Why Baseball is so Great

Last night, after much griping from Mrs. Bartender, I went to bed shortly before 1 a.m. with the Dodgers/Padres game on. (Fittingly, I was finishing a very good biography of Roberto Clemente while watching.) This was the final game of a four game series in which the Padres had taken 2 out of the first 3 to move 1/2 game in front of LA in the NL West. So it was a big game. And yet, I'm not a Dodgers or Padres fan, I need to work, and the wife wanted the lights out--so I missed what was one of the greatest regular season games of all time.

When I went to bed, it was 6-4 Padres in the 8th, but the craziness was just beginning. The Padres go up 9-5 going to the bottom of the 9th, and the Dodgers promptly hit 4 CONSECUTIVE HOME RUNS to tie the game. And two were hit off of Trevor Hoffman, the second best relief pitcher of the past decade. Now, this is only the 4th time in the history of baseball that a team has hit 4 consecutive home runs, but this is the 9th inning, to tie a game, in mid-September, when two teams are 1/2 game apart for the division lead. BUT THE CRAZINESS ISN'T EVEN OVER. After the Padres go ahead 10-9 in the 10th, Nomar (that's Ramon spelled backwards for those of you scoring at home) Garciaparra hits a 2-run, walk off (or as the Japanese say, sayonara) home run TO WIN THE GAME. (Don't you love all caps--it's almost as good as excessive exclamation points!!) Let's just say that the 18 people still at Dodger Stadium (I kid--there were well over 500) went crazy.

So what are the morals of this post: First, a baseball game (unlike any sport with a clock) is never decided until the final out. Or to quote Yogi Berra. . . oh you know it . . . wait, this is a pop culture site . . . that "it ain't over 'til it's over." Second, I will blame Mrs. Bartender for my missing the end of this epic game. Come on, I must blame somebody!!!