The Fox broadcast captured the weirdness of the moment.
Shohei Ohtani was stranded on base to end the top half of the first inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he had to get out to the mound to pitch.
MLB has implemented a between innings clock. That is supposed to count down, and when it gets to zero, the inning is supposed to start.
Except in the bottom of the first, that's not what happened.
MORE: Blue Jays have to deal with Shohei Ohtani rule, which is unfair to everyone but Dodgers
The Los Angeles Times' Jack Harris broke it down:
- Ohtani came to the mound with just 40 seconds on the clock.
- The clock was then reset to allow Ohtani a full warmup.
Shohei Ohtani spent a long time in the dugout between innings, and did not run back onto the field until there were 40 seconds left on the clock
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) November 2, 2025
However, they reset the clock to give him more time to warm-up before the inning began https://t.co/VLDEKC0dX6
That seems like something that was probably thought about ahead of time. Fox analyst John Smoltz also noticed it in Game 4.
It'd be interesting to know if anything like this happened for Ohtani in the regular season.
But it's clear that in Game 7, MLB wasn't messing around. Ohtani was going to get his warmup time. Whether that's fair or not is up to everyone else to decide.
More World Series news:
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- Vladdy pulled up to Game 7 in a great hockey jersey
- Bo Bichette admits thoughts about leaving Toronto after World Series
- Ernie Clement ties a Blue Jays franchise record
- Clayton Kershaw's retirement is just about here
- Why Addison Barger only got a double on ball lodged under wall