Monday, May 29, 2006
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In the aftermath of the delight and delirium of one of the Pirates' great games in recent memory, the 8-7, 18-inning triumph of wills against the Houston Astros that ended at 12:55 a.m. yesterday, the players gathered in a circle at the center of the team's clubhouse.
A few words were spoken, but not many were needed.
"We've been through a lot, man, and most of it hasn't been good," reliever Mike Gonzalez would say later. "We have to be there for each other. We have to stick together, find a way to make this thing work."
Some players hung around to watch highlights, but most filed out at about 1:30 a.m., hoping to catch a few winks before the afternoon game that would follow in about 12 hours.
Most, but not all.
Jim Tracy thought about driving to his home in the South Hills, realized he would have to be up by 5:30 a.m. to head back, and decided against it. He asked equipment manager Roger Wilson for a blanket and camped out on his couch in the manager's office.
When he awoke, he still could not stop thinking about all that had occurred.
"Amazing," Tracy said. "Especially when you start recalling all the special things that took place over the course of that game."
The most special, of course, was the longevity itself.
The length of 5 hours, 49 minutes is believed to mark the longest game played in Pittsburgh, which has been home to a National League team since 1887. The 18 innings were the most since 1989, another 18-inning marathon against the Chicago Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium.
The most recent game in Major League Baseball to last 18 came July 28, 2005, when the Toronto Blue Jays beat the visiting Los Angeles Angels, 2-1.
Other figures:
* 45 of the 50 total players were used, including every reliever on each side. The only Pirates who did not participate were starters Zach Duke and Oliver Perez, although Duke had been ordered to head to the bullpen in the 18th in case eventual winner Victor Santos could not hold up.
* 595 pitches thrown, including 55 in five exceptional innings by Ryan Vogelsong, working his third consecutive game.
* 158 men came to the plate and produced 33 hits and 21 walks while stranding 37 on base.
Beyond the numbers, there was drama aplenty.
The Pirates overcame three deficits, in the fifth, eighth and 17th innings. All came on home runs, too, off the bats of Jason Bay, Jeromy Burnitz and Jose Castillo.
"Look at all the big hits we had, time and again," Vogelsong said. "You don't see one of those very often, much less that many."
They made several outstanding defensive plays, too.
In the eighth, shortstop Jack Wilson nailed Chris Burke at the plate with a relay throw from out in left field.
In the 13th, Bay reached above the fence in left field to take a home run from Morgan Ensberg. A few fans standing in the area helped Bay by clearing out of his way.
In the 14th, Wilson ranged deep into the hole on a bouncer by Taylor Buchholz and made an acrobatic throw across his body to first, his finest effort of the season.
As general manager Dave Littlefield put it, "There were a lot of moments that led up to the final outcome."
To be sure, though, what likely will be remembered from this one was the finish.
The Pirates had runners at the corners with nobody out in the decisive 18th, and Jose Bautista stepped to the plate looking to hit a fly ball.
"Yeah, but I wanted to hit it a lot deeper than I did," he recalled.
It went high but not far, coming down in shallow center field, where strong-armed Willy Taveras readied to throw home.
No matter what, Tracy revealed yesterday, Bay was coming home.
"You have to take that chance there," he said.
This was the thinking: Castillo was on deck, and the Astros surely would walk him. That would bring up Santos with bases loaded and bring the excellent possibility of a double play, although Tracy and bench coach Jim Lett had considered forbidding Santos from swinging.
It would be moot.
Tracy gave third base coach Jeff Cox a slight nod before Bautista's at-bat, a sign he should think aggressively. But the call still belonged to Cox, and he decided immediately after the ball went up that Bay would go.
"You've got to take a shot," Cox said. "Nothing to lose."
Taveras' throw was a good one, taking a straight path and arriving to catcher Eric Munson in plenty of time. But Munson, inexperienced behind the plate, appeared to glance to his left to see Bay barreling toward him, then never fielded the ball cleanly.
By the time Bay leveled him with a lowered shoulder, Munson had no chance to recover.
"It was one of those games, one of those moments you'll never forget," Bay said. "A really special night, from start to finish."
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