(Image Source: Major League Baseball)
BY JONAH JAVAD
Just a game? Tell that to the puddles of tears outside Fenway. Tell that to the puddles of beer outside Busch. It was a night when dreams and nightmares co-existed.
September 28, 2011...a night never to be forgotten.
KSDK Cheers!
“That is hit to right field..and no, dropped. The Orioles coming to the plate. Reimold. They did it. They did it. They did it.”
Deadspin:
“2-2 and a lined shot down the left field. That ball is gone. And the Rays win it!”
But how did the Rays win it? Down 7-0 in the 8th, the Rays scored six runs. Then in the bottom of the 9th, Dan Johnson pinch hits.
“The 2-2 again. Johnson hits it down the right field line. That ball’s gonna be fair and gone.”
It was only Johnson’s second home run of the season. And in the 12th inning, the Rays won it.
ESPN’s Buster Olney gives the night historical context...
“At 11:40 PM eastern time, the Atlanta Braves tied the all-time September collapse in baseball history. That’s 111 years. And 25 minutes later, the Boston Red Sox surpassed that.”
A Baltimore Orioles blog post sums up the cataclysmic end to the regular season...
“So now it’s the Cardinals as the N.L. Wild Card after being 8 games back at the beginning of the month. It’s the Rays as the A.L. Wild Card after being 9 games back at the beginning of the month. There is no one-game playoff. It’s straightforward and the post season starts on Friday. I LOVE BASEBALL.”
So their seasons may be over, but Red Sox and Braves fans are still playing another game...the blame game.
Grantland columnist Bill Simmons has a...couple explanations...
“They blew basic baseball plays, botched fly balls, dropped relay throws, ended games by getting caught stealing, threw meatballs, bitched at each other, admitted to being scared … you name it, they did it.”
A Braves blog writer has a more positive outlook...
“As Braves fans, I hope we can all recognize that the ‘choking’ narrative doesn't tell the whole story. I hope that we can cut the team some slack. They failed, yes--and there's plenty of blame to go around for that--but there's no reason to make the failure out to be more than it is.”
It may have been the only night Red Sox fans rooted for the Yankees. But for the first time in a long time, baseball captivated the nation.
Baseball analyst Peter Gammons touches on why the night meant so much...
“It was an amazing day to think that we could come down to the last day of the season and have 8 games actually really matter.”
The postseason begins Friday.
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