Once again, it’s time for Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” those one-of-a-kind accomplishment or statistics. Today, we are looking at a unicorn … a once in MLB history feat that (with the new rules) is unlikely to ever be matched.
Photo by Keith Allison 
On May 8, 1984, Harold Baines started in RF as his White Sox faced off against the Brewers in Chicago. A mere 25 hours and 42 minutes later, he would end the contest with the latest home run in MLB history – a 25th inning walk-off. (The game was suspended at 1:03 a.m. May 9 and resumed at 6:30 p.m. (May 9).
Notably, game seemed to be decided more than once. It was tied 1-1 going into the top of the ninth, when the Brewers scored twice off White Sox’ reliever Britt Burns to take the lead. Oops! The bottom of the ninth saw the White Sox tie the game with two tallies of their own.
No one scored between the ninth and the seventeenth innings (when the game was suspended). The goose eggs continued when play resumed, going on until the until the top of the 21st, when the Brewers put up a three-spot on a three-run homer off Ron Reed by Ben Oglivie – and the game again appeared to be over. The White Sox, however, scored three of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Finally, with one out in the bottom of the 25th, Baines hit a walk-off home run (making it the latest long ball ever) against Chuck Porter (starting his eighth inning of relief) to win it for the ChiSox.
It was Baines’ second home run of the season. (He had come into the game with just one home run in 26 games.) He went on to a .304-29-94 campaign. The 25th inning homer was one of just seven extra-inning home runs among Baines’ 384 career regular-season dingers. Baines, a six-time All Star, played in 22 MLB seasons (1980-2001 … White Sox, Rangers, A’s, Orioles, Indians), going .289-384-1,628, with 1,299 runs scored.
A few tidbits:
- White Sox’ CF Rudy Law, C Carlton Fisk and 2B Julio Cruz, as well as Milwaukee DH Cecil Cooper each had an MLB record-tying 11 at bats in the game. They had three, one and two hits, respectively.
- Law, Fisk and Baines each had a record-tying 12 plate appearances. Law and Fisk each had one walk, Baines had two free passes.
- The White used four first basemen: Greg Walker (started); Mike Squires replaced Walker in the top of the ninth; Marc Hill pinch hit for Squires in the 14th and stayed in at 1B; and, in the 22nd inning, Tom Paciorek, who had replaced Ron Kittle in LF in the top of the fourth inning, moved to 1B, replacing Hill.
- Seven future Hall of Famers played in the game: for the White Sox – catcher Carlton Fisk and winning pitcher Tom Seaver; for the Brewers – starting pitcher Don Sutton, SS Robin Yount. 1B Ted Simmons (who made the Hall as a catcher), RF Harold Baines and closer Rollie Fingers (who blew the save in the ninth).
- The eight hours and six minutes of playing time made this the longest game in MLB history. The 25 innings tied for the second longest in terms of innings.
Tom Terrific for the Win(s)
The winning pitcher in the longest-ever MLB game (by time, not innings) was future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who pitched the 25th inning for the ChiSox (on May 9). It was Seaver’s only relief appearance of the season (one of just nine in his career) and his only career win in relief (he also had one save and two losses in that role).
Seaver then started the regularly scheduled May 9 contest and went 8 1/3 innings (three hits, one walk, four earned runs) to pick up a victory as a starter. (White Sox won 5-4).
Bonus Tidbit 
Before getting into the details of each of the instances above, here are a few tidbits.:
- Only one of these players hit two extra-inning home runs in a losing cause – Art Shamsky;
- Only one included a Grand Slam among his two homers – John Mayberry;
- Four did not even start in the game in which they had two extra-inning homers – Shasky, Mayberry, Mike Young and Matt Adams;
- One had a third homer in the game – Shamsky.
Here are the details.
Two disclaimers here. Given statistical accuracy and game formats, I am limiting myself to the Modern Era (post 1900) and not all Negro League game stats have been fully documented and incorporated into the MLB record book. (In 2020, the Negro Leagues from 1920-48 were designated major leagues.)
