At the end of the day I’m not getting deep enough to really know much about algorithms. Is pitch count something important? I’d guess it is. But I’ve got a few Opening Week fun fact kind of things going on, so in the eternal words of Sean Marko, why not make then earn a few of those sweet, sweet, PPT?
Shortest Game
The shortest game of the week happened yesterday, registering in at 2 hours and 43 minutes as Hawaii’s Alaric Wullenweber crossed horns with Sacramento’s Matt McCartney. Wullenweber was his usuals Wullenweber self, allowing two runs on six and a third innings, striking out six and walking no one, but McCartney had his number, taking the win with a 7-inning, three hit performance. The Mad Popes took home a 2-1 win in a game that saw ten hits, one walk and an error.
Longest Game
The longest game of the week was, not too surprisingly, the 17-inning affair on opening day in which Omaha outlasted Chicago to win 8-7 at home. This is a game the featured a 3-run outburst in the top of the 11th, only to be matched by an equal crooked number in the bottom of the inning. Chicago threw nine pitchers, Omaha seven. Oh, and there was also a 39-minute rain delay. All total, the Omaha victory came in seven hours and eight minutes.
Among the interesting facts of this game is that Cyclone ace Timo Dooley balked home a run in the second inning that certain limited arguments might say was the eventual cause of this monster of a debacle. Here’s the inning in question:
Longest 9-Inning GameTOP OF THE 2ND
Chicago Black Sox batting - Pitching for Omaha Cyclones : RHP Timo Dooley
Batting: LHB Aarnoud Budding 0-0: Ball
1-0: Called Strike
1-1: Called Strike
1-2: SINGLE (Line Drive, 9S, EV 94.4 MPH)
Batting: RHB Pedro Gómez 0-0: Swinging Strike
0-1: SINGLE (Groundball, 56D, EV 97.5 MPH)
Aarnoud Budding to second
Batting: SHB Rocky Wattson 0-0: Foul Ball, location: 2F
0-1: Ball
1-1: Foul Ball, location: 2F
1-2: SINGLE (Groundball, 4MD, EV 101.2 MPH)
Aarnoud Budding to third
Pedro Gómez to second
Batting: LHB David McElroy Balk!
Aarnoud Budding scores
Pedro Gómez to third
Rocky Wattson to second
0-0: Called Strike
0-1: Ground out 6-3 (Groundball, 56D, EV 112.5 MPH)
Pedro Gómez scores
Batting: RHB Dan Flores 0-0: Ball
1-0: Called Strike
1-1: Fly out, F7 (Line Drive, 7, EV 97.5 MPH)
Batting: RHB Larry Barkin 0-0: Ball
1-0: Ball
2-0: Called Strike
2-1: Ground out 5-3 (Groundball, 56, EV 84.4 MPH)
Top of the 2nd over - 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base; Chicago 2 - Omaha 0
It’s not quite fair to claim a 17-inning game the longest of all. I mean, sure it is. So what? Let’s talk turkeys and turkeys rather than turkeys and shoeless, eh? The longest 9-inning game happened on Friday, April 3rd when Boise visited Mexico City and spent four hours and 57 minutes walking away with a 13-3 victory. The delay came in the fifth inning, with the Spuds up two runs, and probably cost Felipe Mendez a win, as he was pulled after only four innings.
Longest 9-Inning Game Without a Mexico City Delay
Still, it’s not really fair to count a game in Mexico City, either. The longest game without a rain delay also included Boise, this time during a trip to El Paso. The event lasted four hours and thirteen minutes. The Spuds changed pitchers six times as starter Roy Cooper was chased with six runs by the second inning. The Chili’s tossed six pitchers. There were nine walks in the game, and an error, to go with 24 hits. I’m guessing that the Chili park will force a lot of very long games.
This makes me think about going back to look at last season and see how long each team’s home games lasted. Do offensive minded parks register longer games? I’d guess so. It also makes me thing about adding pitch count to my little script. I’d assume that pitchers in little parks throw a lot more pitches than those in bigger places…but how many is another question.
Dunno.
My work here seems to be never done.
