This May Be What They Mean by ‘Long’ Ball

Gerry Callahan of the Boston Herald said in Morning Briefing that Wednesday night’s game between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox, which began at 7 p.m. in Oakland, would end too late to make most East Coast newspaper deadlines.Well, the 4-hour 37-minute game ended about 11:45 p.m., too late for the final score to make some West Coast papers.

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Trivia time: What is the longest major league baseball game ever played? Winners and losers: From Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, on the Cubs’ trade of Todd Hundley to the Dodgers for Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros: “The trade of Hundley, who had become the baseball equivalent of toxic waste, for two veterans with both skills and good attitudes showed that these were different days for the Lovable Losers.” In this deal, the Dodgers were simply losers.

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Looking back: On this day in 1951, Bobby Thomson hit the “shot heard ‘round the world,” a three-run homer off Ralph Branca that gave the New York Giants a 5-4 playoff victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

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Looking back II: A more important event on this day, in 1974, was Frank Robinson becoming the first black manager in the major leagues when he signed a player-manager contract with the Cleveland Indians.

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Best finishes: A new book and DVD, “Not Till the Fat Lady Sings,” ranks Thomson’s home run No. 1 among sports’ best finishes. Rounding out the top five:The “greatest game ever played” the 1958 Baltimore Colts-New York Giants NFL championship game; the “Miracle on Ice” the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s victory over the Soviet Union; Michael Jordan’s parting shot for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals; and the Ice Bowl the 1967 Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys NFL championship game.

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Best home runs: Thursday marked the 25th anniversary of Bucky Dent’s playoff home run for the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox. ESPN has been featuring memorable home runs on “SportsCenter,” and Thursday revealed its top 10. Thomson’s shot ranked No. 1, and No. 2 was Dodger Kirk Gibson’s home run against Oakland in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. No. 3 was Bill Mazeroski’s homer in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, and No. 4 was Hank Aaron’s record-breaking 715th.No. 5 was Carlton Fisk’s homer in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series for the Red Sox. The Cincinnati Reds came back to win Game 7, but Fisk’s was memorable mainly because of the camera work by NBC director Harry Coyle. Dent’s home run was ranked eighth.

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Trivia answer: The Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers played a game that lasted 8 hours, 6 minutes on May 9, 1984. The White Sox won, 7-6, in the 25th inning.

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And finally: Cris Collinsworth, saying on HBO’s “Inside the NFL” that the San Francisco 49ers should have suspended Terrell Owens: “They’ve created a Frankenstein with this guy.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com