Game 3 Of The World Series Took Longer Than The Entire 1939 World Series


At seven hours and 20 minutes, Game 3 of the World Series on Friday was the longest in MLB playoff history, as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Boston Red Sox 3-2 to keep their championship hopes alive. It also happened to be longer than all four games of the 1939 World Series combined, according to a recent post from the Stats by STATS Twitter account.

As explained by Stats by STATS, the 1939 World Series lasted a combined seven hours and five minutes, as the New York Yankees swept the Cincinnati Reds in four games. This year’s World Series Game 3 was also considerably longer than the previous longest game in the Fall Classic’s history, where the visiting Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros in five hours and 41 minutes, according to CBS Sports.

In terms of innings played, Friday night’s Game 3 between the Red Sox and the Dodgers also went far beyond the previous World Series record. Prior to this, there were three games that lasted 14 innings, including Game 2 in 1916, the last time both teams faced off in the World Series, as USA Today pointed out. At that time, the Dodgers were still known as the Brooklyn Robins. In addition, the aforementioned White Sox vs. Astros Game 3 in 2005 and Game 1 in 2015 between the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets also lasted 14 innings.

All in all, there have been only eight games since 1908 that have gone beyond the seven-hour mark, as further noted by CBS Sports. The last time two teams played for over seven hours was on August 24, 2013, when the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks battled it out for 18 innings in a game that lasted seven hours and six minutes.

For the victorious Dodgers, it appears that the seven-plus hours of baseball played on Friday night were worth it in the end. Speaking to the New York Times, Max Muncy, who hit a walk-off home run off Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to win the game for the Dodgers, described the nine extra innings as a “blur,” but added that the fatigue didn’t prove to be a distraction for the team as they fought to keep their World Series hopes going strong after two losses to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

“As the game kept going, you look up and you saw it’s the 18th inning and you’re like, ‘Holy cow, where did this game go?’ The last nine innings or so really just blur together. But as far as our dugout, there was no deflation, no give-up,” said Muncy.

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