OT: The Greatest Baseball Game I Ever Saw

[Actual Pats Fan]

On NESN right now.

Appropriately, Al Michaels on play by play.

For sheer drama and roller coaster momentum shifts, unmatched.

Steve Crawford said, "In the bottom of the ninth, with one out, the bases loaded and the pennant on third base; if there'd been a bathroom on the mound, I'd have used it."

Dave Henderson, on his at bat in the top of the inning: "I didn't have a clue."

I remember him squinting into the setting sun shining on the batter's box.

The Red Sox dugout looked like a funeral dirge.

Afterward, the Red Sox airplane was unnecessary for their flight home.

The Angels did not recover.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Neither did Donnie Moore, unfortunately for him.

 

[scout]

I remember that day. I was in Sherman Texas at a bowling alley with a couple of friends. I forgot what the Angels did, but I said "F**ck loud enough that everyone heard me.....then I had to leave. The next day I read that the Angels were standing on the dugout top step waiting to rush the field and Dave Henderson homered, Sox win!

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

There were two outs and two strikes with DeCinces on second when fellow former Oriole teammate Grich hit a fly to deep center. As Michaels pointed out, at night that's a fly ball out.

Henderson wasn't even supposed to be in there. Armas got hurt, but even healthy Tony would not have chased down that ball. But Henderson did. The ball glanced off the heel of his glove and over the fence, and Hurst (Bruce, not Maurice) kneeled down in dejection as Grich and the crowd went wild.

What happened after that, for Dave, was Malcolm Butler-esque, as he took personal control of the outcome of the affair. But it still took a leadoff base hit by present-hero/future goat Bill Buckner and a two-strike, two-run home run by Don Baylor (another former Oriole and Angel) to pull the Red Sox within one run.

In the 11th, Hendu capped off his savior afternoon with a sacrifice fly, scoring Baylor with the go-ahead run.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

After Crawford retired the side in the ninth, Michaels said,

"We'll on to the tenth...If you can stand it...Oh boy"

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

I remember that day. I was in Sherman Texas at a bowling alley with a couple of friends. I forgot what the Angels did, but I said "F**ck loud enough that everyone heard me.....then I had to leave. The next day I read that the Angels were standing on the dugout top step waiting to rush the field and Dave Henderson homered, Sox win!

The Patriots had suffered a miserable loss to the Jets in Foxborough (is there any other kind?) earlier in the day.

My finger was on the remote control, ready to turn the misery off when Dave struck out, which by the way he did every time the Sox put him in in the late innings that year. Many a big inning finally ended with a Hendu K.

I watched the camera pan out as it had done for the Baylor HR, thinking, it's going ... there? In the stands? I did not believe it. Neither did Downing.

 

[JayNM]

If the only sport left after Corona is Baseball, I would become an avid bookworm

 

[Joker]

this thread makes me melancholic

 

[Galeb]

... wasn't worth the time spent watching it.

 

[Tony2046]

On NESN right now.

Appropriately, Al Michaels on play by play.

For sheer drama and roller coaster momentum shifts, unmatched.

Steve Crawford said, "In the bottom of the ninth, with one out, the bases loaded and the pennant on third base; if there'd been a bathroom on the mound, I'd have used it."

Dave Henderson, on his at bat in the top of the inning: "I didn't have a clue."

I remember him squinting into the setting sun shining on the batter's box.

The Red Sox dugout looked like a funeral dirge.

Afterward, the Red Sox airplane was unnecessary for their flight home.

The Angels did not recover.

The greatest baseball game I ever saw was game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. That game stil gives me chills.

 

[Pats Fanatic]

The greatest baseball game I ever saw was game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. That game stil gives me chills.

another one that I will always love.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

this thread makes me melancholic

If it makes you feel any better, Hendu and Baylor went on to get their deserved World Series rings elsewhere, in Oakland and Minneapolis.

It turned out to be a happy day, and a fun series.

Just forget about the time. Tomorrow's a new day, and it looks like Jarrett Stidham is Bill's guy.

But things can always change.

As they say at Fedex, 'Change is the one constant here.'

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Phenomenal game. A series we were favored to win, with a 2-3-2 format. We blow a heartbreaking G4 to go down 3-1, on the brink of losing the series in G5 in LA, down 5-2 in the 9th.

