OK, that's how you fill the offseason news void. Fun read on a drab Monday morning.

um, this game enters the chat

more runs, an extra inning, etc

This is an all-timer.

This is my pick. I once wrote an article calling it the greatest game ever.

Holy ####.

“Teams combined to post a 7.06 ERA at Coors Field in 1996, which was not only the highest in the Majors that season, but it remains the highest ERA for any individual ballpark in a single season in Major League history.”

I forgot about those days.

Wow, in that 1932 game Johnny Burnet went 9-11 and Wes Farrell went 0-5 while throwing 11.1 innings of relief. Across the diamond Eddie Rommell went 3-7 while throwing 17 innings of relief, giving up 14 runs on 29 hits and, um, winning.

Across the diamond Eddie Rommell went 3-7 while throwing 17 innings of relief, giving up 14 runs on 29 hits and, um, winning.

Just pitching to the score.

from Rommel's SABR bio:

"The Athletics traveled to Cleveland for one make-up game, and to save on travel expenses, Connie Mack took along only two pitchers, Rommel and rookie Lew Krausse, who started. Krausse was ineffective and Rommel, who had pitched in relief in the previous two games, took over for Krausse at the start of the second inning. Both teams scored frequently, and the game went into extra innings tied 15-15. Rommel soldiered on and emerged victorious when the Athletics scored a run in the 18th inning. Eddie gave up 29 hits, nine walks, and 14 runs in his 17 innings of relief. (The losing pitcher, Wes Ferrell, gave up 12 hits and eight runs in 11? innings.)

It was Rommel’s 171st and last major-league victory. “I was 34 at the time, and I had worked the two previous days. It never occurred to me that I’d have to go more than a couple of innings, if any. It was the end of me as a pitcher, too.”

Rommel finished the season but was not himself anymore, and Mack released him after the season."

..........

[note: Rommel didn't pitch for a month after this one, and only had 5 appearances left in his career.]

Rommel finished the season but was not himself anymore, and Mack released him after the season."

..........

[note: Rommel didn't pitch for a month after this one, and only had 5 appearances left in his career.]

By getting his arm destroyed, Rommel could never be peddled at a season's end by Mack, thus becoming the best to play his entire career with the Athletics franchise.

By coincidence, Rommel was umpiring in one of the greatest games I ever attended, a game in which 40% of the balls hit over Griffith Stadium's CF wall in the Stadium's 51 year old were hit by Mickey Mantle.

Rommel faced 87 batters in that 1932 game. Oeschger and Cadore faced 90 and 96, respectively, but they were in their upper 20s rather than mid-30s and didn't have to pitch to Jimmy Foxx and other sluggers. Given the 9 walks, Rommel might've thrown 300+ pitches that day, certainly over 250. I thought Spahnnie tossing about 230 pitches to 56 batters at age 42 was amazing, but probably the vast majority of Rommel's pitches came with runners OB while much of Spahn's with bases empty.

That Rick Camp game is a doozy.

This is probably the wildest Red Sox game in semi-recent memory.

This might be the craziest game I've ever attended. Any time a game is extended by a strikeout and wild pitch that leads to the winning run it's entertaining.

I'm going to agree with Howie that the 23-22 game in '79 between the Phillies and Cubs has to be given serious consideration for wildest game in MLB history.

If I'm remembering correctly from being eight, it had the serendipity of the best player in the game (Schmidt) knocking in the first runs with a HR and the winning run with a HR as well.

Two World Series games in my lifetime that stand out:

Blue Jays 15, Phillies 14 in the '93 World Series. Phillies had a 5 run lead going into the 8th before imploding (error, Mitch Williams walk and Devon White triple).



The back-and-forth Astros-Dodgers game in 2017. Houston just seemed to score at will in this game.

This is probably the wildest Red Sox game in semi-recent memory.

Now that is wild. You don't often see a team lead 10-0 after one inning, give up the lead, get it back, and then have to hang on.

#2, #12: I assume the "wild" definition includes lead changes. Phils-Cubs was "wild" of course but the Cubs never had the lead.

The first inning that day featured a HR from Phils' starter Randy Lerch and a triple from Cubs reliever Donnie Moore. Turns out Moore was a pretty good hitter -- 281/317/386, 86 OPS+.

The infamous 23-22 1979 game would probably be my pick -- though, there was another (ironically, also Phillies-Cubs) game in the 1920s that was higher scoring... same basic schema - from reading memory (obviously), the Cubs built like a 16 run lead and barely hung on like 26-22. I *think* the 1922(?) game remains the highest scoring MLB game of all time.

That said, the Sandberg game ought to get mention, too.

Marquee happened to do a classic game replay a while back and it was really a whale of a game. Obviously, known as the "Sandberg game" for the two game-tying HRs, but it was overall just a great game. It was really fun to do a rewatch - I do remember it was a "Game of the Week" and I also forgot that until Sandberg hit the 2nd game-tying homer, they had already 'awarded' Willie McGee Player of the Game because he hit for the cycle.

