Game 3 of World Series makes for wild work day

ST. LOUIS -- Every World Series game has its own twists and turns, but Game 3 was one of a kind.

Two years ago in Texas, the Cardinals thumped the Rangers, 16-7, in Game 3 as Albert Pujols propelled the Redbirds to victory with three home runs (joining Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to do so). This year, Mike Matheny's squad won it on an already famous obstruction call (the first time a World Series game has ended that way).

The common denominator was the Cardinals, who participated in both of the World Series, the seven-game thriller in 2011 and what looks like a repeat here in 2013 vs. the Red Sox. Saturday night's stunner -- a 5-4 walk-off victory for St. Louis -- capped what had been an eventful day.

It started six hours before first pitch, which is when all the media arrive for World Series games. Don't fool yourself -- covering a game is no eight-hour job. Reporters arrive early and leave late -- really late. Most of the MLB.com crew arrived at the ballpark around 2 p.m. CT and did not depart until all the stories were filed 12 hours later.

First up are the mandatory news conferences. MLB requires teams to have the manager and the next game's starting pitcher (in most circumstances) available for questions prior to each game. On this day, that meant Matheny and Game 4 starter Lance Lynn for the Cardinals and manager John Farrell and starting pitcher Clay Buchholz for the Red Sox.

Then the media members make their way to the press box to write pregame stories, or go onto the field for batting practice. That's when they sometimes catch players for an interview or update social media.

On this day, many media swarmed back into the interview room for the presentation of the Roberto Clemente Award for service to Carlos Beltran. There to give Beltran his trophy were Vera Clemente, Roberto's widow, and Commissioner Bud Selig.

Part of this day's assignment was interviewing this year's Breaking Barriers winner, Missouri ninth-grader Jennifer Wayland, whose winning essay was a composition on body image. Wayland made a visit in the fourth inning to the Commissioner's suite, where she met Selig, MLB executive vice president of baseball development Frank Robinson and others.

But for a member of the MLB.com working media, the day was far from over. After poring over replays of the bizarre walk-off play, the day would end as it had begun: with news conferences. Not only did Farrell and Matheny hold court in the interview room, but due to the controversial nature of the game's last play, a joint conference was held with MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre and several of the umpires.

All in all, it was one crazy, long day at the office.