The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Ian Rose via FACBot (talk) 21 November 2023 [1].


Brooklyn Dodgers 1, Boston Braves 1 (26 innings)[edit]

Nominator(s): Wehwalt (talk) 13:46, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This article is about... the longest MLB baseball game in terms of innings ever, and probably with rule changes the longest there will ever be. Enjoy.Wehwalt (talk) 13:46, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Airship's flyby[edit]

That's probably the chunkiest infobox I've ever seen. Would suggest narrowing it a bit. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 13:58, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The line score takes up the space it does. If there's any way to narrow it, I'm all in favor of it, but the only way I can see is eliminating the line score, and we might as well get rid of the infobox then.--Wehwalt (talk) 14:06, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
You need to set an image size. The box with the giant image is taking up my column in New Vector -- In actu (Guerillero) Parlez Moi 14:27, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
How is it now?--Wehwalt (talk) 14:43, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It is silly big. At my standard settings the first line of the text is "On Saturday, May 1,". On my phone, where the cartoon is little more than a blur, the first line of text is "On Saturday,"; the second is "May 1, 1920," This is not satisfactory. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:13, 1 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Experimenting, setting upright to 1.4 gives a legible cartoon on my - largish - monitor with a sensible strip of text; and a result on my phone where the cartoon title is legible - so no difference - and the strip of text is at least not laughable. Gog the Mild (talk) 19:31, 1 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Image review

Those are done. Thank you for the image review. Wehwalt (talk) 09:18, 17 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Harrias – abandoned[edit]

Interesting article, putting down a marker to review soon. Harrias (he/him) • talk 21:19, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've struck the infobox and eliminated the abbreviations, which are not official in any case.
Link added.
As a general rule, baseball games behind are more commonly expressed as numerals, perhaps deriving from their place in statistical tables such as standings. I've never seen, in text, 12 games behind, though. It seems to be an exception.
This is explained in glossary of baseball terms, which is now included as a whatnot to cover minor baseball terms that do not have their own articles.
Linked.
Rephrased and linked.
See "top".
Linked to base on balls
Retired is now linked to out (baseball).
I don't see this as a contradiction. There's no way to prove there was never another raindrop after the first inning.
Again, retired means basically what it does in cricket. In order is defined in the glossary.
  • I think there is an extent to which any sports articles requires jargon.
  • Linked.
  • Linked.

I'm going to stop here for the moment. I'm really struggling with the jargon. As someone who writes cricket articles, I appreciate the difficulty, but this section could really do with simplifying if possible. If not, all jargon at least needs to be wikilinked on first use. Harrias (he/him) • talk 13:55, 26 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I think now you'll find that all terms with articles are linked, and a glossary is supplied for the puzzled reader to look up the terms. I don't think it can be written without jargon because the ninety and nine of the hundred readers who read this article are going to know something about baseball or they would not be looking for the longest game.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:12, 26 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Harrias, any thoughts? Gog the Mild (talk) 15:47, 3 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
More[edit]
No MLB field had such illumination so I'd rather phrase it broadly.
(Pulled down from above.) I take your point, but the current phrasing remains awkward. How about "..as baseball fields did not yet have artificial lighting." (It's mostly the "as there was as" which is awkward.)
OK
OK
OK
Linked.
(Pulled down from above.) I still don't know what "reached" means in this context.
I've directly linked from the glossary.
I don't see this as a contradiction. There's no way to prove there was never another raindrop after the first inning.
(Pulled down from above.) I disagree. One says it almost entirely stopped (ie, it didn't stop), while the other says it stopped. That's a contradiction.
I cut the one that is not in the game description.
OK, done.
This is explained in glossary of baseball terms, which is now included as a whatnot to cover minor baseball terms that do not have their own articles.
Again, retired means basically what it does in cricket. In order is defined in the glossary.
(Pulled down from above for both of these.) An article should not require a reader to have thoroughly read a glossary on the subject to understand. If there is something in the glossary to help understanding, then link to it. Unless I'm missing it, the article does not currently link to the glossary at all.
  1. I've linked to the glossary for the baseball terms you question and as many others as I can find.
  1. It feels the same to me either way but I've taken your language.
  1. I'm not sure that term is unique to baseball or even sport but I've linked to "muff' in the glossary.
  1. Rephrased somewhat.
  1. The shorter version feels slightly more natural but I'll accept your language.
It denotes that the ball traveled to the scoreboard in left field. The would make it quite a long hit. It's useful to put in some description where we can other than simply mentioning hit or out, and this is an important point of the game. Similarly we mention the broken-bat (now linked) nature of the Brooklyn run-scoring hit.
Yes, fixed.

