You are the real MVP if you stayed up to watch two baseball games worth of the World Series on Monday night, and Freddie Freeman gave you a treat if you managed to make it the entire game. Freeman’s walk-off home run in Dodger Stadium not only helped the Los Angeles Dodgers, but helped him reach a historic milestone.
Freeman has the most walk-off home runs in World Series history, and it’s the second straight year he’s had a walk-off home run in the World Series. He was named the World Series MVP last year. Could he become the World Series MVP again? It will be a lot harder this season, with Shohei Ohtani also adding his name to MLB history on Monday night.
There’s quite a bit to dive into with all the impressive achievements from Monday’s Game 3. Here’s a roundup of everything that happened in Monday’s thriller that needed 18 innings to declare a winner.
5. Freddie Freeman is the walk-off king in the World Series
Big players step up in big moments and after nearly seven hours of baseball, Freeman was the one to be the difference with his historic walk-off home run. It was the second of his career and second in the World Series; he’s the only player with multiple walk-offs in the Fall Classic. This is why the Dodgers went after Freeman after the Atlanta Braves kicked him to the curve. Freeman may not be having as exciting of a postseason as he had last year, but he’s still one of the best hitters in prime time.
Not only does he have the most walk-offs in World Series history, he’s also the only player to hit a walk-off, grand slam in the World Series, which was his first World Series walk-off, last year. That hit alone might be enough for him to get his second World Series MVP.
4. Shohei Ohtani was an on-base machine in Game 3 of the World Series
Ohtani wanted to make sure there was no doubt about his World Series MVP resume. In Monday’s game, Ohtani reached base an MLB postseason record nine times, which is also tied for most in an MLB game. Ohtani was intentionally walked four times in Monday’s game as well, including being intentionally walked in the ninth inning.
Along with him being walked, he went 4-for-4 at the plate with two home runs. He’s lived up to the hype of dominating in both the postseason and World Series. This is the Ohtani we all wanted to see last year, and now he’s arrived. Winning Game 2 might have just given the Dodgers all the momentum to secure their second-straight title.
3. Both teams depleted their bullpens in Game 3 thriller
There were a total of 19 pitchers used and over 600 pitches thrown in Game 3. That’s an absolutely wild stat to comprehend in one of the longest games in MLB history. It should make for an even more interesting Game 4 as both teams went through a lot of arms in the game. The crazy thing about going through 19 pitchers is the game lasted 18 innings, meaning it was two baseball games worth in just one game. Fatigue as well as depleting bullpen arms became a key factor in the game.
For a team like the Toronto Blue Jays, who already have a thin rotation and bullpen, going through nine arms who each threw at least one inning isn’t ideal. This will make for a very interesting Game 4 and will probably be a much quicker game with a lot of scoring.
2. Will Smith wins the World Series fatigue award
Will Smith managed to catch all 18 innings from the 10 pitchers the Dodgers threw in Monday’s Game 3. While field players don’t typically exert a lot of energy throughout the game, the fact that Smith caught every pitch from a Dodgers' pitcher in the game is crazy to think about. It’s hard to blame him for striking out four times in the game and recording just one hit, but the fact that he was catcher for the entire game is remarkable.
1. Will Klein taps into his clutch gene in pivotal Game 3
This list is full of monumental moments, but Will Klein tossing four shutout innings just might be the most impressive. He hadn’t thrown more than 36 pitches in a single MLB appearance this season, and he managed to nearly double that on Monday. And the fact that he made it four innings and didn’t give up a run is the very definition of clutch.
We all expect the stars to make the plays, but it’s always the role players that step up in these moments that make the difference in the game. It also helped that he was able to go nearly twice as long as he usually does in a game where several arms were expended, as it at least gives the Dodgers one less arm to worry about on Tuesday.