The longest gameI think this story qualifies for this thread. It's about a guy named Dave Koza from the little town of Torrington WY. He never made it past AAA but a bat of his is in the HOF because he used it to get the winning hit in the longest professional baseball game ever played.
It's an interesting story, but here's the highlights:
Torrington, where Koza grew up didn't have a Little League in 1971 so his dad organized it and built the stadium.
In 1981 he was the first baseman for the Pawtucket Red Sox. They were hosting the Rochester Red Wings that April. It was a cold night with a really, really strong wind blowing in.
Game was tied 2-2 after nine, and was still tied after 21. The International League had a 12:50am curfew but that rule was not included in the 1981 version of the rule book. Pawtucket's GM begged the crew chief to suspend the game but he refused. So the GM started calling the league president who wasn't answering his phone.
Players were becoming hypothermic and deliriously exhausted but they kept playing. They were burning bats in barrels for heat.
Finally in the 32nd inning, at about 4am the league president answered his phone and told the umpires to suspend the game.
It was resumed the next time Rochester came to Pawtucket and Koza walked it off in the bottom of the inning. The bat he used is in Cooperstown.
Footnote: the two teams had pretty good third basemen, Wade Boggs for Pawtucket and Cal Ripken Jr. for Rochester.