John Strubel is writing a book about the July 4-5, 1985 Mets-Braves game (the Fireworks Game). He’s interested in anyone who was at the game or viewed it “in its entirety” on TBS. (I dunno, maybe you could have missed a bit of the middle innings.) He can be contacted at john@johnstrubel.com.

I was a budding Braves fan then, but I don’t recall that game. (I wasn’t even 6 at the time.) Anyone care to enlighten me about what was special about it?
I was 7 at the time and would watch all the Braves games in bed on a B&W television with a 2″ screen that was about the size of the car battery. I truly was an avid Braves fan even then, but the only reason I continued to watch was to see if they would show the fireworks after the game. I vividly remember the seeing the Camp HR live (in I guess the 18th) but I can’t remember if I had been dosing off before then or not. Great game.
Oh, I know which game it is, then. Not that I remember it…
Sadly, although I was nine, I don’t remember watching the game, and I lived in Arkansas so I wasn’t there. I’d definitely be interested in reading more about it once Mr. Strubel is done.
per DOB–Anderson to DL–B Jones called up
May Anderson spend the rest of the season on the DL.
I was thinking the same thing.
That’s a great topic for a book. I wonder if he’d be interested in my story of the world’s longest makeout session, enabled by my high school sweetheart’s father telling us that we could watch the game, but I had to go home once it was over….
That’s a great story Sansho1. I was living in CA at the time and remember bits of it, but especially the ending!
I second the “May Anderson spend the entire season on the DL”.
Of Sansho’s makeout session? Wow.
Somebody should tell Frank Wrun that the object of baseball is to score runs.
LOL We didn’t have an audience, unless her nosy little sister was spying on us….
Good one Mac, I didn’t even think about how that sounded!
Anderson will (sadly) be right back in the starting lineup in another few weeks. Maybe B. Jones can play well enough in the next couple of weeks that Wren will realize that Anderson is worthless.
That Elvis song always destoys me. I gotta break out my old vinyl of King of America..
I wasn’t at the 7/4/85 game, but my memories of watching it involve a daylong series of Athens parties, whiffleball, some rain, a lotta beer & the Butthole Surfers. By the time Rick Camp hit his HR, it almost made sense.
Today on WFAN, I actually heard a Met fan say this: “If Omar [Minaya] doesn’t start holding people accountable, I may jump off a bridge.”
Fill in punchline.
sansho playing small ball?
————
You know, anything can sound dirty in the right (wrong?) context.
Sansho hits behind the runner.
Sansho working the count.
Sansho swings a maple bat.
Sansho expanding the strike zone behind in the count.
Etc.
Sansho likes to hit and run.
Sansho goes deep!
Sansho has warning-track power.
Sansho exits the game prematurely.
Sansho left ducks on the pond.
Sansho fouls it off
Sansho gets the quick hook & hits the (cold) showers.
Sansho pops up to second base.
Sansho’s hittin in the second hole
Sansho dribbles one down the first base line
Sansho swings and misses!
Sansho taking it deep!
Sansho gives her the high hard one!
Sansho botches the DP
Mac blocks the plate but Sansho slides in safely
Sansho gets doubled up at home
Mac splinters Sansho’s maple bat
Sansho tried to turn a double into a triple, but he was thrown out and not allowed to return to second base.
Sansho executes a perfect squeeze play and scores a run.
Sansho takes four balls inside
Mac takes advantage of Sansho’s open stance with a hard one high and inside.
Sansho fists one through the hole. (Courtesy of Chip)
I’ll show myself out now…
Sansho yanks his reliever after bouncing two balls in the dirt
Sansho gets ready for a doubleheader
This is one of the reasons I love this site!
Sansho hits the target low and away with his fastball
Sansho deposits one in the seats
Sansho toes the rubber and prepares to deliver
Sansho pulls a muscle as he makes it into third base…
Oh crap, look what’s gone and happened.
Droll, people. Very droll.
Sansho freezes him with a nasty curve
Sansho inked by the Padres
Sansho gives him a hard backdoor slider.
Sansho nibbles on the outside corner
Sansho gets roughed up in the bottom half
Sansho gives himself up and Mac scores easily
That one is belted! And Sansho is under it, and catches it shy of the warning track.
Sansho hits it the other way, much to the delight of Joe Simpson
Ron Gant just praised the Reds for batting Willy Taveras at leadoff.
Sansho guns it in behind the runner
Sansho gobbles up a slow dribbler and hums it to the bag just in time
Sansho linked to allegations of juicing A-rod
“Sansho gobbles up a slow dribbler and hums it to the bag just in time”
Haha, Jesus…
Sansho pounds a screamer up the middle
Mac squats behind the plate and sansho shakes him off twice before he comes with a backdoor slider
Willy Tavaras shouldn’t bat anywhere, much less leadoff.
Some latent and worrisome hostility creeping in. Sansho says play ball!
Sansho tries to score but gets gunned down by veteran Padre.
Sansho, I’m not quite sure what it would be exactly, but I’m betting you’ve learned your lesson.
Alex Remington lays out for a hot shot in the gap but comes up empty
Okay, one more. Sansho built through strength up the middle.
Sansho pokes one into the gap.
