EXTRA INNINGS

In honor of the Padres, Rockies 22 inning game on Thursday night in San Diego I took a moment to recall some of my fond memories of extra inning baseball games I attended:

July 27, 2002 - Lynchburg Hillcats vs. Salem Avalanche (16 Innings) ... I remember that Lynchburg won the game although I don't remember the score. After the 13th inning me and my friends were determined to stay until the end. If I remember correctly, the game ended around 11:30 p.m. or roughly 4 1/2 hours after it started.

April 11, 2003 - Lansing Lugnuts vs. South Bend Silver Hawks (15 Innings) ... The home opener for the 'Hawks that seasons and I was running on roughly two hours of sleep. I just wanted the game to end because I could barely stay awake. Thankfully the Lugnuts ended my misery with two runs in the top of the 15th!

June 1, 2003 - New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers (17 Innings) ... It was Roger Clemens' second attempt at career win 300 and I kept score for all 17 innings (it's pretty sweet looking scorecard too)! After 5+ hours in the afternoon sun I was fried! But at least the Yankees won with homerun by Alfonso Soriano and Jorge Posada in the top of the 17th.

"This is a game to be savored, not gulped. There's time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings."

- Bill Veeck