A White Sox-Brewers 25-Inning Marathon in 1984

On May 8, the White Sox and Brewers started a game in the 7:00 hour. The Brewers took a 3-1 lead in the ninth on a Robin Yount double; he stole third and scored on a throwing error by Carlton Fisk. Ted Simmons followed with a single and then scored on a single by Ben Oglivie, but Chicago came back against Rollie Fingers, with Tom Paciorek reaching second on a dropped fly ball by right fielder Charlie Moore. Julio Cruz hit a double to score Paciorek, and Rudy Law followed with a run-scoring single to tie the game with two outs.

It stayed 3-3 on into the night, and then the game was halted at 1:05 the next morning for the A.L. curfew, with 17 innings played. Later that day, they went back out, and Ogilvie hit a three-run homer in the 21st for a 6-3 lead. But in the bottom of the 21st, the White Sox had Rudy Law reach second on a throwing error by Milwaukee third baseman Randy Ready, a Carlton Fisk single, a Marc Hill single to left, a walk to Harold Baines to load the bases, and a two-run single by Paciorek. It was 6-6.

Harold Baines finally ended the first eight-hour game in major league history with a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the 25th inning for the 7-6 win. Chuck Porter, the sixth Brewers’ pitcher, took the loss in the 8-hour, 6-minute game. Tom Seaver, making his first relief appearance since 1976, pitched the last inning for the win; he was the eighth Chicago pitcher.

LaMarr Hoyt was the only Chicago player who didn’t play in the game. Pitchers Floyd Bannister and Ron Reed both batted once for the White Sox. Chicago had 23 hits, 5 of them by Tom Paciorek, and Milwaukee 20. Besides being the longest major league game in terms of time elapsed, it also tied the mark for the longest game, by innings, played to a decision. The Mets and Cardinals had played 25 innings on Sept. 11, 1974, with St. Louis winning, 4-3.

Chicago manager Tony LaRussa wrapped it up by saying: “Hallelujah! Nice game, I don’t know.”

After the test of endurance ended (check out the box score), the White Sox and Brewers played their regularly scheduled game for May 9. Seaver started that one, pitched 8-1/3rd innings, and got his second win of the day, 5-4, to go to 3-2 for 1984. With only five strikeouts, none of them thrown by the White Sox, in a 2:09 game, you have to think the batters were anxious to swing away and avoid another marathon.