HornFanatic
25+ Posts
Last night’s marathon was an incredible game, with gutty performances by both teams. Most extra-inning games end within an inning or two because one team relatively quickly scores more runs than the opponent can match in the same inning.
However, it appears to me that it took a special set of circumstances for this 25-inning phenomenon to have occured:
1. First and foremost, excellent pitching by many pitchers for both teams, throwing mostly strikes, resulting in very few walks, hit batters, wild pitches, passed balls, and stolen bases.
2. Two extremely weak-hitting teams, resulting in lots of strikeouts, groundouts, and flyouts.
3. A very large ball park.
4. Little or no wind.
5. Artificial turf that slows down every ball that touches it.
6. The absence of any weather factors (bright sunlight, slippery conditions, etc.) that might have made fielding difficult.
7. Ultra-conservative offensive strategies by both teams, growing even more conservative as the game wore on. (I thought I saw Greg Davis talking to Augie in the Longhorn dugout.) No aggressive baserunning, no hit-and-runs, few attempts to steal bases, no squeeze plays, etc. In other words, both teams were increasingly playing not to lose, instead of playing to win.
8. Questionable outs called by umpires that directly resulted in negating possible scoring opportunities
I’m not attempting to take anything away from the numerous outstanding performances by players on both teams, just trying to add some perspective to how this game was able to have happened. If and when this record is broken by a longer game, I suspect that the circumstances will be quite similar; i.e. another low-scoring game.
There are many other circumstances that probably could be included, but I am just about brain-dead after sitting through the entire game last night. Please feel free to add to my list, to disagree, or include your own perspective.
However, it appears to me that it took a special set of circumstances for this 25-inning phenomenon to have occured:
1. First and foremost, excellent pitching by many pitchers for both teams, throwing mostly strikes, resulting in very few walks, hit batters, wild pitches, passed balls, and stolen bases.
2. Two extremely weak-hitting teams, resulting in lots of strikeouts, groundouts, and flyouts.
3. A very large ball park.
4. Little or no wind.
5. Artificial turf that slows down every ball that touches it.
6. The absence of any weather factors (bright sunlight, slippery conditions, etc.) that might have made fielding difficult.
7. Ultra-conservative offensive strategies by both teams, growing even more conservative as the game wore on. (I thought I saw Greg Davis talking to Augie in the Longhorn dugout.) No aggressive baserunning, no hit-and-runs, few attempts to steal bases, no squeeze plays, etc. In other words, both teams were increasingly playing not to lose, instead of playing to win.
8. Questionable outs called by umpires that directly resulted in negating possible scoring opportunities
I’m not attempting to take anything away from the numerous outstanding performances by players on both teams, just trying to add some perspective to how this game was able to have happened. If and when this record is broken by a longer game, I suspect that the circumstances will be quite similar; i.e. another low-scoring game.
There are many other circumstances that probably could be included, but I am just about brain-dead after sitting through the entire game last night. Please feel free to add to my list, to disagree, or include your own perspective.
