Shohei Ohtani got them to extras, Freddie Freeman walked it off, but it was Eastern Illinois pitcher Will Klein that became an instant World Series hero Monday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Klein, who began 2025 with the Athletics, started the regular season at Triple-A in the Seattle Mariners organization and didn’t pitch in the majors this year until June, when the Dodgers acquired the right-hander via trade. Klein wasn’t even supposed to be on the World Series roster for Los Angeles as he was a last-second addition after Tanner Scott wasn’t ready to return from injury and Alex Vesia was ruled out because of a personal reason.
Klein threw 72 pitches in Game 3 of the World Series, entering the game in the top of the 15th as the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays were in a 5-5 stalemate. The reliever last pitched on Sept. 26, his 14th appearance of the season and 22nd of his young MLB career. The 25-year-old was the last pitcher available for Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts and Klein not only stepped up on the biggest stage, he turned in the best outing of his pro career.
On March 7, 2020, Klein tossed 6.2 innings for Eastern Illinois against Jacksonville State. That was the right-hander’s final game in college as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NCAA to cancel the rest of the baseball season. In June, Klein was picked in the fifth round of the draft by the Kansas City Royals. Prior to Monday’s performance against the Blue Jays in the World Series, Klein had not pitched more than three innings in any of his 195 career appearances in the minor leagues.
The most he’d ever pitched in a game since his college days was three innings, six different times in the minors. He hadn’t pitched in a month. He had never thrown more than 36 pitches in a single MLB game or tossed beyond two innings. But it didn’t matter on Monday night as a new World Series hero was born.
The one time Klein got into any trouble came in the top of the 18th inning, when he walked two batters and a wild pitch moved two runners into scoring position, Klein ended the threat with a dramatic strikeout.
Incredible. Wasn’t supposed to be on the roster and in his postseason debut Will Klein wrote his name into the record books.
