Baseball is a sport that has been around for centuries, and it has seen its fair share of incredible games. One of the most remarkable games in the history of the sport was the longest scoreless game ever played in Major League Baseball (MLB). On April 15, 1968, the New York Mets and Houston Astros faced off in a game that lasted 24 innings and six hours. Incredibly, the game was scoreless until the end of the 24th, the longest time a major league game has been scoreless.
The six-hour, six-minute competition at the Astrodome began with Hall of Famer Tom Seaver on the mound for the Mets and Don Wilson for the Astros. It should come as no surprise that the longest MLB game occurred decades ago. The record dates back to a meeting between the Brooklyn Robins and the Boston Braves on May 1, 1920. On that historic date, neither team could do much at the plate. Brooklyn jumped to a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning, thanks to a starting point guard who became a second-place runner with one out after a failed double play.
A few moments later, Ivy Olson released an RBI single in the game's first run. An RBI single at the end of the sixth inning tied, those would be the last runs scored in a game that began during the day. Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger pitched the entire 26-inning game and could probably have come out again for the 27th inning. When the night sky arrived at Braves Field, darkness halted a scoreless stretch of 20 innings. In what can only be described as two of the best pitching performances of MLB teams in the same game, the Mets and Houston Astros went 23 innings without scoring a single run.
Tom Seaver (10 innings, 2 hits) and Don Wilson (9 innings, 5 hits) threw gems and both starters had hours to sit on the bench after being retired before this game mercifully ended with an RBI run that went under the infielder's legs. When fans began a steady exodus from the Astrodome after beer sales closed at midnight, in accordance with Texas law, the scoreboard read: “I TOLD YOU THAT BASEBALL WOULD NOT REPLACE SEX. This is the second game in the history of the MLB playoffs to reach the 6-hour mark and the third to last at least 18 innings. It was also, at the time, the longest nighttime game and the longest scoreless game in the major leagues. We have to give credit to the Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics as well; while a 24-inning game is difficult, they somehow got through it in less than 5 hours. The second game of the American League Wild Card Series between Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians will be one of the longest MLB playoff games in history.
It also achieved its own place in history, making it the first postseason game in history to go scoreless for the first 14 innings. We'll delve into the record books and analyze the longest baseball game in history throughout the MLB season, the MLB postseason, and even college baseball. When Dukes decided that they might need it and put his bags back in his car to continue to Houston upon listening to the radio broadcast of the game at a hotel, Wade Blasingame took the win for Houston, pitching four scoreless innings and allowing one hit and one base. EST on Thursday, a 7-hour pitching match that is recognized as the longest MLB game in history without delay or postponement. So, in case you've ever wondered how many innings the longest baseball game in history was, we have what you need. What made this game even more iconic is that Cardinals held a 3-1 lead going into ninth inning before Mets tied.