Obviously, not as many runs... but it would still be my choice. The Cards pummeled and knocked out Steve Trout early. Rich Bordi (blast from the past!) managed to keep things in control. Bob Dernier kept getting on base and scoring. Willie McGee was a monster. Whitey Herzog did his insect baseball thing with a bunch of annoying gnats constantly stealing bases (I think the Cards stole something like 7 bases on the day).

Certainly the best game I've ever seen.

Post #16:

Cubs 26, Philies 23. Cubs led 25-6 at one point. The Phillies had the tying run on first when the game ended.

My favorite fact of the 23-22 game is that it may be the only time in history a starting pitcher both homered and failed to survive the first inning.

Dag, for your favourite game, the Mets/Braves contest, am I misreading the box score or did Keith Hernandez actually hit for the cycle in this game also? Also had a BB, so like a cycle whilst doing a wheelie....

#2, #12: I assume the "wild" definition includes lead changes. Phils-Cubs was "wild" of course but the Cubs never had the lead.

The first inning that day featured a HR from Phils' starter Randy Lerch and a triple from Cubs reliever Donnie Moore. Turns out Moore was a pretty good hitter -- 281/317/386, 86 OPS+.

I was in high school in the spring of 1979. I had to take 2 different RTA buses home. While waiting on the corner of 95th street and Central avenue for the transfer, I caught some of the game in a department store front window. The Cubs were mounting a big rally in the face of a 21-9 deficit. I got home in time to see them tie the game 22-22 in the bottom of the eighth.

the Mets-Braves game was awesome in part because it was "Fireworks Night" around July 4.

that always attracts many young families, of course, with some of the kids probably seeing their first MLB game that night. even if they might get bored, parents can remind them of the fireworks to come soon.

tough call for parents, I would think. many must have left before extra innings, understandably.

but if they stuck around, might be a point where there is no need to leave, because the kid/kids are sound asleep so why bother?
:)

Post #18: - Yup, Hernandez did that. It's one of two memorable games where a cycle was completely overshadoweed by the craziness. The other has also benn mentioned in this thread. One of the Cardinals hit for the cycle in the Sandberg Game.

the Mets-Braves game was awesome in part because it was "Fireworks Night" around July 4.

This actually plays a key role in the story. First, it's the most likely reason why the umps didn't call the game in the first place. Atlanta had a big crowd for fireworks, so nevermind the long rain delay before the first pitch and the long rain delay during the game - they played through it. (The rain affected the game. One outfield slipped badly on some INCREDIBLY wet grass in the OF causing some run to score. Another time, a grounded died in shallow center because all the wet grass slowed it down -- you could actually see the water spurting up like some little kid's slip'n'slide.

More importantly, due to the rain delays and the game's incredible length, the final pitch wasn't thrown until 3:55 AM. At which point, fireworks went off in the now-brightening sky at 4:01 AM. BUT -- people living near the stadium didn't know what was going on. It was 4 AM and they're hearing explosiions. Pepole actually called the cops, freaking out the Libyan terrorists were blowing stuff up.

i don't think it objectively measures up here but - though i saw the camp game on tv, it was the oquendo game that stuck with me as a kid.

#22 SI brought up that game in an article on the Braves problems. Said something like the Cardinals conceded in the 15th. The Braves won in the 19th.

MLB.com has video of almost the entire 23-22 Phillies-Cubs game, but it's missing an important part. At 2:49:00, Bill Buckner had just singled to make it 22-20 and Dave Kingman, who'd already hit three HRs in the game, was coming up with two runners on. The crowd and Jack Brickhouse are going crazy. The Phillies visit the mound, and then we hear Brickhouse say "The batter now, Steve Ontiveros." Apparently Kingman flied out, but the Cubs did tie it later in the inning.

MLB.com has video of almost the entire 23-22 Phillies-Cubs game, but it's missing an important part. At 2:49:00, Bill Buckner had just singled to make it 22-20 and Dave Kingman, who'd already hit three HRs in the game, was coming up with two runners on. The crowd and Jack Brickhouse are going crazy. The Phillies visit the mound, and then we hear Brickhouse say "The batter now, Steve Ontiveros." Apparently Kingman flied out, but the Cubs did tie it later in the inning.

Mike Schmidt of course hit the game winning HR in the 10th inning. 3 years earlier at Wrigley, he hit a game winning homer in the 10th inning in a nearly equally ridiculous game.

Cubs take a 12-1 lead after 3. Phillies chip away and eventually take the lead in the 9th, 15-13. Cubs tie on a 2 out, 2 run single by Steve Swisher to send into extras. Schmidt hits a 2 run HR in the 10th, his 4th of the game.

Schmidt in Wrigley: 307/396/653 with 50 HR in 611 PA. That's nearly 40 points of BA and 136 points of SLG above his career averages. A 5.4% career HR rate vs 8.2% at Wrigley. Perhaps the Cubs should not have used their 1971 1st round pick on Jeff Wehmeier.

It remains incredible that Brett and Schmidt were picked back-to-back and even more stunning not until the 29th and 30th picks. The entire first round had 153 WAR (a very good total); Schmidt had 107 on his own.

Took me a second to realize that George Brett wasn't as bad as i thought that was saying