Just thinking about it, whats the best pitched game you've ever attended. Until 1986 the best I had ever been to.. were the Marichal / Kofax match=ups in the mid sixties while living in the San Francisco area. But in 1986 I attended the SanFranciso vs Astros game in the Astrodome ...Mike Scotts' division clinching no-hitter, the most dominating, best pitched game I ever attended. Whats yours?
I saw oil Can boyd spit on the coach of the Syracuse Chiefs. That was my most memorable pitching moment. My most memorable fielding play was watching Luis Gonzalez finish off a wild triple play when he was an Auburn Astro. Greatest Triple play I've even seen. My most memorable hitting display was, I just don't know. I'll have to think about thay one. But it was probably Fred McGriff at Syracuse whopping a hr to dead Center.
Its funny you pick a minor leaguer (at the Time) as the most memorable hitter. Me too. My favorite hitter was Frank Saucier of the 1950 Texas league champion San Antonio Missions. His homer to center, the first I had ever seen to go over the cf lights and dissappear..will always be remembered. Saucier was one of those whose career was interupted by the Korean War and ended up a sucessful Texas oilman. His greatest moment in the majors with the St Louis Browns was to be the batter who was pinch hit for by a midget. Rule changes followed...
Two years ago I saw an Astro take a perfect game into the sixth. Turns out the only two hits that day for the other team (I think it was the Expos) was an infield grounder with a terrible call at first, and a bloop single that wouldn't have made it out of a little league park... I was also at the first shutout in Enron/Minute Maid history...and it was the ASTROS that got shut out!
A-Train, Have you ever stopped to think you maybe should never go to another game again, just so your favorite team wins for a change.
i was at that marathon game between the astros and dodgers back in the late-80's...longest game in astros history. i didn't stay for all 30 some innings...but orel hershiser came in to pitch that night and shut the Astros down way into extra innings...i think he pitched 6 shutout innings...off the bench...late at night...out of his regular rotation...pretty impressive. i have to say...watching dotel last year was pretty impressive. i was at more than a few games last year where he was just untouchable.
Damn, he was even before my time. But I can tell you this, there was no TV, no radio, few newpaper reports, no big crowds ,etc..So you are going to have to take the word of those who saw him play as to how good he was. I did see Larry Doby, Roy Campenella, Sachel Paige, Monte Irvin, etc and they were stars when they got to the majors... The word was he was a lot better than them...Jackie Robinson was great.
Now that's unfair...The Astros used to kick ass when I saw them in the Dome...We kicked the crap out of the Braves 8-1 one day, and this idiotic Braves fan started flexing his puny muscles after they got one homer down by seven....My personal record at Enron/Minute Maid isn't as impressive, but we did win that first game I mentioned...I was also in the standing room crowd against the Cardinals one year. Somebody on the Astros got a grand slam, can't remember who... I was also at the game in which Dierker had his stroke....but we won that one a couple months later when the Padres came back to town...
That game was 22 innings. The longest in Astros history was 24 innings: On April 15, 1968, the New York Mets and Houston Astros play the longest game in National League history at the Astrodome. The game ends in the 24th inning when the Astros score an unearned run on Al Weis' error. The 1-0 game lasts a total of six hours and six minutes...
wow..now I'm really confused, there was about six of us at the game..I remember loading up on beer when they said...Last Call. The last thing I remember...was asking on the way out was ..Who won.
The best pitched game I've ever seen in person was in 98 when Randy Johnson pitched his first game as an Astro against the Phillies and all the fans held up "K" signs every time he struck out a batter. He pitched a complete game shutout.
I recall some Astros game in 96 or 97 when the stros were in Pittsburgh....they had Francisco Cordoba and we had The Chief (cant remember his name....Garcia, maybe)...anyway, both pitchers had no hitters going into the 9th inning. I think the game went into extra innings so neither pitcher got the credit for the win. Hard to recall, I was at the Micro Brewery in Fredericksburgh, TX after hiking ERock all day and had a good buzz going...great game however. I think my wife and I were the only ones watching it but we were sure that the Chief was going to get the first Astros no hitter since Kile did it in 94.
Thanks, Behad. I was at that game with my Dad and we stayed until the last out. If the Astros had lost, I think we both would have jumped to our doom over the railing. I knew that was the longest game, but I couldn't remember the date... except that it was against the Mets. God knows what time it was when we got home, but my Mom was worried sick... at least she said she was when we woke her up. I was so lucky that my Dad was a sports fanatic... as long as they played for Houston. We went to see the Oilers during the AFL Championship days and I got to see Blanda kick the first 50 yard field goal. Saw the Astros during their first season at Colt Stadium (man, the mosquitos! ). Got to see the U. of H. during their glory days of football and basketball. Saw Elvin Hayes and Ken Spain play (yes folks... the Coogs had a great program BEFORE Akeem and company) and remember watching the Coogs slaughter Oklahoma State at the Dome 100 to 6. The Coogs were playing their 3rd string and they were still carrying the State players off on stretchers. The crowd started chanting "we want 100, we want 100!" and damned if the bench warmers and walk-ons didn't get it. Sorry for thinking of old memories. The game Mike Scott pitched was the best I ever saw as well. Did Scott ever own up to doctoring the ball? I don't think he did, but he sure as hell was accused of it. If Mike did it, he was a master of concealment.
There were a lot of side stories for the game against San Francisco..Roger Craig the Giants manager, led the league in getting umps to check the ball when Mike was pitching..when Mike was asked why Craig was doing it so much..the answer was thart Craig had an obligation to his team to make sure. The funny part was two years earlier Craig had taught Mike how to throw the splitter that made Mike famous..in the offseason, as a favor....free of charge, with the Astros permission. They spent a week together, working on the splitter an hour a day. To answer your question, when asked back then..are you playing mind games or are you scuffing the ball? Mike answered.. uhh..mind games.
I remember Roger Craig being asked if he thought Scott scuffed and he said, "No, I'm just trying to get in his head." Ass. p.s. I was also at the 1986 no-no. The night before Ryan pitched a gem, too, if I remember correctly.
I think the fact they never found a scuffed ball, despite all the checking, was pretty positive proof he didn't. There were all sorts of stories about players hiding scuffed balls and there being tons of them after games he pitched...but geez, they kept checking immediately after he pitched a bunch of times...and they never once found a concern. I was not at the no-hitter clincher...I was at Swenson's eating dinner with my mom and dad. For some reason my dad had to call my brother...when he got back to the table he told me that my brother had told him about the no-hitter. Man, I freaking loved 1986. 86 Stros...86 Rockets. good times....good times!! Not as cool as 94/95...but definitely grew my love for Houston sports franchises.