Reviewed to end of First nine innings, will continue. Harrias (he/him) • talk 19:37, 3 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, up to date.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:32, 3 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Harrias ? Gog the Mild (talk) 17:59, 9 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Note to the @FAC coordinators: ; I've abandoned this review as I just can't wade through the jargon well enough to review it suitably. As Wehwalt suggests, there may well be no realistic way of avoiding it, so I don't intend to oppose, but I don't think I'm in a position to provide an effective review of this article. Harrias (he/him) • talk 13:15, 17 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I appreciate your efforts. I do not think it possible to write an article on a sporting event without using the sport's jargon. For guidance, I looked at the FA 1988 Football League Second Division play-off final, for which you were the successful nominator. I do not question its quality, I simply note the use of jargon, in fact often less linked than in the present article. For example (citations excluded in all cases, but links included), "but the Chelsea goalkeeper, Kevin Hitchcock managed to get his left palm to the attempted chip. Nevin then created an opportunity for Chelsea, crossing the ball to Dixon, who missed the goal with his header." Never is there an explanation or link to what a chip is, or an opportunity, or crossing, or header. Or a goalkeeper, or "goal" in its meaning as in an area on the pitch. Oh, I rather like this passage: "Chelsea dominated play early on; within 90 seconds of kick-off, Nevin had a shot at goal which Pears "brilliantly" deflected onto the post, according to White. Middlesbrough's best chance of the match came a few minutes later, when a cross-cum-shot from Cooper rebounded off the post to Slaven. From 5 yards (5 m), his headed shot went over the bar." Nowhere is there an explanation or link to tell the putative novice reader what a kick-off is, or what shot at goal is, or a post, or a bar, and certainly not a cross-cum-shot. (I wondered at that myself, and do follow English football in a desultory sort of way, and have been to two play-off finals myself). I could go on, or even pass to cricket (I'm sure I could find ample there) but I think my point is made.
I say again, my point is not to denigrate your writing in any way, and in my view you are one of the best writers we have. But an article such as these two are not intended to give basic information on the rules of the sport to the reader. While they should be adequately linked, they exist to explain exceptional matches (such as Worcestershire v Somerset, 1979) to individuals already versed in the sport. While they should explain the basics (such as the background and aftermath) in language that is clear to anyone, ultimately discussion of sport uses the language of sport. As your articles show, and in my view both your articles and this one meet the standards I have discussed. (though I might link cross-cum-shot) :).--Wehwalt (talk) 14:34, 17 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

CommentsSupport by RoySmith[edit]

I probably won't do a full review, but here's a few random comments:

Brooklyn and Boston played to a 1-1 tie on September 20, 1905 in the second game of a doubleheader (8 innings), on April 24, 1907 (13 innings), and possibly other times as well. Thus, that title would not completely disambiguate.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:18, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Do we have articles about those games?
No, they aren't notable games as far as I am aware. But how does the reader know that?--Wehwalt (talk) 21:30, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The general rule is not to disambiguate in the title unless you have to, not because you might have to at some point in the future if other articles get written. TITLEDAB says, "... already used for other articles". RoySmith (talk) 01:07, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Leaving aside FAs such as Coventry City 2–2 Bristol City (1977) (there is no other similarly-titled Coventry City article), I'd state that the (26 innings) is not a disambiguating parenthetical, but part of the scoreline, as baseball games that are decided in other than nine innings very often carry such a parenthetical. It also, like the year in the soccer article above, provides a clue to the searching reader (in our search box) that they have found what they are looking for. Simply stating the score without the number of innings does not tell the reader that they've found what they very likely are looking for, the longest MLB game ever. Unlike many other articles on individual baseball games, this does not have a shorthand nickname like, say, the Pine Tar Game. TITLEDAB says, "Where there is no acceptable set name for a topic, such that a title of our own conception is necessary, more latitude is allowed to form descriptive and unique titles."--Wehwalt (talk) 09:15, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I've added a sentence on this.--Wehwalt (talk) 19:04, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Do you have some suggestions as to how? It would be as of 2024 now, effectively, as the regular season for baseball has concluded and postseason records will not change the regular season record book.--
Maybe start out the section with, "The May 1, 1920 game set a number of records which still stand As of 2023" and then start enumerating them? I would even make that one sentence a stand-alone paragraph to emphasize that it applies equally to everything that follows (even if that horrifies the FA regulars). RoySmith (talk) 21:22, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I've added a sentence but kept it within the exiting structure of the section.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:42, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wehwalt (talk) 18:18, 19 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess...

