A ride to remember: Varsho made fans of us all

MARSHFIELD – As soon as word got out that a guy from Marshfield was going to be playing in MLB’s World Series this year, images of a young Daulton Varsho swinging a bat or wearing an oversized baseball glove and jerseys started popping up in news broadcasts and articles across Wisconsin, with each trying to somehow make a connection to claim him as their own.

Besides an entire country, the Toronto Blue Jays suddenly had an entire state rooting for them, and for their starting center fielder from the center of Wisconsin.

And it wasn’t just the fact that Varsho was on the team, it was that he was playing every night, and at a high level – especially with that Gold Glove of his.

“A couple years ago when he got traded to Toronto, he was going to be in the starting lineup, and we made sure we were there, because I said, ‘I never got to be in the starting lineup in the big leagues.’ What a great honor,” Daulton’s dad, Gary Varsho, told Hub City Times Oct. 22, after the Blue Jays had captured the American League pennant and a trip to the World Series. “And this isn’t about me, but I can always remember that little piece of me having to represent… I never wanted to embarrass Marshfield. You hope you represent your hometown well, and he’s done more than that. I give him a lot of credit. Unless you stand in the box with forty-five thousand people, you have no idea how to control adrenaline, how to control your emotions. It’s tough to do and I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

At the plate, Daulton had a solid postseason, with a .227 batting average, 17 hits, three home runs, 10 RBIs and 12 runs scored over 18 games.

That included a record-tying feat that only four other players had accomplished.

In a 13-7 win Oct. 5 over the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, Varsho smacked two doubles and clubbed two home runs, becoming just the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to record four extra base hits in a postseason game.

Against the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series, Daulton’s average was .179.

In 28 at-bats, he logged 5 hits, three home runs, four RBIs and one run scored.

Varsho’s World Series performance was less-than-stellar, however.

Against the L.A. Dodgers’ billion-dollar pitching staff, Daulton went 5-for-31 with a triple, a home run, two RBIs, two walks and 7 strikeouts, for a BA of .161.

Oh, and he was hit by two pitches, after getting plunked just once in 271 regular-season plate appearances.

He did score Toronto’s first runs of the series, though, after launching a two-run homer off ace Blake Snell in the bottom of the fourth inning in Game 1, after Los Angeles had grabbed an early 2-0 lead.

The argument could be made that Daulton’s blast showed the rest of the team they could hang in with the mighty defending champs, featuring all-world phenom Shohei Ohtani – who also launched a two-run long ball in Game 1 that was largely forgotten after the Blue Jays exploded for nine runs in the sixth inning.

Unfortunately, the lasting image from the 2025 World Series for many fans will undoubtedly be Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s near-miss slide at home plate.

Varsho came to the plate with the score tied, bases loaded and 1 out in the bottom of the ninth inning of the winner-take-all Game 7 in Toronto. Kiner-Falefa was the runner on third and attempted to score on a ground ball hit by Varsho toward second base.

Dodgers' catcher Will Smith just beat Kiner-Falefa's foot to the plate on a throw from second baseman Miguel Rojas, and a replay review confirmed the on-the-field ruling.

A fly ball out on the next pitch ended the Toronto threat and a Will Smith home run in the 11th ended their season.

But the youngest of Gary and Kay Varsho’s three children certainly gave them plenty to cheer about, during a somewhat turbulent 2025 season.

“Kay is the fan, and she is the loudest. Gary doesn’t get loud,” he told us. “The father part comes in just to make sure he stays healthy. I am not worried about results. The process takes care of it. There are times where I’m nervous for him, but I try to avoid that. I don’t want to be nervous because I don’t want him to be nervous. I try to put my scout face on and just watch the game and cross my legs and look at the outfield, look at the defense, look at pitch sequence. I play the game. That’s the way I’ve always been. I’m going to play the at-bat. I’m going to play the base-running. I really try to focus in on how the game is going, what’s happening, who’s up in the bullpen. But when he comes up, I do get nervous. I just want him to stay on the field. It’s been a tough year, but also very rewarding at the same time.”

The 29-year-old center fielder began the season on the disabled list due to off-season shoulder surgery in December 2024.

In April, he went from the disabled list to the team’s paternity list, when Daulton and wife Brook welcomed their first child, a daughter, to the family.

Later that month, Varsho was back in the Toronto lineup, and wasted no time making his presence known.

Videos of a catch Daulton made in an April 29 game against Boston went viral several times over.

Red Sox leadoff hitter Jarren Duran sent a fly ball towards Varsho in center field in the fourth inning. As he turned to chase the ball, Daulton stumbled and fell to the ground. As he recovered, Varsho – now on one knee – stuck his left arm out and behind his back to make the back-handed grab.   

On May 14, Daulton’s bobblehead night, his mom Kay threw out the first pitch to her only son.

Two weeks later, a left hamstring strain suffered May 31 in a game versus Oakland sidelined the Blue Jays outfielder for all of June and July. He rejoined the team Aug. 1.

On Aug. 29, Varsho left a game versus the Brewers after taking a 97-mile-per-hour fastball off his right hand. Daulton was attempting to check his swing against Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby.

When he was in the lineup, however, Daulton was dangerous. He hit 20 home runs in just 71 regular-season games, batting .238 for the year and driving in 55 runs. He did so in what is widely considered the toughest division in baseball – the American League East, which the Blue Jays won.

But Daulton’s defense is what keeps him in the starting lineup.

Varsho recorded 49 putouts in the playoffs alone, 11 more than any other outfielder.

So Daulton Varsho and his teammates didn’t win the World Series. But they did win over fans far and wide, many of whom normally bleed green and gold, but who now also find room for the blue jay and red maple leaf of their adopted team from Toronto.