The 1994 baseball season is mostly just a haze in my mind, and I don't know why.
I was 18, a senior in high school and still plenty obsessed with all things MLB. But, for whatever reason, I don't remember much at all about the season.
Maybe it was just my stage in life — the transition from high school to college — or maybe the strike in August, followed by months of bitter feelings, wiped it from my mind. But, really, I have only two memories from the '94 season: Kent Mercker's no-hitter for the Braves on April 8 against the Dodgers, and the day the strike became official, on Aug. 12. That's it.
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But having watched a ton of Braves game in my youth (they and the Cubs were my only nightly options as a teenager in Charlotte), I'm surprised I don't remember what happened May 10, 1994, when the Braves and Phillies played a wild game at Fulton County Stadium.
It was a game that featured a little bit of everything. The Braves, coming off three straight division titles, were again favorites to fight for the crown in the newly designed NL East, which also featured the defending NL champion Phillies and the high-powered Expos, who would go on to be baseball's best team that season. But on May 10, things were still shaking out. The Braves entered the day in first place, with a 19-11 record. The Phillies were in last place at 12-19.
Their random Tuesday night game seemed fairly ordinary for a while, with Mercker and Shawn Boskie pitching to a 1-1 tie entering the sixth inning. But then the Phillies scored seven unanswered runs and took a commanding 8-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth. And that's when things got interesting.
Boskie took the mound in the ninth but gave up three straight singles to Ryan Klesko, Fred McGriff and David Justice.
"Nice job, Shawn, but let's nip this in the bud right now," the Phillies thought.
The Phillies went to the bullpen and brought in Doug Jones to put out the fire. But he only fanned the flames, allowing RBI singles to Mark Lemke and Charlie O'Brien, and then a three-run dinger to rookie Mike Mordecai.
That made the score 8-7.
"This is fine."
The Phillies finally got an out when Bill Pecota bounced back to the mound.
"Thank goodness that homer killed their rally. We've still got this."
Not really.
Deion Sanders singled.
"Uh, you guys ..."
The Phillies then looked to lefty Heathcliff Slocumb to be their savior. He'd face pinch-hitter Dave Gallagher, who grounded out to third for the second out, but advanced Sanders into scoring position. Still 8-7.
"Deep breaths, guys. Deep breaths. We're close."
Another pitching change — another lefty, David West, brought on to face the lefty Klesko, whose spot had come back around.
"Gotta play the percentages."
But the Braves pinch-hit rookie catcher Javy Lopez, a righty. And as talented, eager rookies often do, Lopez swung at the first pitch, lining a single off John Kruk's glove at first base and scoring Sanders from second to tie the game.
"Hello, darkness, my old friend."
The Braves had matched the biggest ninth-inning comeback of 1994 (the Angels also scored seven in the ninth against the Blue Jays on April 15). Watch the full ninth inning below.
But misery wasn't done with Philadelphia — because that ninth inning was merely a prelude for some extra-inning weirdness.
The next five innings were mostly uneventful, with each team squandering multiple chances with runners in scoring positions. Then came the 15th inning.
By this time, both rosters were pretty much depleted, and Braves lefty Mike Stanton was in his fourth inning of relief; he actually singled during an at-bat in the 14th. We'll call that The Omen.
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After Stanton pitched around trouble in the top of the 15th, the bottom looked like it wouldn't bring this silly game any closer to a conclusion. Phillies pitcher Andy Carter got the first two outs with ease. Then Sanders doubled.
"No biggie. We'll just walk Gallagher and pitch to Stanton. There's no way a relief pitcher will get TWO hits in a game."
Gallagher took his base, then the speedy Sanders stole third.
"It's fine. Seriously, it's fine."
It wasn't fine.
On Carter's fourth pitch, Stanton bunted. It wasn't even a good bunt — a bloopy pop-up in the vicinity of the third-short hole. Third baseman Tom Quinlan was playing in, and he didn't have a good angle on the ball, so it sailed out of his reach (somewhat inexplicably) and landed for an RBI single, giving the Braves a wacky, 9-8 win.
Braves broadcaster Don Sutton summed up the play nicely: "That's like a Shar-Pei puppy — it's so ugly, it's beautiful."
That was true of the bunt and the game.
Thanks to YouTube, all that ugly beauty can live on to entertain a new generation of baseball fans — as well as older baseball writers with poor memories.
