I must confess: I am not usually one to complain about pace of play, about long games, even games that can stretch deep into a night. There is a large part of me that will forever be the kid who got two live baseball games a year — one at Shea, one at Yankee Stadium — and used to root for extra innings.
I got a 17-inning game once on Picture Day at Shea, July 9, 1977, Mets vs. Expos, both teams scoring a run apiece in the 11th before the Mets finally won 7-5 on a two-run Lenny Randle walk-off in the bottom of the 17th off Will McEnaney.