Braves, Mets and extra innings created plenty of Fourth of July fireworks

If you’ve ever read any of my Fourth of July columns, you know this story. But I’d appreciate your indulgence one more time because it remains my favorite Independence Day memory.

In 1985, when the Atlanta Braves were little more than a punch line (Go Braves…and take the Falcons with you), the Mets came to town for a contest at Fulton County Stadium. My dad watched the Braves religiously, regardless of how bad they were, and he was dug in for the night, prepared to take in three-and-a-half hours of bad baseball.

I was at home for a few days but was headed out with a group of friends to watch a fireworks display. I told him it’d be late when I got back, but he could fill me in on the game the following morning.

The Braves had poor attendance during those lean years, but a larger than normal crowd showed up thanks to the promise of a post-game fireworks display. And thus the marathon began.

The game started at 7:30 Eastern Time, and after nine innings the score was tied. The evening continued to drag on, and in the bottom of the 18th inning the Mets held an 11-10 lead.

The Braves had run out of pinch-hitters, so pitcher Rick Camp was called in to take his cuts with two outs. Camp, who finished with a 56-49 career record with a 3.37 earned run average, was a .074 lifetime hitter.

Obviously, New York players were already preparing to head back to the hotel.

Incredibly, Camp homered off Mets reliever Tom Gorman to knot the game at 11-all. It was Camp’s only career home run.

Unfortunately for the Bravos, even Camp’s heroics couldn’t win that day. New York rallied in the 19th inning and exited with a 16-13 victory.

Back in Alabama, I was wrapping up my own fireworks festivities and came home — startled to find the lights still on in the living room and the sound of the TV blaring — and the sight of my dad just getting out of his chair and heading to bed.

“What are you doing still up?” I asked.

“The Braves’ game just ended,” Pop said. “It went 19 innings and I figured I’d hang around until the end.”

“Did they win?”

“Of course not.”

By the way, the fireworks display went on as promised in Atlanta, although the first Roman Candle didn’t go up until 4 a.m. EDT. The few remaining fans got to see a nice display of pyrotechnics, but area police stations were flooded with phone calls from hundreds of residents.

They had been awakened by the sounds of explosions — some thinking Atlanta was under siege for the first time since General Sherman marched through more than 100 years earlier.

I hope this Fourth of July provides you with some happy memories — although try to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight, OK?

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