Last night's 19 inning epic slopfest of a victory is indisputably one of the weirdest games in Phillies history, if not all of Major League Baseball. Long-time fans will certainly remember other games of thorough strangeness. Share your memories in the comments. I'll get things started with a couple:
Roy Oswalt Plays Left Field - August 24, 2010: The most recent Bizarro Baseball Game. The Phillies had burned through all of their position players, using Mike Sweeney to pinch hit earlier in the game. Ryan Howard struck out in the bottom of the 14th on a very questionable check swing call by substitute third base umpire Scott Barry. We all remember what happened next: Howard got ejected, went nuclear and had to be restrained by pretty much the entire team. Charlie Manuel moved left fielder Raul Ibanez to first base -- a position he hadn't played since 2005 -- and sent newly-acquired Roy Oswalt to man left field. Naturally, the first ball was hit to him, a lazy fly ball that the All-Star easily caught. The Mississippi native flashed a tremendous sh*t-eating grin and was instantly embraced by the entire fanbase, even the portions that still missed JA Happ. The Phillies lost the game 4-2 in 16 innings.
Mitchie-Poo - July 2, 1993: Another epic late night. A scheduled doubleheader with the first game not starting until late in the evening due to rain, and with the first contest not ending until after midnight, most assumed that game two would be made up on another day. Due to scheduling problems, not least of which being the Padres' difficulties returning to Philadelphia for a make-up, game two was started after 1:00 a.m. Once again out of position players, Mitch Williams came to bat at 4:42 a.m., in the bottom of the 10th, and stroked a game-winning RBI single. An elated Harry Kalas then shared his personal nickname for Williams -- "Mitchie-Poo" -- with the entire Delaware Valley.
Legend has it that hundreds of fans made their way to Veterans Stadium from the Philadelphia bars after last call at 2:00 a.m., giving the crowd at game two a special flavor.