American Public TV-Western Connecticut Public TV Network Western Connecticut Wrestling Teams

USA TV Talk Sports with Justin Mazzarese

...Justin Mazzarese knows sports and plays all media and wins...Stay tuned here for updates...

Most Famous Minor League Ballpark in America

Justin Mazzarese

Sports Editor

In light of Delmon Young throwing a bat at the home plate umpire after being called out on a questionable strike three call, it got me thinking about another �I can�t believe what I just saw� moment at McCoy Stadium. You may not remember this at first, but just try to remember watching Sportscenter on July 3, 2001 when Izzy Alcantara tried to take on the entire Scranton Red Barons baseball team. After getting hit with a pitch, he decided to kick Scranton catcher Jeremy Salazer in a Bruce Lee type manner and then proceeded to charge the mound. He eventually was restrained by Red Barons third baseman Kevin Orie but not after Izzy threw a couple of un- aimed punches at pitcher Blas Cedeno and any body else around the mound. Ring a bell at all?

McCoy Stadium is not only home to some of the zaniest moments in baseball history, it his home to the Boston Red Sox minor league organization-the Pawtucket Red Sox; or simply the PawSox, However, don�t let those incidents give you the wrong impression about McCoy Stadium because it�s baseball history is just as impressive as it�s resume for crazy moments. The most notable moment in the stadium�s history occurred on April 18 1981 and did not finish until June 23rd. These were the two dates that it took to complete baseball�s longest game. After starting what was a normal baseball game at 7:00 p.m. between the PawSox and the Rochester Red Wings, play was finally stopped by Harold Cooper, President of the International League, at the conclusion of the 32nd inning at 4:08 in the morning. There were a little less than two dozen fans that stayed the entire eight hours and seven minutes throughout the blistering cold of the night on April 18; those fans were rewarded with season tickets.

"I'll never forget how cold it was, and how hard the wind was blowing," said Marty Barrett, the PawSox's second baseman commenting on the weather that day. "You felt it as soon as you got out there. We all just wanted the night to go real fast."

Play continued on June 23rd and it took ironically only 18 minutes to finish the game. After Kilff Speck loaded the bases, PawSox first baseman Dave Koza singled into left field to score Marty Barrett to give the PawSox a 3-2 victory. The lead of the story in the Rochester Democratic and Chronicle read the next day �Not since the time they had to shoot the drunken camel at the city zoo has there been this much excitement in Pawtucket."

Two Hall of Famers that you may have heard of, Cal Ripken Jr. and Wade Boggs, actually took part in the game, well both games that is. Cal Ripken went 2- for- 13 while Boggs went 4- for- 14 and in typical Wade Boggs fashion had the game- tying RBI in the 21st inning. Boggs said �A lot of people were saying, 'Yeah, yeah, we tied it, we tied it!' And then they said, 'Oh, no, what did you do? We could have gone home!'".

The laundry list of records that were broken that day include: putouts by a team (99/ Pawtucket), most putouts in a game (195), most at- bats for a team (114- Pawtucket), time (8:25), most at- bats for a team (114/ Pawtucket), most at- bats in a game (219), most strikeouts by a team (34- Rochester), most innings (33) and most plate appearance (15- Tom Eaton, Cal Ripken Jr., Dallas Williams). Williams quite possibly had the worst day that any player has ever had at the plate in the history of baseball- he went 0- 13.

One moment that rivals that day, or days, happened just a year ago, when one of those moments, when everything aligns perfectly, occurred. On July 4, Independence Day for the uneducated, 2005, Curt Schilling made his first rehab start as he was still recovering from the ankle injury from the 2004 postseason. Could you imagine that? You can�t get more American than that. A baseball game on a summer night with fireworks to follow, all while watching a man who optimizes patriotism and the American spirit at the best minor league ballpark in America.

Home