Extra Innings? Late, Again

It happened again today because of an extra-inning game.

I was late at an appointment because of my quirky rule that I never leave an APBA baseball replay game unfinished. If the game goes long because of high scoring or additional innings, so be it. I must finish it before I leave.

I wrote about this last August, surmising that the rule to finish a game before leaving was because my cat is suspected of making off with one of the dice left on the table during an unfinished game.

I’ve come in to work late because of long games, and I went to bed way too late during work nights because of marathon contests. Once, I had to finish a 23-inning game before I slumbered.

This time, because of an extra-inning game between St. Louis and Detroit in my 1942 APBA replay, I showed up late to help move two refrigerators with a friend.

I was on vacation from work. Most people travel to Disneyland or the Gulf Coast while on break. I move appliances.

I told my friend I’d be there by 1:30 p.m. today to switch out the refrigerators at his new business. I began rolling the Tigers-Browns game at about 1:15 p.m., thinking I could finish it in time to head to his business.

St. Louis took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first with no outs, and I thought the game would be a quick one. But Detroit scored runs in the fourth and fifth inning and then two more in the seventh, and the game was tied, 4-4, after nine innings.

Jack Wilson no-hit the Browns in the 11th and 12th innings, and Pete Appleton responded with three innings of no-hit ball for St. Louis.

I entered the 13th inning with the score still tied at 4 and the clock moving past the 1:30 p.m. mark. I feared I would receive a call from my friend’s wife telling me her husband tried to move the refrigerators on his own and was now in some clinic with serious back strain.

In the 13th inning, Detroit scored four runs and took a commanding 8-4 lead. I thought I would quickly end the game and head to my lifting job.

Instead, St. Louis responded with a barrage of hits. Tigers’ pitcher Johnny Gorsica gave up six hits in a row and St. Louis knotted the game at 8-8 before the Browns got their first out of the inning. Finally, with runners on first and second, Browns catcher Rick Ferrell, batting as a pinch hitter, blooped a single and George McQuinn scored. St. Louis scored five runs in the bottom of the 13th and won the game, 9-8.

I couldn’t leave a game like this hanging. These things take time, you know. I called my friend and found he was still waiting for me. I couldn’t really explain I was late because the Tigers’ pitching fell apart in the 13th. Instead, I mumbled something about the long check out line at the grocery store where I grabbed food earlier in the day. I guess it appeased him.

I arrived, albeit about 30 minutes later than planned; we moved the refrigerators. It turned out well. He got his refrigerators moved in his business, St. Louis won a great game and I, again, realized my obsession for this game is still strong and thriving.