The Los Angeles Dodgers would not have won Game 3 of the World Series without some early heroics from Shohei Ohtani. By the time the marathon contest reached extra innings, it was clear the Toronto Blue Jays had learned their lesson.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider put up the intentional walk signal four times as his team tried to hang with the Dodgers. Because L.A. struggled to take advantage and drive their biggest star in, Toronto did hang around — until the 18th inning, when Freddie Freeman finally ended it with a walk-off home run.
As the series progresses, the Blue Jays are expected to take the same approach. Schneider told reporters after Game 3 that he does plan to continue intentionally walking Ohtani, though each decision, of course, will depend on the circumstances.
Here’s a look at how many times the Blue Jays have intentionally walked Ohtani in the World Series to this point.
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How many times has Shohei Ohtani been intentionally walked?
Ohtani has been intentionally walked four times in the 2025 World Series. Here’s the full breakdown:
All four of those intentional walks came in Game 3, which lasted 18 innings. The Blue Jays saw Ohtani record four extra-base hits, including two home runs, and opted to give him a free pass to first base in each of his next four plate appearances.
With first base occupied, Toronto decided to pitch to Ohtani in his ninth plate appearance but ultimately remained careful with the reigning MVP and issued a more typical walk.
Ohtani has been intentionally walked eight times in this postseason: once by the Cincinnati Reds, once by the Philadelphia Phillies, and twice by the Milwaukee Brewers.
The intentional walks slowed after Ohtani’s struggles at the plate started to become prolonged in the NLCS, but after a breakthrough three-home run game in the win that clinched the NL pennant for the Dodgers, he is more feared than ever.
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Why are the Blue Jays intentionally walking Shohei Ohtani
Sometimes the best answer is the simplest one: Ohtani keeps getting intentionally walked because he’s an extremely dangerous hitter.
Even the best hitters only reach base somewhere in the range of 40 percent of the time, making an intentional walk a risk, but it’s a risk the Blue Jays are willing to take because giving him one base is far more digestible than what the 31-year-old was doing before the bat was taken out of his hands.
Schneider saw Ohtani record four extra-base hits in his first four Game 3 plate appearances, including a game-tying home run in the seventh inning. Simply put, if the Dodgers were going to beat his team, Schneider wanted to force someone other than Ohtani to do it.
“He had a great game, he’s a great player, but I think after that, you just kind of take the bat out of his hands,” Schneider told reporters after Game 3.
After a fifth consecutive dominant season at the plate, Ohtani’s combination of power and patience has the Blue Jays avoiding him at all costs.
MORE WORLD SERIES GAME 3:
Most intentional walks in one game in MLB history
Ohtani’s four intentional walks in Game 3 are tied for second in MLB history, part of a group trailing only Andre Dawson. Here’s the full leaderboard:
| Player | Intentional walks | Date | Team | Opponent |
| Andre Dawson | 5 | May 22, 1990 | Cubs | Reds |
| Shohei Ohtani | 4 | Oct. 27, 2025 | Dodgers | Blue Jays |
| James Wood | 4 | June 29, 2025 | Nationals | Angels |
| Barry Bonds | 4 | Sept. 22, 2004 | Giants | Astros |
| Barry Bonds | 4 | June 12, 2004 | Giants | Orioles |
| Barry Bonds | 4 | May 1, 2004 | Giants | Marlins |
| Barry Bonds | 4 | Apr. 23, 2004 | Giants | Dodgers |
| Manny Ramirez | 4 | June 5, 2001 | Red Sox | Tigers |
| Garry Templeton | 4 | July 5, 1985 | Padres | Pirates |
| Roger Maris | 4 | May 22, 1962 | Yankees | Angels |
| Ted Kluszewski | 4 | July 11, 2025 | Reds | Cubs |
Dawson’s five intentional walks at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds on May 22, 1990, still stand as an MLB record. That game lasted 16 innings, and Dawson entered hitting .346 on the season. The Reds still lost, 2-1.
Barry Bonds naturally represents four of the 10 four-IBB games in MLB history. The all-time home run leader was intentionally walked four times in four different games in 2004.
Washington Nationals star James Wood is the only player other than Ohtani to be intentionally walked four times in a game in the last decade. The Angels worked around Wood on June 29, 2025, in a game the Nationals still won, 7-4.
Ohtani ultimately walked a fifth time in Game 3, but the Blue Jays attempted to pitch to him, albeit carefully.
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