11/17/24
April 18, 2006
Great link - great story. So glad I didn't have to sit through it.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:51 PM on April 18, 2006
By the time the whole affair ended, at precisely 4:07 a.m. the next morning -- when someone finally had the good sense to suspend play -- there were less than two dozens fans still on hand, each of whom was rewarded with a season ticket. Beautiful. The losing pitcher, with zero innings pitched, was Rochester's Steve Grilli, who had been in another organization when the game began, and who wound up here because of a waiver claim. That too.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:01 PM on April 18, 2006
Great link, thanks. My favorite part: Williams walked off the field lugging behind him that unsightly 0 for 13 -- which remains an all-time record for single-game futility -- and headed for the clubhouse for a well-deserved beer. "But we had this guy, Mark Corey, who had gotten taken out of the game in about the 13th inning," Williams said. "And when we got back to the clubhouse, all the beer was gone and [Corey] was hammered. I mean, hammered."
posted by hootch at 01:05 PM on April 18, 2006
Fantastic. I loved Luis Aponte trying to convince his wife he was late because the game had dragged on.
posted by 86 at 01:11 PM on April 18, 2006
Memories: I once traded my friend for his worn-out Pawsox commemorative cup. Half the box score was rubbed off, but still. At age 30, I'd be less likely to swap things for used kitchen goods.
posted by yerfatma at 01:20 PM on April 18, 2006
Then how would you ever acquire your own home?
posted by BullpenPro at 01:33 PM on April 18, 2006
"Huppert himself caught 31 straight innings before Rochester Manager Doc Edwards saw fit to pinch-hit for him in the 32nd." Holy shit, 31 straight innings of catching.
posted by chris2sy at 01:49 PM on April 18, 2006
Thank God for generous scorers. Dallas Williams surely does. Great link, lilnemo. Well done, indeed.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:19 PM on April 18, 2006
You can never have too many mugs, but you traded your friend? Isn't that illegal?
posted by Pabo at 02:44 PM on April 18, 2006
I recently played 21 innings of MVP06 and nearly lost it when I hit an RBI double in the top half of the 21st. The game took about an hour but I was exhausted by about 16th. It took a good week for my thumbs to fully recover.
posted by tron7 at 02:45 PM on April 18, 2006
I'm a "sports history" junkie. I don't turn off baseball games that go into extra innings (even if I really don't care about the outcome) and I don't turn off playoff hockey games that go in overtime. I've seen all of the "long" NHL playoff games in my viewing lifetime (1984 and beyond), just in case one of them becomes the new "longest game ever". I've paid for it the next day at work, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I recently played 21 innings of MVP06 and nearly lost it when I hit an RBI double in the top half of the 21st. The game took about an hour but I was exhausted by about 16th. It took a good week for my thumbs to fully recover. One of my fantasy baseball games (Scoresheet) last year went for 23 innings. I ended up winning because the other guy ran out of innings pitched by his team (it's based on how well your players do each week) and the computer had to substitute in the dreaded default "Pitcher, AAA". My wife thought it was a bit much to do a "victory lap" around the computer room.
posted by grum@work at 04:19 PM on April 18, 2006
My wife thought it was a bit much to do a "victory lap" around the computer room. So long as the lap wasn't sans pants, I think you're okay.
posted by lilnemo at 05:23 PM on April 18, 2006
As it turns out, there was -- only nobody could locate the rule. Home plate umpire Jack Lietz's rule book, which he kept pulling out of his back pocket between innings to consult, was missing the rule about curfews. Now talk about an official's mistake, DOH! Btw, what is the curfew rule?
posted by njsk8r20 at 05:54 PM on April 18, 2006
It's the rule that says you punk skaters better be off the streets by midnight, dammit!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 06:02 PM on April 18, 2006
two part answer njsk8r; The rule that they would have been looking for in the Official Rules Book, would have been 4.12 which deals with suspended games, but does not set a curfew. This is left up to the individual league, and anything pertaining to it would have been posted in the locker rooms, home, visitors and umpires. I am not sure what the curfew was in the IL at that time, but I do know that for many years the AL, and most of the minors had a curfew of 1 AM prevailing local time. No inning could begin after that time. Also, by rule an inning is defind as having begun the moment that the third final out was made in the previous inning. So, if the third out of the 24th inning is made at 12:59:30 AM they will be playing the 25th inning (that is if there is a scoreboard clock in use, otherwise I guarantee the third base umpires watch will read 1:01 and everyone is headed to bed.)
posted by elovrich at 07:04 PM on April 18, 2006
Bugmenot