Lead[edit]
In the lead, we only mention one record. In the body, we list two: longest pitching appearance and longest complete game. These are distinct records.
I think the sources would support both phrasings, but I've adjusted the lede a bit.
No, the body says that the longest pitching appearance in the two 25-inning games was 913 innings, which is barely a third of what Oeschger and Cadone did. So no one came close to equalling their joint record.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:00, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
All done or responded to in this section.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:33, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Infobox[edit]
Added a bit.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:34, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Technically, that's a correct statement. I added a bit more which attempts to let a blind person enjoy more of the wonderful story depicted in the cartoon. And while I was there, I uploaded a better version of the image.
Background[edit]
He probably would have preferred it to the poor record he posted for the Giants ... added.
The current phrasing makes it clear both pitched the entire game (or at least, until the final inning). The changes you suggest would not exclude the possibility of relief pitchers.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:43, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
All done here.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:43, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
First nine innings[edit]
I see your point, and will work to tone it down a bit, but it is to an extent unavoidable. The narration of a baseball game, with many discrete events, is necessarily going to be choppy, and as many of the innings took the pattern "So-and-so reached base, but then Cadore/Oeschger got out of the inning without a run scoring", it's hard to avoid. Cadore, for example, allowed baserunners in 13 of the first 14 innings, but only one scored.
"Although So-and-so reached base, Cadore/Oeschger got out of the inning without allowing him to score"
"In the first 14 innings, Caldor only kept the bases empty once; of the 27 (whatever) baserunners he allowed in that stretch, 26 were stranded"
The source doesn't definitively say that. Baseball can be played in the rain, as long as it isn't raining too hard, and there could have been intervals of rain during the first inning.
You've already got a source which covers that: 'It was drizzling when Umpire Barry McCormick called "Play Ball!"'. That begs the question of how drizzle stops abruptly, but that's not our problem.
I've changed to "slowed". But I'm dubious it carries the same nuance to the reader.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:07, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Rephrased slightly.
The two pitchers were a combined 1 for 19, which isn't very good, nor unusual for pitchers.
Maybe, but I was trying to avoid being too jargony.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:07, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Extra innings[edit]
I've never heard "the extra innings" in baseball parlance. It's always been without the definite article.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:09, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
OK, but "threat of extra innings" is still confusing. When I read "threat of X", I take to to mean "X might happen". Threat of rain. Threat of banishment. Threat of being forced to listen to Justin Bieber. What you're trying to say is "threat of scoring a run during extra innings", and "threat of extra innings" doesn't say that to me.
I've cut it.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:21, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's fast, but nine innings was sometimes played in less than an hour pre-television.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:09, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
It's exceptional, but a comparison with modern practice seems a bit OR to me.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:09, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Records set[edit]
Yes. In this game, Boeckel.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:48, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
On both. I would agree, but I'm unable to find a site that confirms this. The records seem to be broken down by position. But given the first baseman gets the most putouts in most games unless you have Nolan Ryan on the mound, you are almost certainly correct.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:48, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Reaction and aftermath[edit]
Added something on this.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:50, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I've limited to they remained in MLB for several years after the game.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:03, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

That's it for me. RoySmith (talk) 15:50, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

