The Longest Extra-Inning Opening Day Game…
took place on April 19, 1960….in Cleveland. The Indians hosted the Detroit Tigers. It went 15 innings, both starters went 10 innings before being relieved. Hall of Famer (and former U.S. Senator) Jim Bunning pitched the 11th for Detroit. Teams used a total of 8 pitchers (Detroit - 5, Cleveland - 3)
The Tigers won the game 4-2. Hall of Famer Al Kaline knocked in the winning runs in the top of the 15th. Pete Burnside was the winning pitcher having pitched four innings of perfect relief. The losing pitcher was Mudcat Grant, who would go on to be the Sporting News’ AL Pitcher of the Year for the Twins in 1965. The game lasted 4:54.
took place on April 5, 2012…in Cleveland. The Indians hosted the Toronto Blue Jays. It went 16 innings. The Blue Jays’ starter, Ricky Romero, went 5 innings. The Indians’ starter, Justin Masterson, went 8 innings. Chris Perez, of Cleveland, gave up 3 runs in the 9th to blow the save and send the game into extra innings. Teams used a total of 14 pitchers (Toronto - 8, Cleveland - 6).
The Blue Jays won the game 7-4. J.P. Arencibia hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 16th. Luis Perez was the winning pitcher having pitched 4 scoreless innings of relief. Sergio Santos earned the save. The losing pitcher was Jairo Asencio. The game lasted 5:14.
Thanks to retrosheet.org and the MLB AtBat app.
Obscure Baseball Player Card #10 - Luis Leal, 1986 Donruss
Brought to you by Fat Shawn Kemp
Luis Leal is a Venezuelan right handed pitcher that played his entire 5 year MLB career with the Toronto Blue Jays from 1980 to 1985. He had a career record of 51 wins, 58 losses, with a 4.14 ERA and 491 strikeouts.
Be sure to head over to fatshawnkemp.com where it is Baseball Request Week, and you can request any player’s card you want in honor of baseball’s opening week!
Obscure Baseball Player Card #8 - Randy Moffitt, 1984 Topps
Brought to you by Fat Shawn Kemp
Randy Moffitt, seen on this card during his only year with the Blue Jays, pitched in the majors from 1972 to 1983. Most of his time was spent as a relief pitcher with the San Francisco Giants except his last two years with the Houston Astros and Blue Jays. Randy is the younger brother of women’s tennis star Billie Jean King!
For more info and complete career stats, check out his Wikipedia and Baseball Reference pages.
FatShawnKemp.com / @FatShawnKemp
Nothing drives a Yankee Stadium crowd wild like an opposing player’s ejection.
(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
The Blue Jays rallied for four runs off Jons Lester and Papelbon in the ninth inning today, shocking the Red Sox with a 6-5 victory. While the Jays got some timely hits, most of the credit for the comeback should go to Toronto’s sweet throwback uniforms.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)
Today’s 10-1 beatdown of Toronto, encapsulated in one sad photo.
(AP)