GREAT MOMENTS IN STRAT

Have you experienced a game of Strat-O-Matic so thrilling, unique or bizarre that you just HAVE to share it with someone? That would be us. Send you Great Moments in Strat to SOMTalkShow@aol.com. Please include your name and hometown. Readers like to see that and you deserve the credit.

Shades of Harvey Haddix

Toronto’s Shaun Marcum pitched 10 1/3 innings of no-hit ball against my Salt Lake Pioneers draft team before losing 1-0 on a Yunel Escobar solo home run in the top of the 11th. His counterpart Francisco Liriano pitched 9 1/3 of two-hit ball, striking out 12.

Art Haley, Sandy, UT

Fumble Mania

In my custom football league, I just finished a game with the ‘05 Steelers at the ‘92 Saints. In the first three quarters of the game, Pittsburgh fumbled the ball 7 times and N.O. twice. The unbelievable part was that Pittsburgh recovered the football ALL 9 TIMES. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was shaking my head most of the game. Yet the Saints ended up winning 37-21 (thanks to Bobby Hebert’s 4 TD passes and QB rating of 113.7).

Mark D. Harrington, Everett, WA

“The Curse” in the SOM PC game

I just got the roster of 1923, the year Yankee Stadium opened. I wanted to play the Yankees against the Red Sox. I started Ehmke for the Red Sox against Jones of the Yankees. Immediately Boston hit a homerun and it was 1-0. In the second Aaron Ward 2nd baseman of the Yankees tied the game with a homerun. The Red Sox exploded and battered Yankees pitchers and at the end of the 6th it was 8-1 Red Sox but hold on after the bottom of the 6th Yankees bats came alive and bombarded Boston pitchers at the sound of 13 runs including a homerun by Babe Ruth with two aboard (my favorite player of all time) and won the game 14-8. Can you believe the curse of the Bambino is still alive on SOM? Gotta love those Yankees!

Orlando Leon, Live Oak, FL

Let’s Play 23 … or, 10^th Time is the Charm

In my 1976 as-played replay I had a 23-inning game. Detroit led Baltimore 6-4 when Reggie Jackson hit a 2-run homer with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th. The two teams exchanged goose eggs until the 23rd inning. Al Bumbry walked and advanced to second on a Mark Belanger ground out. Reggie was intentionally walked, then Lee May (who had previously been 0 for 9 with 4 whiffs) homered to right to end the game. Four Oriole pitchers went four or more innings, but Mike Flanagan ended up with the win when he got one batter out in the top of the 23rd.

M Runyon

An Instant Classic

In my 40-plus of playing Strat this was one for the ages between the 1971 Giants and 1971 Braves. An Instant Classic at Atlanta. At the launching pad in Atlanta nine homers were launched in a Braves 10-9 victory over the Giants, which ended on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th. Braves superstar Henry Aaron belted four homers and had 5 runs and 5 RBIs in the contest.

Aaron had a solo homer in the first and a two run shot in the third for a 3-0 Braves lead. ATL increased its lead to 5-0 on Orlando Cepeda’s two run fifth inning homer. Braves pitcher Pat Jarvis had a two-hit shut-out through five innings. Jarvis ran into trouble in the sixth as he issued a lead off walk to Willie Mays. Ken Henderson’s RBI double and Alan Gallagher’s RBI ground out cut the Braves lead to 5-2. After a two-out error, rookie Dave Kingman followed with a game tying 3-run pinch-hit homer.

ATL retakes the lead in the 6th at 6-5 on Sonny Jackson’s RBI ground out. The Giants tie the game on Willie Mays’ 7th inning homer. In the 7^th, Aaron’s third homer of the game gives the Braves a 7-6 lead. The Giants score two in the 8th to take an 8-7 lead on a Dick Dietz solo homer and a Tito Fuentes suicide squeeze bunt. ATL third baseman Darrell Evans opens the bottom of the 8th with a game-tying solo homer. In the top of the 9th light-hitting infielder Hal Lanier delivers a 1-out RBI single giving SF a 9-8 lead. Aaron opened the bottom of the 9^th with his fourth homer, which tied the score at 9-9. Earl Williams doubles with 1-out and Mike Lum is walked intentionally. Marty Perez follows with an infield single loading the bases and Evans walked to force in the winning run. Braves win 10-9!

Wow, what a game that had four lead changes and four ties!

Bob Stanley, Staten Island, NY