> > The Dragons were playing the Michigan Battle
> > Cats, a farm team for the Houston Astros (???
> > why a team from Michigan would be affiliated
> > with a team from Texas was beyond our
> > comprehension.)

> This happens all the time. Usually, major league teams are affiliated with teams nearby. However, there's only so many teams to go around, and I guess minor league teams will affiliate with the highest bidder. For instance, the Pittsburgh Pirates' affiliates are in Nashville TN, Altoona PA, Hickory NC , Lynchburg VA, Williamsport PA, and Bradenton FL. Most of these aren't very far from Pittsburgh, except for Bradenton, and maybe Nashville and Hickory.

The Tri-City Dust Devils (I saw several of their games while they were still playing in Portland) were, and still are, affiliated with the Colorado Rockies. The Portland Beavers (I haven't seen any of their games yet) are affiliated with the San Diego Padres. Both are somewhat distant from the major league teams with whom they are affiliated.

I looked through www.minorleaguebaseball.com, and found what may be the distance record among current affiliations: The Calgary Cannons are a Florida Marlins affiliate.

> > I came back for the eighth inning to find I
> > hadn't missed much. Same score, 1-1.
> > However, by the bottom of the ninth, the Battle
> > Cats had pulled ahead, getting three more
> > runs to make the score 4-1. Undedicated fans
> > began packing up and leaving early, while the
> > Scotsman sat there and scorned them, loudly
> > announcing his policy of never, *ever* leaving
> > a ballgame until it's over.

> I hate when people do this. I have never in my life left a ball game early ever, and I've been to a good 40 or so. I have seen the Pirates lose 16-4, and I haven't left early. The reason for this is because of what happened this past July 28. The Pirates were losing to the Houston Astros 8-2 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and nobody on. The Pirates cam back to win 9-8 on a Brian Giles grand slam over the right field wall. Unfortunately, I had tickets to this game, but could not go because I had to work. My dad and little brother went, and, of course, they left early. My dad was a little surprised when he found out later the Pirates had pulled off the biggest ninth inning comeback in like 70 years or so.

I just looked through a Sporting News record book. The record may have been broken since then (it was published about 4 seasons ago), but when it was published, the record for the biggest run deficit overcome to win the game was 12; that record was set by the Detroit Tigers in a 1911 game against the Chicago White Sox, and later tied by the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1925 game against Cleveland's team (that team still plays in Cleveland, but I don't think they were called the Indians back then).

> > Scots told me that he
> > thought the record for a baseball game was
> > 25 or 26 innings. Yeesh.
>
> 26 innings. Time wise the longest game ever was
> 8 hours and 26 minutes. In the majors, anyways.

Interestingly, the 26-inning game was finally called at a 1-1 tie. Probably because it was taking too long. :-D

> I have heard about the "minor league baseball experience," and how the games are much more entertaining to watch than a major league game (not to mention cheaper.) Have you been to a major league game? How did the minor league game compare to that? I've never been to a minor league game, but I've heard much good about them.

I've never been to a major league game, and I haven't been to a Beavers game yet. But when the Tri-City Dust Devils were playing in Portland, I saw several of their games. The Rockies (that's what the Dust Devils were called when they were in Portland) games were quite entertaining.

For the curious: the Dust Devils/Rockies are Short A (the lowest non-rookie classification). The Dragons and Battle Cats are A (one level over Short A), and the Cannons and Beavers are AAA (highest minor league classification).

Lucky "thinks the Lobstermen, Battle Cats, Swamp Dragons, and JetHawks, among others, are cool names for minor league teams" Wizard