Bullpen Nightmares (20+ Innings of Relief)
Posted by Raphy on March 3, 2010
Short outings by starters tax a bullpen. Extra inning games do as well. A combination of the two, must bring tears to the eyes of even the most macho of managers. Here are 3 teams that have had to face the ultimate bullpen challenge; 20 or more innings of relief in one game. (I found these by checking the box scores from this list. If I missed one please let me know.)
On May 31st, 1964 the Mets and Giants met to play 2. The first game was a tidy 2:29 minute game as the Giants overcame an early 3 run homer by center-fielder Jim Hickman to beat the Mets 5-3. The Mets used 3 pitchers in the loss and were in good shape heading into the second game. However, the Mets used reliever Bill Wakefield to start the game and he was done after 2 innings, 21 before the game would end. The Mets were in further trouble when Craig Anderson bombed and only completed 1/3 of an inning. Extended outings from Larry Bearnath and Galen Cicsco saved the day amd the Mets managed to make it through the marathon using only six pitchers. The Mets lost in the 23rd inning, Cisco's 9th inning of work. Here are the pitching lines for the game.
New York Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit-Str Ct·Sw·Lk GB·FB·LD· ? GmSc IR-IS LevI WPA B Wakefield 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 4.34 10 - · · 2· 5· 2· 0 43 - 0.85 -0.14 C Anderson 0.1 4 4 4 0 0 0 5.54 5 - · · 1· 3· 3· 1 0-0 1.35 -0.21 T Sturdivant 2.2 3 0 0 1 2 0 3.91 11 - · · 2· 6· 3· 0 2-2 0.43 -0.06 F Lary 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 6.30 6 - · · 1· 3· 0· 0 0-0 0.23 0.02 L Bearnarth 7 3 0 0 4 4 0 3.58 26 - · · 10· 8· 5· 0 0-0 2.72 0.84 G Cisco, L (2-5) 9 5 2 2 2 5 0 2.45 35 - · · 17·10· 2· 0 0-0 2.50 0.57 Totals 23 17 8 8 9 14 0 93 - · · 33·35·15· 1 2-2
(As an aside, Ed Kranepool who played first base for the Mets that game had quite a day. According to newspaper reports at the time, Kranepool had played a double header in Syracuse the night before, finishing at 1:00 AM. The Mets then called up Kranepool who caught a 6:00 AM flight to NY and proceeded to play in all 32 innings of the Mets' double header. That's quite a marathon.)
The other two (since 1954) instances of 20+ innings of bullpen work occurred in the one game. Yankee pitcher "Bullet Bob" Turley faced off against the Tiger's Frank "The Yankee Killer" Lary in a late June game. Unfortunately for both starters, the year was 1962, a season in which neither player would live up to their nickname. The Yankees jumped all over Lary for 6 first inning runs, but the Tigers clawed their way back. By the end of the second inning, both starters were gone (Turley long gone) and there were still another 20 innings to play.
After the initial offensive outbursts the teams settled down, with only 1 run scoring from the fourth through the 21st inning. Each team would use 6 relievers before Jack Reed hit his only career home run to drive in the deciding runs in the top of the 22nd inning. Jim Bouton was the pitching star for the Yankees, throwing 7 scoreless innings, while Terry Fox pitched 8 scoreless for Detroit. The game became famous as the longest in Yankees history, and it was the relievers who carried the day. The teams' starters combined to allow 10 runs in 2.1 innings, the bullpens allowed 6 in 39.2.
New York Yankees IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit-Str Ct·Sw·Lk GB·FB·LD· ? GmSc IR-IS LevI WPA B Turley 0.1 1 3 3 3 0 1 3.94 5 - · · 0· 1· 0· 1 34 - 0.80 -0.17 J Coates 2.2 4 3 3 1 6 0 4.48 13 - · · 2· 0· 0· 4 1-0 1.02 -0.13 B Stafford, BS (1) 2.2 4 1 1 1 3 0 3.83 13 - · · 2· 3· 0· 4 0-0 1.48 0.00 M Bridges 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.31 1 - · · 0· 1· 0· 0 1-0 1.27 0.04 T Clevenger 6.1 5 0 0 3 1 0 1.42 26 - · · 11· 6· 2· 5 0-0 2.24 0.76 B Daley 2.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 5.29 11 - · · 5· 3· 1· 0 1-0 2.97 0.41 J Bouton, W (2-1) 7 3 0 0 2 6 0 2.49 26 - · · 6·11· 0· 1 0-0 2.29 0.93 Totals 22 19 7 7 10 18 1 95 - · · 26·25· 3·15 3-0
Detroit Tigers IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF Pit-Str Ct·Sw·Lk GB·FB·LD· ? GmSc IR-IS LevI WPA F Lary 2 7 7 7 1 1 1 5.04 14 - · · 5· 1· 0· 6 14 - 0.99 -0.45 J Casale 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 3.55 12 - · · 5· 5· 1· 0 0-0 1.14 0.13 R Nischwitz 1.2 2 0 0 2 0 0 1.65 9 - · · 3· 2· 0· 2 0-0 1.76 0.02 R Kline 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 5.40 5 - · · 3· 0· 0· 0 3-0 2.26 0.14 H Aguirre 5.1 2 0 0 1 8 0 2.59 20 - · · 5· 4· 1· 2 2-0 2.34 0.70 T Fox 8 7 0 0 0 2 0 0.96 31 - · · 12·12· 1· 5 1-0 2.46 1.19 P Regan, L (4-7) 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 5.22 5 - · · 1· 1· 1· 1 0-0 1.57 -0.41 Totals 22 20 9 9 9 12 2 96 - · · 34·25· 4·16 6-0
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I remember watching the Ed Sullivan Show, usually done live from New York on Sunday nights, on the night of that long Giants-Mets doubleheader and hearing someone say that the Mets' afternoon doubleheader was still in progress. I didn't believe it until I read it in the paper the next day.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:31 am
I was there at Shea that day. We left after 9 innings or so of Game 2, took the 45 minute ride home and I could still watch the last 9 innings on WOR, Channel 9. That game was Craig Anderson's last in the majors.
March 4th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Regan was no Vulture in that Yanks-Tigers game
March 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
DoubleDiamond, why didn't you just check MLB.com?
😉
March 6th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
The Yankees-Tigers game was also the Rocky Colavito 7-hit game. Despite going 7-for-10 with a walk in the game(!!), he scored only one and drove in only one, as well!
March 7th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
I was at the Tigers game. Rocky led off the 13th with a triple and was stranded. They also ran out of hot dogs.