The Longest World Series Games In Major League Baseball History

Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th inning of Game 3 of the 2025 World Series ended what had been the longest in the 121-year history of the legendary event.

Coincidentally, it marks the second year in a row that Freeman has ended a World Series game with a walk-off home run in extra innings after hitting a grand slam off Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes in the 10th inning of Game 1 of last year’s World Series.

His solo shot this time around meant that the Dodgers and Blue Jays tied the record for longest game, but what other games make the list?

The Longest Games In World Series History

The first modern World Series game was played in 1903 between the Boston Americans of the American League, the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League. Boston went on to win the best-of-nine series, five games to three.

In total, there have been 703 World Series games played, including Monday night’s thriller between Los Angeles and Toronto.

Of those 703, only 64 have gone to extra innings. The first came in Game 2 of the 1912 World Series, when the Boston Red Sox and New York Giants played to a 6-6 tie in 11 innings. The game was replayed after the tie, with Boston winning the next day.

Of those 64 extra-inning games, five truly stand out as marathons. Here are those five.

T3) 1916 World Series – Game 2- (14 Innings)

Ah yes, who could forget this memorable marathon between the (*checks notes*) Boston Red Sox and the Brooklyn Robins. We all know the Brooklyn Robins, right? Formerly the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and now the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In this all-time classic, the Robins scored in the top of the first on an inside-the-park home run by Hy Myers, before Babe Ruth tied it in the bottom of the third with an RBI ground out.

The game remained 1–1 until the bottom of the 14th, when the Red Sox won it on a pinch-hit single by Del Gainer. The 14-inning game set a World Series record at the time, one that would not be matched until the next game on our list.

Oh, and Ruth pitched all 14 innings for Boston, picking up the victory.

T3) 2005 World Series – Game 3 – (14 Innings)

While it may seem insane to fans today, it wasn’t all that long ago that the Chicago White Sox were World Series champions!

In 2005, the White Sox were the best team in baseball by a country mile. They led the AL Central wire-to-wire, won an American League high 99 games, and lost just one game in the postseason.

In the World Series, they jumped out to a 2-0 lead before a marathon Game 3. Chicago used a five-run fifth inning to take a 5-4 lead before Jason Lane tied the game with a double in the eighth.

The two teams then failed to score until the top of the 14th, when former Astros player Geoff Blum hit a solo home run to give Chicago the lead. They’d add another run with a bases-loaded walk, and Houston would strand the tying runs on base in the bottom of the 14th when Carl Everett popped out to end the game.

T3) 2015 World Series – Game 1 (14 Innings)

The National League champion New York Mets, fresh off a sweep of the Cubs in the NLCS, headed to Kansas City for Game 1 of the 2015 World Series against the AL Central-winning Royals, who returned to the World Series after losing to the Cardinals a year ago.

In the opening game of the series, Mets closer Jeurys Familia blew his first save in six postseason opportunities and his first since July 30 when Alex Gordon hit a solo home run to tie the game at 4-4.

Kansas City threatened in the bottom of the 11th inning when n the bottom of the 11th inning, but Curtis Granderson made a leaping catch to rob Jarrod Dyson of an extra-base hit.

However, in the bottom of the 14th, Alcides Escobar reached on a throwing error by David Wright before Ben Zobrist moved him to third with a single. Eric Hosmer then hit a sacrifice fly to right and Granderson was unable to gun down Escobar at the plate, giving Kansas City a dramatic victory in a series it went on to win 4-1.

T1) 2018 World Series – Game 3 (18 Innings)

Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers have somehow been involved in both of the two longest games in World Series history, each in the last decade.

Not only that, but they came out on top in both!

Walker Buehler and Rick Porcello absolutely dazzled on the mound for the Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, respectively. Porcello allowed just one run, a solo homer by Joc Pederson, in 4 2/3 innings, whileBuehler pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

Jackie Bradley Jr. tied the game with a solo home run off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the eighth inning, marking Jansen’s first blown save in four playoff appearances.

An Eduardo Nunez throwing error gave Boston the lead in the top of the 13th, but Max Muncy then tied the game after an infield hit by Yasiel Puig and a throwing error by Ian Kinsler.

Muncy then appeared to win the game with a home run in the 15th inning, but the ball hooked just foul. In the 18th inning, however, he got a second chance and did not miss, homering off Nathan Eovaldi to win the game and send the LA crowd into a frenzy.

Despite the dramatic win, Boston rebounded to win Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, one that they would close out in Game 5 to win the series.

T1) 2025 World Series – Game 1 (18 Innings)

What. A. Game.

Game 3 of the 2025 World Series was everything that’s right about baseball, even if only a handful of people you know actually watched it deep into the early morning on Tuesday.

The underdog Blue Jays exploded with a four-spot to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning before Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman combined to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth.

Both teams added a run apiece in the seventh, and we went into extras tied at 5-5.

And then, the scoring stopped.

Clayton Kershaw escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam to keep the game tied at 5–5. In the bottom of the thirteenth, Eric Lauer escaped a bases-loaded jam of his own by forcing Freeman to fly out to Daulton Varsho, keeping the Jays alive.

But like Muncy, Freeman would get a second chance, and he would not miss.

Freeman hammered a 3-2 sinker from Brendon Little to center field, just over the outstretched glove of Varsho and over the wall for a walk-off solo home run, giving the Dodgers a 6-5 victory and a pivotal 2-1 lead in the Series.