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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.<\/p>\n
Michaela Gabriel | Loyolan<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The time clock runs out, the buzzer goes off but the game isn\u2019t over; it\u2019s in overtime. What may be cause for the celebration for spectators can be dreadful for athletes \u2014 extra endurance, higher pressure and mental resilience as players prepare for extra minutes of game play.<\/p>\n
On Monday Oct. 27, Game 3 of the World Series<\/a> between the LA Dodgers<\/a> and the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Even at a college level, players can experience the same fate. Tyler King<\/a>, assistant athletics trainer of the LMU baseball team, shares that while 18-inning games aren\u2019t common, the Lions have gotten pretty close to games of that length.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve probably gone 14 or 15 innings before. On average, in college baseball we have about 50 games [per season]. I\u2019d say [around] five extra-inning games thrown in there,\u201d said King.<\/p>\n Game 3 finally concluded with a Dodgers’ home victory after a walk-off home run from Freddie Freeman<\/a>. His contribution pushed the score to 6-5, but both teams could not rest much with Game 4 scheduled for the next day.<\/p>\n Those quick turnaround games can be the hardest to prepare for as overtime isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re playing a nine-inning baseball game that starts at six o\u2019clock on a Saturday night and the next day you\u2019re playing at one o\u2019clock, that\u2019s already a quick turnaround,\u201d said King. \u201cBut, say you add an extra four innings on there, that\u2019s a whole other hour of time you\u2019re playing and an hour less that you\u2019re able to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot more difficult at this level. You\u2019re managing a younger population, and on top of that, they\u2019re a full-time student and a full-time athlete at the same time,\u201d said King. \u201cThe concepts of how to recover properly [and] how to take care of your body are pretty much the same. You\u2019re just having to manage it in a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Dodgers, after winning Game 3, went on to lose the next game by four points. Some speculate<\/a> about the role of the player’s differing ages during the team’s recovery, however the bottom line is that players were exhausted.<\/p>\n In an interview<\/a> with The Athletic after Game 3, Mookie Betts of the LA Dodgers said \u201c[Overtime play] pretty much drains you completely \u2026 We\u2019ll probably all be tired tomorrow. But I mean, it\u2019s the World Series, so if we can\u2019t get up for that, then we probably need to find another job.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly the catchers, because they\u2019re 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 \u2026 Pitchers, [it\u2019s] depending on how long they\u2019re pitching for\u201d said King. \u201cThe catcher for the Dodgers in that game caught all 18 innings, which is insanely impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> Professional Women’s Hockey League game occurred between the Ottawa Charge<\/a> and the Mont<\/a>r<\/a>\u00e9<\/a>al Victoire<\/a>, lasting five hours and 34 minutes.<\/p>\n Within the four overtimes, the Ottawa Charge<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n