"There are no bad calls at 3 am!"

[nyasablue]

Classic line from Terry Tata from this game: www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/25-years-sunday-new-york-mets-played-overnight-epic-camp-y-ending-braves-article-1.463440

couple of days late, and an old article, but still fun to read about!

Today, they would give Tata the next night off, and fly in a AAA call up....same thing with Ed Sudol and the two or three record games he worked behind HP - all involving the Mets! Saw an interview with Sudol, he said he was cramping all the next day after the Memorial Day disaster with the Mets and Giants - and Fred Fielgler said he would fire him if he didn't show up the next day in Philly! They sure get treated different these days!

[FredFan7]

It was pretty weak for Johnson and Strawberry to abuse and argue balls and strikes at 3AM in the 17th inning.

Great comeback from Tata!

[cj]

There was another situation with Tata in a long Mets game. I forget the year and in the scheme of things it really wasn't important. It was the last weekend of the season and the Friday night game at Shea Stadium was rained out. So even though both teams were long since out of the playoffs or whatever, the NL insisted the game be made up as part of a twi light double header Saturday night. The first game went on and on and on and was in the 18th inning when the Cardinals (I think it was the Cardinals but no matter_ scored a run. In the bottom of the inning, with two out and a guy onsecond the Mets got a single and the throw to the plate beat the runner and Tata called the runner out. But ait. The catcher dropped the ball (as clear as day). Do you think Tata in that situation would change the call? Of course he didn't saying the catcher had held it long enough. The second game of the twi light double header wasn't played and a double header scheduled and play the next day, the last day of the season. I don't remember the year but trust me and some of the guys here know I am rarely wrong about those things, it actually happened.

Frankly, I have always believed that if a game goes past a certain point, for pete's sake get the home plate umpire out of there and let somebody else finish the game behind the plate. Of course, it makes sense which is probably one reason baseball would never adopt it.