Someone at DOB’s blog said that McCann was scratched for eye reasons. Oh, boy.
And there’s Boog with the same report. McCann might need to go ahead and have the surgery.
As for Taveras, he sucks, but he kills us. His career OBP against the Braves is .374, and he’s scored 20 runs in 26 games counting tonight.
In an unexpected move, Sansho released from Gwinnett after blowing through minors
The Braves won’t retaliate, Cox is a puss
Sansho had trouble finding the strike zone, then got a visit from Dick Pole.
Anyone read lips in Spanish?
Besides Sansho, of course. 🙂
Sansho rounds third base hard and goes head first into home.
Over/under: June 1st for first Casey Kotchman homerun of 2009.
diaz should just take every single pitch against someone like volquez
Report: Stafford, Lions reach deal | ajc.com
I’ll take the under, Dan, but I won’t claim to feel confident.
Volquez pitch count is mounting. Insert Sansho joke here.
Vasquez thought that was a strike.
By the way, so did I.
great thread
I think Esco got in his head.
edit: guess not.
5 BB in one inning–yuck
Edit–maybe he’ll plunk Esco again just to save himself 3 pitches
Looked like it but at least Vasquez had the right approach. DONT SWING!!!
Hopefully all the hitters will take notice. Would be about time. There should have been even more walks.
82 pitches now. Over 30 in the inning. Still no hits.
Clearly it’s someone from the Braves bullpen dressed up as Volquez
Escobar — no take. Can’t go out like that. (I’m listening, so i have no idea where the pitches were)
April 24, 1987 New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com
Carlton blew the win for Knucksie, wound up vulturing it.
Well, so much for that.
zomg our star hitter
It is gonna be hard to get used to a great Francoeur after the 2006-2008 version…really the version since after his first six weeks in 2005.
Great and Francoeur in the same sentence killed the blog 🙁
Braves looking like a three true outcomes team tonight, that’s unusual…
there are few things more ugly than a Diaz ab against a right hander but please shock me. need insurance badly
woooooooooo hooooooooo
This has been a strange game.
The dreaded 7th inning with a lead.
Alright, bullpen…
PHEW it wasn’t easy, it never is, but overall I thought he pitched pretty well.
Votto scared me the most and he did well against him.
phils have put up 7 in the 9th against FLA. Now lead 7-3 and still batting
One of the most entertaining game threads in a while…. Bravo Sansho! You are a man of many talents, seemingly all of which have been recognized here.
Can’t believe it took 44 replies before the first “backdoor” reference.
Aaargh! 2 TVs in the house, the mife watching 20/20 on one and two daughters and 3 other kids watching Beverly Hills Chihuahuaon the other!
Shoot me now, please!
(BTW – ESPN says it’s top 8th, 2 out, Chipper at bat…)
Sign of the apocalypse = Francouer getting two walks and a homer in the same month, no I mean same game.
seat, you apparently need a 3rd
10 walks in the game for us, gotta be a record for these guys
And only 4 runs—we have 20 LOB tonight.
2 straight one run road wins…please wake me up
our pitching was awesome, esp with the tight zone tonight
9IP 8H 3ER 3BB 12K
Gonzo is now king of the hill. Nice work.
A kick-ass start & a (mostly) lockdown pen tonight. Well-done, boys…
Does the ESPN gamecast run slow? Here it’s still one out in bottom of 9th.
ETA: House is kind of small. No real space for a third set.
;(
#105 – game is over, so yes
Braves win!
Can’t say it was that fun of a game to watch, but good win nonetheless. Solid pitching
#105 – put one in your bathroom on the wall
eta – estimated time of arrival, btw
OK…Votto strikes out looking to end the game, and ESPN Gamecast gives the Braves a 94% chance of winning.
Gotta love the slow updates. 🙂
ETA can also mean Edited To Add.
Just checking in…this thread is amazing.
sansho toes the mound, shakes off Uncle Charlie, and buzzes one up and in.
Is that like when weather reports say “80% chance of rain” in the middle of a severe thunderstorm? lol
FRENCHY FRANCOEUR
FRENCHY FRANCOEUR
FRENCHY FRANCOEUR
Send this Fred Hickman hack back to wherever the hell he came from.
I keep saying I’m going to do the wall of TV’s every time American Idol conflicts with the game. Once the tiki bar is built, problem solved.
#111 well yes it does
Sansho peaked in the minors
this isnt good, Joe and Boog didnt say anything about it during the game either
CINCINNATI — Having realized no improvement while attempting to exhaust all of the alternatives, Brian McCann has come to the realization that he may have to once again undergo Lasik surgery to repair the vision in his left eye.
After experiencing blurred vision again in his left eye during batting practice at Great American Ball Park on Friday night, McCann removed himself from the lineup. His status for the final two games of this weekend’s series against the Reds appears doubtful.
per Braves website
Sansho comes in high and hard but Mac turns him around with a hard stroke into the gap
Sansho dribbles one off the end of the bat, swallowed up by Pujols.
Jerome says Sammons is coming up, hopefully Parr is being sent back to make room
Clint has been called up. (snicker)
Recap is up.
Sansho sends a liner into the alley.