May 9, 1984: The American League's Longest Game

Harold Baines

May 9, 1984: At the time, the American League had a curfew: No inning could start after 1:00 AM. And so, having been suspended after 17 innings the night before, the game between Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers, which began at 7:07 PM Central Time on May 8, resumes this afternoon, with the scored tied 3-3.

Both teams scored 3 runs in the 21st inning. With the White Sox out of relievers, manager Tony La Russa brought the night's intended starting pitcher, 39-year-old former Mets ace Tom Seaver, out to pitch the top of the 25th inning. He got through it without allowing a run. In the bottom of the 25th, Harold Baines hit a home run off Chuck Porter, and the White Sox won, 7-6.

For the White Sox, Julio Cruz went 1-for-11. On the other hand, Tom Paciorek didn't even start the game, but went 5-for-9 with 3 RBIs.

Through the 2021 season, it remains the longest game by innings in AL history. At 8 hours and 6 minutes, it remains the longest game by time in MLB history.

Six future members of the Baseball Hall of Fame played in this game. For the White Sox: Seaver, Baines and Carlton Fisk. For the Brewers: Robin Yount, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers. (A 7th HOFer, Paul Molitor of the Brewers, missed the game due to an elbow injury that put him out for the season.)

Then the regularly-scheduled game was played. As planned, Seaver started it, and nearly pitched a complete game. The White Sox won, 5-4. Technically, Seaver remains the last pitcher to be credited with 2 wins in 1 day, having started at least 1 of the games. Officially, since the earlier game started on May 8, he does not get credited as such. They were the 275th and 276th wins of his career. He would finish with 311.

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May 9, 1984 was a Wednesday. These other games were scheduled for that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-4 at Yankee Stadium. Aging knuckleballer Phil Niekro outpitched curveball specialist Rick Sutcliffe, soon to be traded to the Chicago Cubs and put on track for the National League's Cy Young Award. Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield and Roy Smalley hit home runs.

* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Shea Stadium. Ron Darling outpitched Rick Mahler. It's worth nothing that, on a night when both teams were playing at the same time, the 11-17 Yankees got 20,453 fans into their "bad neighborhood," while the 16-11 Mets got just 8,141. Apparently, not enough people yet realized that "The Magic Is Back" in Flushing.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos, 6-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Pete Rose, the Reds' once-and-future legend, in his brief sojourn with the Expos, struck out as a pinch-hitter.

* The Baltimore Orioles sweep a doubleheader from the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-4 and 7-3 at Memorial Stadium in in Baltimore. Over the 2 games, Eddie Murray went 3-for-7 with a walk and an RBI, and Cal Ripken went 4-for-8 with a solo home run in the 2nd game.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Scott Sanderson allowed 4 hits in 5 innings, and Rich Bordi 1 hit in 4, to complete a 5-hit shutout. Burt Hooton didn't make it out of the 1st inning, and reliever Orel Hershiser only lasted through the 4th.

* The San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Uncharacteristically, Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play. This turned out to be a preview of the AL Championship Series, which the Tigers would also win.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 2-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Bob Ojeda pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Bob Stanley finished the 6-hit shutout.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rod Carew went 1-for-4 against his former team. So did Reggie Jackson, who never played for the Twins, and his hit was a home run.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4.

The NFL was out of season. The United States Football League was in season, but no games were played. The Stanley Cup Finals began the next day, and the Edmonton Oilers began their dynasty by ending the New York Islanders' dynasty, 4 games to 1.

One game was played in the NBA Playoffs: The Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks, 121-99 at the Boston Garden.