Brooklyn State of Mind: Robins Win 18 Innning Thriller In First Game After the Break (2062.6)

[lordtoffee]

It was fair to say that Brooklyn and Mexico City entered the first game after the All Star Game on two very different paths. For the Robins, the path is the familiar one of failure and losing. For Mexico City, they are on a path that they hope is a playoff berth. But the beauty of baseball is that each game offers the chance to see something different, and the drama that unfolded in Flatbush was insane.

By the end of the 6th, it looked like the Robins were going to drop another game in a rout. The score was 6-0, and the fans that had attended were making their way to the exits. But then a funny thing happened. The Robins rallied in the 8th. After being down 6-0, back to back home runs and a ringing double cut the score to 6-4, meaning that we had a game. When Frank Liyongo hit a moonshot home run to tie the game, the Robins had given themselves a chance. Little did anyone know that the Robins and the Aztecs were just getting started.

The game kept on going deep into the night, with both teams having chances to win. Both bullpens had been able to get out of jams in multiple innings, including the Robins escaping a bases loaded jam in the 17th, and the Aztecs getting out of jams in the 16th and 14th. The concession stands closed in the 14th inning, and BBA.TV viewership increased as even the West Coast games were ending. Both bullpens had pitched double digit innings, with the Robins logging 14 innings of scoreless baseball. That has to be a BBA record, and is going to end up being an excellent trivia question.

In the 18th inning, Carlos Gutiérrez hit a walk off 2 run shot at 1:52 Eastern Time, some 6 hours and 47 minutes since the game started at 7:05 Eastern Time. The Robins players and the fans that stayed were excited as all heck, savoring a memory of what almost certainly is one of the longest games in BBA history.

How does this compare to two other famous long running sporting events that involved the New York area in some way? Well, the Easter Epic in the 1987 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Islanders and the Capitals. That game started at 7:40 Eastern Time and ended at 1:58 AM, lasting 6 hours and 18 minutes. One thing to keep in mind is that in hockey the ice needs to be resurfaced in between periods, and the game went into 5 overtimes. Another game that comes to mind is the 2009 Big East Tournament quarterfinal between Syracuse and UCONN. That game started at 9:36 and ended at 1:22 AM, for a total of 3 hours and 46 minutes.

[JRamirez]

Awesome game

[lordtoffee]

Awesome game

That whole series was crazy. An 18 inning game, an 11 inning game, and a game where Mexico City made it close after being down 10-0 after 3. Hard to see a regular season series topping this one.