Mon Dieu! Balloonists in 22

[John]

(For original French-language version of this article, please click here.)

Thursday, April 16, 2009
by Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, Le Quitté baseball reporter
NOTE: Tuesday’s game ended too late to be included in yesterday’s edition.

Gatineau, Quebec – Ricardo Muñíz lost the battle but won the war. How can you tell? His right arm is still attached to his shoulder.

The opposite is true for John Vinson and César Bascuas, who will at least have the comfort of knowing they participated in one of the most epic games in Great Northern League history while they rehab serious injuries.

You wouldn’t think it would take over six hours to muster just seven runs, nor that 21 hits would be required to eek out a victory, but that’s exactly what was required of the Gatineau Balloonists to emerge victorious over the Calgary Stampede in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. They left the field freezing cold and minus two of their players, but they left winners of a 4-3, 22 inning game that will long be remembered by the few remaining to witness it.

As you would expect, Gatineau used a plethora of pitchers in the extended affair. Ryan Dawson was scheduled to start and go 3 innings but was lifted in the second when his forearm tightened up in the chilly weather. Manager Shizue Komatsu said there was no serious injury and that Dawson would likely pitch an inning or two tonight. Dawson was relieved by a parade of Balloonists – seven in all, including Wednesday’s scheduled starter Jacob Gallie (who eventually earned the win).

What you would not expect is that Calgary used only three pitchers during the long, cold night. Starter Henry Smith surrendered just one run over 7+ innings, but the real story was Muñíz. He entered in the 8th with runners on second and third after Smith had given up an RBI double to Nathan Bolitho. Muñíz masterfully wriggled out of that jam without allowing another runner to score.

Thus began his amazing journey. With Stampede manager Jaime Barrón showing no apparent concern for his well-being, the 27-year-old was left out in the cold to toss 145 pitches over 11.1 innings. Even more amazing was that Muñíz never folded under this incredible workload. In fact he surrendered just one run during his lengthy appearance. Muñíz entered the contest with his ERA at 7.50; by the time he left the mound in the 19th inning that mark had dropped to 3.12.

By then the Balloonists were already short two of their players. Starting RF Bascuas had to leave the game in the 6th inning when he came down awkwardly on his right arm while making an unsuccessful dive for a fly ball. Bascuas was in obvious pain as he was escorted off the field by the team trainer, clutching his arm to his side. X-rays confirmed a fracture and he’ll likely be sidelined until after the All-Star break.

Vinson, the 7th Balloonist pitcher and final member of the bullpen to work in the game, was asked to work far beyond his normal pitch count by manager Komatsu. He responded with 5.2 brilliant innings, allowing no runs and only three base runners. Unfortunately the move backfired when Vinson doubled over in pain with one out in the 18th inning. “It was just freezing out there… I could fee my muscles tightening up,” said Vinson. “I didn’t want to say anything because I knew there was nobody left to turn to, but once I made that pitch I knew I was done.” Indeed he is; with word just in that Vinson suffered a herniated disc, he’ll likely be done for the remainder of the season.

By the time Gallie came on to replace the injured Vinson, there were precious few remaining in the crowd. The announced attendance was 33,818, but the reality is less than a third of that number showed up. With the Ottawa Senators playing Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins just 30 minutes away at The Bank, many fans forced to choose between sporting events decided to head indoors to watch the action on ice. Still more probably decided it wasn’t worth braving the 4°C temperatures. Of course that was at game time; as the night went on the temperature kept going south and the wind picked up, gusting up to 48 KPH at times.

Through the first nine innings, updates from the hockey game garnered more reaction from the crowd than anything happening on the diamond. When the board flashed that the Senators had fallen to the Penguins 3-2 in a shootout, an audible groan escaped the crowd and most shuffled for the exits. They missed the excitement in the 10th. Zachary Atteridge scored what looked to be the game-winning run for the Stampede in the top of the frame, but Miguel Cedeño wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet. His solo blast with one out tied the game back up at 2 a piece, and on they went. And on, and on...

After 11 innings of scoreless relief work, Calgary finally reached Gallie for a run in the top of the 22nd inning. Duncan Thompson, working his third inning of relief for the Stampede started the bottom of the inning by retiring Vincent Cunningham. He followed that up with a swinging strikeout of Todd Hanna, but the ball bounced in the dirt away from C Kirk Ellison and his throw to first pulled Rob Mitchell of the base. Thompson seemed to unravel after the error, allowing singles to each of the next three hitters. Nathan Bolitho’s base hit, the last in the sequence, plated Ricardo Gabriel for the game-winner.

The unofficial headcount at 1:15 AM – the moment of Bolitho’s heroics – was 137, though to their credit they made enough noise to count for 10 times their number. They were fueled by free coffee passed out by Balloonist Ballpark ushers. And thank goodness for it; the wind chill had reached -14°C by that time. Certainly this will be one of those games where many more will claim they were there to watch it, but only these hearty souls will be able to back the claim. They have the bleary eyes and the frostbite to prove it.

[Denny]

I enjoyed this article in the original French

What's the record for longest game in any of our leagues?