Vern Stephens – 247 career homers
Stephens drove in all four runs in the Browns 4-3 win over the Red Sox, His day went: a two-run single in the first inning for a 2-0 lead; a flyout to open the fourth, with the Browns up 2-1; a groundout to end the sixth with the game tied 2-2; a solo homer to lead off the 11th and give the Browns a 3-2 lead (the Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the inning); a solo shot with one out in the 13th to provide the 4-3 winning score.
Willie Kirkland – 148 career homers
Kirkland went three-for-eight, with three RBI in an Indians 3-2 win over the Senators.
His day: RBI single in the bottom of the first; groundout to open the bottom of the fourth; strikeout with two on in the sixth; groundout with two on and two out in the eighth (with the game tied 1-1); solo homer to tie the game at 2-2 , leading off the eleventh; ground ball double play to end the thirteenth; ground ball double play for first two outs in sixteenth; leadoff homer in bottom of nineteenth to win the game 3-2.
Art Shamsky – 68 career homers
Shamsky didn’t enter the game until the eighth inning, with his Reds trailing the Pirates 7-6. In three at bats, he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Reds an 8-7 lead; hit a solo homer with one out in the tenth to tie the game at nine; hit a two-out two- run homer in the eleventh to tie it at 11-11. Despite Shamsky’s three-for-three, three-homer, five-RBI day, the Reds lost in 13 innings by a 14-11 score.
Ralph Garr – 75 career homers
Garr’s homers were part of a three-for-six day in a Braves’ 4-3 win over the Mets in Atlanta. His day: one-out single in the first inning; groundout in the third, with the Braves trailing 2-1; groundout in the sixth (still 2-1); pop out in the eighth (still 2-1); solo home run in the tenth to tie the game at 3-3 (off Mets’ starter Tom Seaver, who was still in the game); solo home run with two outs in the twelfth for a 4-3 Braves win.
Mike Young – 72 career homers
Young entered this contest in the fifth inning, with his Orioles up 5-2 over the Angels; He: struck out to open the fifth; singled with two out in the seventh; led off the tenth inning with a solo home run to tie the game at six; after the Angle scored in the top of the twelfth, Young hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame to win it 8-7.
John Mayberry – 56 career homers
MLB’s second John Mayberry (son of the first John Mayberry) came on in the bottom of the seventh with his Phillies tied 2-2 with the Marlins. He fanned to end the inning (with a runner at second). He then: hit a solo homer to lead off the tenth and tie the game at 3-3 and hit a two-out Grand Slam in the bottom of the eleventh to secure a 7-3 win.
Matt Adams – 118 career homers
Adams entered this game in the fourth inning with his Cardinals tied with the Reds at 2-2. He got his first at bat in the top of the sixth, with the game tied at three, a runner on first and two out – he grounded out to end the inning. Adams went on to strike out (with two on) to end the eighth (tied at 3-3); fly out with one on and one out in the eleventh (still 3-3); hit a solo homer to lead off the fourteenth and give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead (the Reds tied it in the bottom of the inning); and hit a solo homer in the sixteenth to provide the 5-4 winning score.
Curtis Granderson – 344 career homers
Granderson’s two homers were part of a two-for-six, two-RBI day, as hit Mets topped the Twins 3-2 in New York. His bat was pretty quiet until the extra frames: pop out in the first; strikeout in the fourth; groundout in the seventh; strikeout in the eighth. Then, he homered (solo) to lead off the eleventh and tie the game at two and homered with two outs in the bottom of the twelfth to win it 3-2.
Chris Davis – 295 career homers
Davis’ two extra-inning homers were part of a three-for-five, four-RBI day as his Orioles topped the Tigers 13-11 in Detroit. Davis walked (and was stranded) opening the top of the second inning and hit a run-scoring double as the Orioles jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the top of the third. He then struck out to open the fifth, with the score now 7-4; walked in the seventh (still 7-4); grounded out to end the top of ninth, with the score tied at eight; hit a solo homer leading off the twelfth to give the Orioles a 9-8 lead (the O’s scored two more times in the inning, but the Tigers came back with three runs on five hits to tie it in the bottom of the frame); hit a two-run home run in the top of the thirteenth to provide the 13-11 victory.
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