Pawtucket Red Sox Begin Longest Game in Baseball History
By David Hill
One of the joys of baseball is that there is no limit to how long a game will be played. Games go into extra innings until someone wins. On this date in 1981, the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings began their 33 inning marathon.
Minor league baseball is a great bargain. For relatively little money compared to the price of a major league game, fans can get to see the stars of tomorrow in a far more intimate atmosphere, having a chance for autographs and to meet the players even for a few seconds. For those who went to see the Pawtucket Red Sox face off against the Rochester Red Wings on April 18, 1981, they got even more of a bargain.
The game began as a classic pitcher’s duel, with starters Larry Jones and Danny Parks matching zero for zero. The Red Wings scored first, as Chris Bourjos drove home Mark Corey for the game’s first run. That score held up until the bottom of the ninth, when Chico Walker doubled, moved to third on Jones’ wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Russ Laribee.
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From that point, the game just kept going. There were a few chances for either team to get on the board, but they were not to be. In the top of the 11th, future Hall of Famer Wade Boggs made a diving catch of a line drive that appeared as though it would go into the left field corner for a double, and later, Sam Bowen hit a high fly ball that was kept in McCoy Stadium due to the wind.
Rochester finally scored again in the top of the 21st inning. Dave Huppert hit an RBI double to plate Mike Hart, but Wade Boggs doubled in the bottom of the inning, scoring Dave Kosa to tie the game. The game kept going from that point, eventually breaking the record for the longest game, formerly held by the Miami Marlins and St. Petersburg Cardinals, a 29 inning contest.
Finally, at 4:09 in the morning on the second day, after the 32nd inning, the game was suspended, slated to be made up when the Red Wings came back to Pawtucket. That happened on June 23rd before a sellout crowd and 140 members of the press. With the strike ongoing, the Red Sox-Red Wings game was the biggest ticket.
As it happens, the game ended in 18 minutes. After a scoreless top of the 33rd, the Red Sox jumped on reliever Steve Grilli. He hit Marty Barrett with his first offering, then gave up a single to Walker. After an intentional walk, Cliff Speck entered the game, giving up a base hit to Koza to end the longest game in baseball history.
Next: Roberto Clemente makes his debut
One never knows what they will see when they go to the ballpark. For those who went to that matchup between with the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, they were able to see more than future major league stars; they were able to see history.