From there until it ended 3 innings later, there must've been a dozen of the clutchest most insane plays by both teams on both offense and defense. Al Michaels & Jim Palmer were speechless. Definitely on the short list of all time great Red Sox games.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

... wasn't worth the time spent watching it.

To request a time refund, you must mail the completed Form T-70V to:

Office of Chronology Reimbursement
PO Box 96441
Washington, DC 20090-6441

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

We blow a heartbreaking G4 to go down 3-1, on the brink of losing the series

A short turnaround, starting the day game after the late night before.

Daytime postseason games were awesome. TV ratings shifted everything after dark.

McNamara was badly exposed in the postseason. If he'd followed the usual practice of putting Stapleton in in the late innings in Game 6 of the Series, things may have turned out very different.

From there until it ended 3 innings later, there must've been a dozen of the clutchest most insane plays by both teams on both offense and defense.

Evans' throw home in the bottom of the ninth was perfect, and should have nailed Jones. To this day I don't know what Gedman was doing up the line. If he'd stayed back blocking the plate, they had Jones dead to rights.

Al Michaels & Jim Palmer were speechless.

Michaels: "This whole ride we've been on today belongs to Disneyland."

Definitely on the short list of all time great Red Sox games.

It was just over only a month later, on November 16th, when the Patriots pulled an amazing comeback, also at Anaheim Stadium, to beat the Rams and send everyone home sad, again.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

The Patriots had suffered a miserable loss to the Jets in Foxborough (is there any other kind?) earlier in the day.

My finger was on the remote control, ready to turn the misery off when Dave struck out, which by the way he did every time the Sox put him in in the late innings that year. Many a big inning finally ended with a Hendu K.

I watched the camera pan out as it had done for the Baylor HR, thinking, it's going ... there? In the stands? I did not believe it. Neither did Downing.

The Sox lost a heartbreaker Saturday night to go down 3-1. When the Angels had the lead late in game 5, I got frustrated and switched to football. During the football game, a graphic indicated it was the top of the 9th with the Sox trailing 5-2, so I switched back to see the end of the Sox season. Apparently the graphic was a bit slow because when I switched back, it was 5-4 and Hendu was coming to the plate...

"...to left field and *deep*. Downing goes back...and it's *gone*! Unbelievable!" - Al Michaels

It was the most incredible homerun I've ever seen at that time and still top 5. After the Sox finished them off in 11, it really did feel that the Sox were going to smoke them in Fenway and they pretty much did.

Poor Hendu. Between that and the 10th inning HR in "Game 6", he was all set up to be a Sox legend. Unfortunately there was a bottom of the 10th in that latter game.

Regards,
Chris

 

[bormio]

A strike away from losing the ALCS and won, a strike away from winning the World Series the same year and lost. Damn. But Gedman getting hit by the pitch was key. He was hopeless otherwise against that guy.

 

[bormio]

I remember when they panned across the Angels’ dugout after the first Hendu homer. Gene Mauch, who never went to a World Series, had this look. He knew he never was going to.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Poor Hendu. Between that and the 10th inning HR in "Game 6", he was all set up to be a Sox legend.

Nothing lessens Dave's legacy and contribution to Boston sports.

He has a lot of company in guys who made championship plays, that did not lead to a title.

Like Bernie Carbo.

It is wrong to diminish - or as some in the media, like with the initials M.F. [how appropriate is that] - dismiss so many of the greatest Boston teams simply because they did not win it all.

The 1967 Red Sox are in my opinion the most significant team in their history. Led by Yaz, they took it upon themselves to put the Red Sox back on the map, and captured the hearts of New England.

Just like the 1976 New England Patriots.

 

[bormio]

Actually the greatest baseball game I ever saw was South Carolina - Florida in the 2011 CWS finals. Florida led 1-0 until S.C. tied in the the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the 9th, Florida has bases loaded with no outs. Hit to the drawn in 2nd baseman was one out at home. Then a 4-2-3 double play got them out of it. 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, Bucky Effing Dent’s son on second. Mike Zunino singles to left, and the Carolina LF throws the spawn of the devil out at home with a perfect strike in the air. Carolina won in the 11th on a horribly tainted run and won their second CWS in a row the next night. Jackie Bradley was on that team (and the 2010 one).