-circle moment. At the end of the day, we’re all sports fans, but this one might mean a little more to James.”

Hinchcliffe will be in Mexico City for the Formula 1 race for F1 TV when the World Series starts but is hoping he can attend a game or two after the Grand Prix of Mexico.

“The first two in Toronto, I’m going to be in Mexico, so that is pretty heartbreaking,” Hinchcliffe said. “Unless there is a sweep, if we have a Game 5, and there is an opportunity to catch a game back in Toronto, I will definitely be exploring those opportunities and seeing if it’s possible to get there.

“We’ll see. It’s going to be hard to get ticket, I promise you. That whole city is going to be either in or standing around that stadium.”

If the Blue Jays are successful and defeat the mighty Dodgers for the 2025 World Series Championship, Hinchcliffe plans to party like it’s 1993.