Game 3 of the World Series took a tiring 18 innings to finish with the Dodgers coming out with the win after six hours and 39 minutes of gameplay. Recovery is key after such a grueling game, especially with the short turnaround before Game 4.
Michaela Gabriel | Loyolan
Game 3 of the World Series took a tiring 18 innings to finish, with the Dodgers coming out with the win after six hours and 39 minutes of gameplay. Recovery is key after such a grueling game, especially with the short turnaround before Game 4.
The time clock runs out, the buzzer goes off but the game isn’t over; it’s in overtime. What may be cause for the celebration for spectators can be dreadful for athletes — extra endurance, higher pressure and mental resilience as players prepare for extra minutes of game play.
On Monday Oct. 27, Game 3 of the World Series between the LA Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays continued for a grueling 18 innings. With a normal game being 9 innings long, essentially players played the length of two games in one night.
Even at a college level, players can experience the same fate. Tyler King, assistant athletics trainer of the LMU baseball team, shares that while 18-inning games aren’t common, the Lions have gotten pretty close to games of that length.
“I feel like we’ve probably gone 14 or 15 innings before. On average, in college baseball we have about 50 games [per season]. I’d say [around] five extra-inning games thrown in there,” said King.
Game 3 finally concluded with a Dodgers’ home victory after a walk-off home run from Freddie Freeman. His contribution pushed the score to 6-5, but both teams could not rest much with Game 4 scheduled for the next day.
Those quick turnaround games can be the hardest to prepare for as overtime isn’t something players and coaches plan for as they head into a weekend of games. For the LMU baseball team, Saturday overtime games are the most difficult to overcome.
“If you’re playing a nine-inning baseball game that starts at six o’clock on a Saturday night and the next day you’re playing at one o’clock, that’s already a quick turnaround,” said King. “But, say you add an extra four innings on there, that’s a whole other hour of time you’re playing and an hour less that you’re able to recover.”
And recovery is crucial to players being able to push through these long games, whether playing again the next day or not. Dodgers and other professional MLB players are at an advantage when it comes to recovery. Not only do they have the best resources, and staff, but they do not have to worry and most importantly not having to worry about classes or homework at the same time.
“It’s a lot more difficult at this level. You’re managing a younger population, and on top of that, they’re a full-time student and a full-time athlete at the same time,” said King. “The concepts of how to recover properly [and] how to take care of your body are pretty much the same. You’re just having to manage it in a different way.”
Looking at the statistics of Game 3 compared to those of Games 4, it would be hard to deny the difference that a marathon of a game has on the performances of certain players.
The Dodgers, after winning Game 3, went on to lose the next game by four points. Some speculate about the role of the player’s differing ages during the team’s recovery, however the bottom line is that players were exhausted.
In an interview with The Athletic after Game 3, Mookie Betts of the LA Dodgers said “[Overtime play] pretty much drains you completely … We’ll probably all be tired tomorrow. But I mean, it’s the World Series, so if we can’t get up for that, then we probably need to find another job.”
While it may seem like the Blue Jays and Dodgers were disproportionately affected in Game 4, catchers and pitchers on both teams feel the effects of long games the most.
“Particularly the catchers, because they’re constantly in a squat, moving around and throwing the ball. Then, they have to get up and hit every once in a while and run the bases … Pitchers, [it’s] depending on how long they’re pitching for” said King. “The catcher for the Dodgers in that game caught all 18 innings, which is insanely impressive.”
Although overtime is an unplanned occurrence, players, trainers and coaches across all sports prepare for the unexpected. Back in May of 2025, the longest recorded Professional Women’s Hockey League game occurred between the Ottawa Charge and the Montréal Victoire, lasting five hours and 34 minutes.
Within the four overtimes, the Ottawa Charge had resorted to some unconventional methods to keep players up and fueled enough to compete: taping yellow mustard packets along the glass of the rink.
A study done in the Journal of Athletic Training suggests “Ingesting small volumes of … mustard may be ineffective in alleviating exercise-associated muscle cramps.”
“The longer you go, the guys cramp up, that’s a very common thing to happen,” said King. “Mustard is kind of known to have stuff in it that helps with cramping … I hate mustard so I would not want to use that.” His preferred method to fuel up players mid-game: fruit, Liquid IV and electrolyte tablets.
“I have a ton of those in my kit for any games that are either really hot weather or games that go extra long,” said King.
It seems the Dodgers’ team had a similar idea, as players snacked on fruit throughout the 18-inning game. But, for the LA team, sideline snacks didn’t just stop at fruit. Players were also given the options of steaks and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat off the field.
Overtime is something so unexpected, yet extremely prepared for. From benchside snacks to endurance training and post-game recovery, each factor is planned with intention to ensure athletes can endure extra gameplay if necessary.
LMU’s baseball may not be hitting the 18-inning mark in games, but rest assured they would come prepared to handle the feat just in case.