GLENDALE, Ariz. — Two outs. Bases loaded. Bottom of the ninth. Game 7 of the World Series. Andy Pages stepped into a fantasy and walked out a hero. In the dream, of course, the victor is on offense, tossing away the bat with one arm raised. Pages made the scenario his own by pulling off an implaus ible catch in the most riveting of moments against the Toronto Blue Jays, while extending the 2025 MLB season into extra innings. The image of Pages making the catch, as Kiké Hernandez absorbs a body blow, is already seared into Dodgers lore. Contributing on the offensive end in October had been a struggle. Pages batted .078 during the playoffs. By Game 6 of the World Series, he was on the bench, and yet he never stopped believing that his time would arrive. “I still carried myself like I was gonna play every day,” Pages said through an interpreter Saturday when looking back at Games 6 and 7 in Toronto. “I prepared myself like I was gonna play every day. Obviously, I wasn’t playing.” Of the many statue-worthy moments that happened in the late innings of Game 7 — from Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s resolve to Will Smith’s toe on the plate, Miguel Rojas and Smith hitting home runs — Pages’ catch has a place with all of them. And while the play might have happened on defense, there is a belief the sense of pride and confidence that came with it could extend to all parts of his game. Pages hit 27 home runs last season and had the fifth-best OPS among MLB center fielders at .774. His OPS was over .800 through most of May, June and July before a late-season fade. He was far from bad, but the late struggles loomed large. “I do think (the Game 7 catch) can add that confidence because he was a big part of what we did all year,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I hope that he learned from that last month, month and a half, whatever it was, and know he was still valuable to the end. He’s a confident young player right now.” Pages entered Saturday’s Cactus League game against the Colorado Rockies, batting .333 in seven spring contests with two doubles and a triple. Yet he remains a work in progress at the plate with six strikeouts, matching his number of hits. Asked about the confident air he has carried this spring, Pages credited the coaching staff. “I think they were the ones that kind of inserted that in me,” Pages said. “I’ve been a little bit more quiet, on the more timid side, and they’ve kind of helped me, kind of guide me to be a little bit more outgoing, to have a little bit more expression. And I think they’re the ones that helped me with that confidence as well.” Roberts said Pages has earned the right to carry himself with pride. “Right now, he looks like a veteran ballplayer,” Roberts said. “I could think back to a few years ago when he didn’t really care for the weight room and really wasn’t the best worker. But now you look at him, and he values the weight room, being in shape, scouting and being prepared with the pitchers. “He has turned himself into a Gold Glove caliber defender by working really hard. He has grown considerably. And he has, fortunately, had the luxury of being around a lot of great baseball players to learn from. I’m really proud of Andy, and I think he is going to have an even better year, I really do.” Through his first two major league seasons, Pages has averaged 20 home runs and 66 RBIs per campaign, giving him a strong base on which to build. He knows his up-and-down-and-back-up-again ride last year has value. “I think everyone feels bad or struggles when they’re going through a slump, or they’re upset and they’re trying to push through it,” Pages said. “Obviously, things weren’t working out for me during that time, and it resulted in me getting benched, but at the same time, I don’t think that’s what defines me. I don’t think that’s who I am as a ball player.” Related Articles Shohei Ohtani shines again for Japan in World Baseball Classic Dodgers shut out Royals in Cactus League night game Dodgers’ Santiago Espinal seizing opportunity to make Opening Day roster Shohei Ohtani powers Japan past Taiwan in World Baseball Classic Dodgers’ Blake Treinen: ‘I don’t think I’m done’ after difficult season in 2025 ...read more read less