The 1984 game where the Cubs‘ Ryne Sandberg hit two game-tying home runs off of Bruce Sutter before the Cubs won it in the 11th has been oft-mentioned since Sandberg’s death – the Sandberg Game – and brought him and the Cubs into the national baseball discussion in 1984. Sandberg was NL MVP, the Cubs won the East, but lost to the Padres in the NL league championship.
I saw the Sandberg’s homers live, likely at a friend’s house whose mother was a die-hard Cubs fan. Definitely an OMFG moment, just couldn’t believe. I learned that Wikipedia tracks “named” games and I realize that I saw another: the 1985 Rick Camp Game.
I was visiting my dad in North Carolina and wanted to watch a 4am movie on HBO: no VCRs or DVRs to record it, and apparently no alarm clocks either. A random Mets/Brave game was on WTBS – the original super station – and assumed it would fill at least three hours. Instead, the game went 19 innings and I watched the whole thing, including when a miserably-hitting pitcher named Rick Camp hit his only career home run.
In the later innings, the announcers had lost it: exhausted, sleep drunk, hilarious, they were just rambling on trying to stay awake. One announcer disappeared for a few innings, perhaps taking a nap. The hotel restaurant was out of seafood before the game and the announcers hoped the overnight delivery occurred before the end of the game. Nothing, however, topped the announcers outright dismay and disgust at Camp’s 18th inning, 2-out home run which meant yet another inning. The Mets scored 5 runs in the top of the 19th and the Braves rallied but not enough before the third out. Game over.
The game completed at 3:55am, just in time for my show on HBO! Now that was a game!
