Will Klein meeting Dodgers legend can't go to waste as all-time feel-good story

When reliever Will Klein pitched four scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays to earn the win in Game 3 of the World Series, a bullpen journeyman became part of Los Angeles Dodgers lore.

Even Sandy Koufax, the 89-year-old Hall of Famer, stayed for the duration of the six-hour, 39-minute game so he could meet and shake hands with Klein afterward. After all, Klein didn’t just win a game; he restored faith in the idea that unheralded players can still script baseball’s purest moments. And Koufax, by stepping out of the shadows to acknowledge him, sealed it with generational approval.

Klein entered the postseason as an afterthought – a reliever who’d bounced between Triple-A and mop-up duty, overshadowed by the Dodgers’ constellation of stars and haunted by years of bullpen instability. He wasn't even on the roster for any of the earlier rounds in the playoffs, barely making the cut for the World Series squad due to Alex Vesia's departure.

Then came Game 3: 18 innings, both teams out of arms, suffocating tension. Klein stepped in and saved the bullpen, tossing scoreless frame after scoreless frame until the Dodgers finally prevailed. Overnight, he transformed from a roster footnote into the symbol of everything resilient and unpredictable about October baseball.

Sandy Koufax congratulating Will Klein is a microcosm of what makes October baseball magical

When Koufax sought Klein out after the game, it wasn’t just legend meeting player. It was history anointing the present. For Klein, getting praise from Koufax – the embodiment of Dodgers excellence, grace and pitching perfection – was like a knighthood. It told fans and teammates alike that this performance mattered on a generational level.

Dodgers fans have seen plenty of big-money signings and superstars deliver. But Klein’s story is the one that tugs at the heart. He wasn’t the headliner – he wasn’t even supposed to be there at all – yet when the entire city was sleep-deprived and hanging on every pitch in the longest World Series game in franchise history, he was the constant. The image of Koufax congratulating him instantly became the emotional postcard of the 2025 season.

And the Dodgers can't let this story fade into the background with a World Series loss. They dropped two out of three at home and now trail 3-2 as the series heads back to Toronto. LA is the better team; they just aren't executing. But they had someone like Klein pull it off when the team needed it most. Can it serve as motivation for everybody else as their backs are against the wall?

Every postseason writes its own folk tale, and Klein’s is this year’s version of the unexpected contributor who embodies heart and endurance when the stars fade. That Koufax – a man known for disappearing from the public eye – came forward to meet him only deepened the myth. It bridged eras, underscored the spiritual weight of Dodger tradition, and reminded everyone why baseball still thrives on moments like this.

Don't let it go to waste.