Finally, some bonus baseball
If you are a fan of free baseball, then the Winston-Salem Dash are not for you. For the second time in three years, Dash fans had to wait a long time for the club’s first extra-inning affair.
In fact, both Winston-Salem and Myrtle Beach had not needed more than nine innings in a game until Wednesday’s rubber match. Entering Wednesday’s action, the Dash and Pelicans were two of the seven teams among the 120 in full-season Minor League Baseball without an extra-inning game on their résumé thus far in 2014.
Only five teams remain in the chase for the longest wait before an extra-inning contest:
- Erie SeaWolves (Double-A, Detroit)
- Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A, St. Louis)
- Modesto Nuts (High-A, Colorado)
- West Virginia Power (Low-A, Pittsburgh)
- Wilmington Blue Rocks (High-A, Kansas City)
For comparison’s sake, the West Michigan Whitecaps (Low-A, Detroit) have needed extra innings EIGHT times in 33 games. Four other teams are tied for second in the Minors with six extra-inning tilts.
Two years ago, the Dash rattled off 37 games that ended in regulation before finally needed extra innings. Sure enough, it was a home game against Myrtle Beach that ultimately ended the lengthy string.
That season, Winston-Salem was the second-to-last club in full-season Minor League Baseball to go to extra innings. Only the Midland RockHounds (Double-A, Oakland) waited longer than the Dash.
Unfortunately, this statistically-interesting occurrence is not the top story in the Minor Leagues today. Check out what the Clinton LumberKings (Low-A, Seattle) did on Wednesday night at Burlington in Midwest League action.
You can catch all of the runs via their play-by-play broadcaster Cheyne Reiter on Deadspin here. Pretty neat stuff.
Stay tuned for a preview of the Dash’s series opener at Frederick. It will be here on the blog later today.
- Brian
