Walt Disney is not a St. Louis Cardinal fan – Game 1 Recap

Written by: Bill Ivie on 8th October 2009

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All this week the experts have weighed in. Analysis has been done. Statistics compared and stories exchanged about the Cardinals and the Dodgers. Two of baseball’s best this year. Two of the most historic franchises in history. Two teams capable of putting together a classic series for the ages. The calendar flipped to Wednesday, October 7th, 2009. The clocked ticked away the hours until Randy Wolf took the mound and threw his first pitch to Skip Schumaker. And then it happened…

Historical? You bet. But not quite what we expected, for sure. The Cardianls and the Dodgers took the field last night and broke two major league records while competing in a nine inning affair that was hard to watch for fans of Redbirds and Dodger Blue.

The two teams combined to leave more men on base than any other two teams in post-season history in a nine inning game. They broke that record by the seventh inning. They then went on to shatter that record, stranding 30 runners on the basepaths over the nine innings. The pitchers were ineffective to start innings, giving up hard hit singles and walks alike, yet seemed to be able to calm and pitch out of trouble for the most part.

On top of that small feat, and much to the chagrin of the working public, they put on the longest Division Series game in history at well over three hours, playing late into the night and costing many working stiffs precious sleep.

All the while, as the game seemed to slip away from the Cardinals, we were suddenly reminded that we were playing ball in Hollywood and, sometimes, life is better than the movies we flock to see at the box office.

After the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead and squandered away a huge scoring opportunity in the first, Dodger star Matt Kemp capitalized on a rare Chris Carpenter mistake and deposited the ball into the center field ravine Ricky for a two nothing lead. The Dodgers never looked back and never lost the lead.

However, the Cardinals would chip away at the lead and score another run while giving up three more throughout the evening. With the score 5-2 in favor of the boys in blue, the ninth inning rolled around, the stands emptied, and most Cardinal fans who were still tuned in did so out of sheer loyalty then anything else.

Then, it appeared, the Hollywood writers stepped in and decided to reward the Redbird faithful. Ryan Ludwick reached on a meaningless base hit that just appeared to extend both records and keep everyone away from their pillows. Mark DeRosa deposited a ball down the line that scored Ludwick and extended the game. Tony LaRussa looked to his bench and spotted Rick Ankiel and told the real-life Roy Hobbs to grab a bat. Cardinal fans moved to the edge of their seats. With a 5-3 ballgame and a runner on second, one of the biggest human interest stories in Cardinal history came to the plate with a chance to hit a monumental home run. It appeared that Walt Disney himself was writing the script that was playing out right before our eyes. After fouling off two major fastballs from one of the game’s best closers in Johnathan Broxton, Rick Ankiel dug in, got set and promptly watched strike three go right down the middle of the plate.

It was one of the sloppiest games I have watched in a long time. With moments of brilliance that just didn’t seem to want to stick around, both teams labored through a game that was hard to watch as a baseball fan. A game surrounded by great plays and horrific mistakes alike, it mercifully ended in the early morning hours and proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt…

Walt Disney is not a St. Louis Cardinal fan.

Topics: Basepaths, Cardi, Cardianls, Cardinal Fan, Chris Carpenter, Division Series, Dodger Blue, Fan Game, Game 1, Hollywood ending, Inning Game, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark DeRosa, matt kemp, Nine Innings, NLDS, Postseason 2009, Randy Wolf, Ravine, Redbirds, Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick, Season History, Series Game, Seventh Inning, St Louis Cardinal, St. Louis Cardinals, Tony LaRussa, Working Stiffs