Former Twins reliever and North St. Paul native Louie Varland gets to play in the World Series. He was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in July.
Game 1 between Toronto and Los Angeles is Friday night at 7 p.m.
The Dodgers are in the World Series for the fifth time since 2017 and are chasing their third championship in six years. Toronto’s only appearances resulted in back-to-back titles in 1992 and ’93.
The AL East champion Blue Jays hold home-field advantage and will host the opener because they finished the regular season with 94 wins, one more than the NL West champion Dodgers.
Our Darren ‘Doogie’ Wolfson caught up this week with Varland, via Zoom. Safe to say that he’s very pumped up to try and help the Blue Jays win four more games.
Varland has appeared in 10 of Toronto’s 11 playoff games thus far. The Major League Baseball record for appearances in a postseason is 14, something Varland is very aware of. If the World Series can last five games or more, it seems realistic that, minimum, Varland can tie the record.
Wolfson also spoke with Kim and Wade Varland, Louie’s parents. They were in Toronto for the Game 7 win over Seattle earlier this week and will travel to Los Angeles next week for Games 3, 4, and 5.
Wade and Kim Varland, Louie’s parents, pumped to watch son in World Series. Gus Varland, Louie’s older brother and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher, will also be in Los Angeles next week cheering on his brother. Gus used to pitch for Los Angeles, maintaining relationships with many former teammates.
Click here to watch the full interview: https://kstp.com/minnesota-sports/watch-north-st-paul-native-louie-varland-pumped-to-play-in-world-series-with-toronto/