By Paul Casey Gotham
****Remember, try this without research. Make like Wally, and release your inner James Joyce. Show us your stream of consciousness as you try to decipher the answer.
Some might say I never lived up to my draft status. I guess. After all, I was a first overall pick of a secondary draft. I played nine of my ten Major League seasons with the team that drafted me – all but 12 games. I tried the National League at the end, but I couldn’t get away from injuries late in my career. I led the league in sacrifice hits three years in a row. I was a steady fielder. Twice, I led the league in fielding percentage at my position. Led the league in put outs at my position another season and assists still a different year beyond that. Some might remember me as the only guy to score a run in a 33rd inning. Chew on that one for a while. I did have one October where I couldn’t do much wrong. I had 11 hits in the ALCS earning myself an MVP. I had even more hits in the World Series. In fact, I set a record for number of hits in the post-season. A record that stood for about nine years. We didn’t win the Series. The guy to my left was unfairly blamed. He had one go through the wickets. People forget that was game six, and we still lost another one.
“Guy to my left” made me think of Bill Buckner. I’m pretty sure that was game 6 and then the Mets won in 7. So I guess if I knew the name of the 2nd baseman for the ’86 (?) Red Sox I could get this one. Drawing a blank though.
Rey —
You’re definitely on it. Let’s alley oop this one to the true BoSox fans.
Second basemen for the Mets in 1986. that’s as far as it goes for me.
Oops! Rey is right. For the BoSox. Boy did I mess that one up. I think they call that “strream of UNconsciousness”! Still no name. Where’s Wally. We need him. Or Chas. Those guys will know this in a heartbeat.
Wally Backman was the second baseman in 86, but it says ALCS above, so it couldn’t be him. And a 33 inning game would have to be the Rochester Red Wings versus I think Pawtucket. That’s as far as I get at the moment.
Chas must be in a cave somewhere, so i’ll end the suspense. The Red Sox 2nd baseman who starred in the ’86 postseason is Marty Barrett. Historically, he was probably one of the top two or three 2nd baseman the Red Sox have ever had since he manned the position for the better part of the ’80s and was pretty productive plus of course he had that INCREDIBLE post-season. Had Boston actually won that memorable World Series, he’d probably have his number retired or otherwise exalted with hero status.
I did not know that he was the member of the Pawtucket Red Sox that scored the winning run in that “longest professional game ever”. 33 innings …. geeeez! But from a time standpoint, that game was probably just a smidge longer than several Yankmees vs Red Sox tilts over the past several years on ESPN that only went 9 innings 😉
Good of you to let this one float for a while, Wally. I wasn’t in a cave, but I believe I was in Florence, Italy at the time you slam dunked this one.