PS, probably worth mentioning somewhere if the pitchers were left or right handed. RoySmith (talk) 17:16, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Not sure it's worth mentioning. They were both right-handers, but that really plays no part in the story. Stallings sometimes platooned his players, especially in 1914, but there's mention of him doing so or choosing a right handed pitcher for that reason. Wehwalt (talk) 19:12, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
In spite of that, I've added it.--Wehwalt (talk) 10:04, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I think I've gotten to or responded to everything. I've cut down on the number of but constructions in the "The Game" sections, but I haven't tried to eliminate them.--Wehwalt (talk) 20:14, 20 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I've addressed all your further points, or at least discussed them, I think.--Wehwalt (talk) 10:04, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I made a few more changes which you can find from the history. The only thing I still see as a problem is overuse of "but". I made a few changes on my own. There's more work to be done on this, which I'll leave to you. As a nit-pick, "overcast" has a specific meaning in meteorology and "dark clouds and mist" isn't quite it. Given this isn't a meteorology article it was probably OK, but since I was in there removing a "but", I fixed that too. I also wrote you a nice alt text for the infobox cartoon. RoySmith (talk) 18:59, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
A very thorough alt text. I've reduced the "but" constructions to two in the first nine innings and two in extra innings (not counting the quotation from Oeschger). Thank you for the review.--Wehwalt (talk) 19:14, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Comments
Thanks for the review. I've done those things, though with a bit different text from what you suggested in a couple of cases.--Wehwalt (talk) 17:53, 5 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
SC

Putting down a marker for now. - SchroCat (talk) 08:14, 10 November 2023 (UTC) Just two bits from me:[reply]

Interesting piece of history. Cheers - SchroCat (talk) 13:10, 17 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the review. I've made those changes. Yes, I feel the jargon is inevitable and fully understanding the description of the game will require some basic knowledge of baseball or willingness to patiently go through the links. As for cricket, I've seen enough of it over the years to have a rudimentary understanding of what I've seen on TV and very rarely in person but I probably lose a good deal of the nuance, so you're probably right. Wehwalt (talk) 19:34, 17 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Eddie[edit]

Spot for comments to follow Eddie891 Talk Work 15:41, 10 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've added a source that describes it as "remembered as Casey's zaniest moment as a player" and "there were enough eyewitnesses on hand that day to assure that this was a wholly true story, not a fable. His signature moment had been achieved.".
I think it's to establish the relationship of Stengel, a very well known baseball figure, with Cadore, who is less-known, also with a view of setting up the quotation from Stengel late in the article. To be blunt, outside of this one game, the only thing Cadore is really remembered for is his bit part in Stengel's sparrow stunt.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:13, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Added.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:47, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The Boston Braves won only the one World Series though they played in it in 1948.
I don't think the had is necessary. Rephrased.
It already is, in the extra innings section.
No, because baseball rules now allow for suspended games and also can wait past the fall of darkness to resume a game.
Added a topic sentence. Grimes is mentioned three times in the article, the purpose is to establish him as a pitcher for Brooklyn.
OK.
"retired the side" is such common baseball parlance that not to use it would look odd. Left is the more formal term in my view as it is part of the statistic "left on base". It's the description of a baseball game and baseball terms must be used. There are ample links for those unfamiliar with baseball who for some reason try to puzzle through this description. I find other baseball articles about specific games to be similar in their use of terms, and those many we have about American football and soccer.
There's one, I think, now, with "lead off" and "led off". I'm inclined to leave it.
I think, literally, a long hit, an extra base hit. We're being pretty faithful.--Wehwalt (talk) 23:47, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Another fielder might have thrown the ball. The source doesn't mention it, but it would be usual for the pitcher, Oeschger, to back up the play at first base.
Fine.
Changed to "greater use" of the reliever.
OK
I've made it clear this was the next day
Yes, but I'm inclined to spell it out for the reader.

That's all for a first read-through, mostly minor points. As always, not wedded to all/any of the aboveEddie891 Talk Work 22:03, 13 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the review. I've responded or dealt with all of them.--Wehwalt (talk) 02:23, 14 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Eddie, did you want to revisit? Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 21:52, 20 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I can support now. I went ahead and linked night baseball on first rather than second mention. Eddie891 Talk Work 00:51, 21 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Source review[edit]

Spot-check upon request. I presume that www.sports-reference.com is not usergenerated? It looks like otherwise the sources are consistently formatted and seem to be reliable. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 08:52, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Baseball-Reference.com is probably what you mean. Although it includes a part that is user generated (the "bullpen"), all citations are to the main portion, that is not user generated, and that is widely relied upon by media organizations and others per our article on it, that contains stats for all players and games in Major League Baseball.--Wehwalt (talk) 13:52, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Ok, then that seems like a pass. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 14:33, 18 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.