The Longest Game

Updated

. . . I ever attended.  August 19, 1968, Shea Stadium, San Francisco Giants at the New York Mets.  Appropriately enough it was The Year of the Pitcher because this was a 17 inning 1-0 game.

It was a warm summer night with announced attendance of 28,370 though I doubt more than 3 or 4,000 were there at the end.  My Dad and I usually went to see a Mets game anytime the Giants came into New York for a series.  We usually rooted for the Mets except when they played the Giants since Willie Mays played for the Bay Area team but by the 17th inning the few of us left were rooting for anyone to score and end the agony.

The two starting pitchers were dominant.  Mets rookie Jerry Koosman pitched 12 shutout innings allowing only five hits and five walks while Bob Bolin matched him for 11 innings giving up seven hits and striking out ten.

The Giants finally scored in the top of the 17th when Hal Lanier singled to left.  A sacrifice bunt moved him to second and then he made it to third on groundout.  The winning run scored on a single by former Met, Ron Hunt.  A typical 1968 rally.

The Mets only used two pitchers and the Giants three and the game took only four hours and nineteen minutes.

Update

That 17 inning game in 1968 took only seven minutes longer than the 9 inning game I attended last night at Fenway at which the Yankees beat the Sox.  Beautiful night, ugly game.