FanPost

2014. ALDS. Game 2.


delmon1.0.jpg

We just knew it.

My long-suffering O’s fan friend & I sat in the bleachers, brimming with optimism. The O’s were up 1-0 in the series vs. Detroit. We were going to win this series, it was our time. Then, suddenly, things went horribly wrong. In the time it took for me to take a bathroom break, Chen gave up 5 runs. The Tigers fans in attendance were emboldened and, because BEER for some reason, getting mouthy. We were still down 6-3 in the 8th when Detroit summoned Joba Chamberlain from the ’pen.

I have always been envious of fans that are so confident in their teams that, even when down, they know they’re coming back to win. I had never been in that situation until that day. Chamberlain loafed out to the pitcher’s mound and the crowd mood shifted 180 degrees. Detroit’s fans didn’t get it. They were winning by 3 and only needed 5 more outs. Why was the Baltimore crowd getting rowdy all of a sudden?

Joba gonna Joba. Jones HBP. Cruz single. Pearce RBI single. 2-run deficit now at 6-4 & Chamberlain’s out. Detroit brought in Soria who was very much not Joba Chamberlain to stop the bleeding. Surely the O’s faithful would temper expectations, right? Wrong. Because Soria walked J.J. Hardy, of all people, to load the bases for Delmon Young.

This was the key moment when the stadium situation flipped on its head. Everybody in the bleachers was out of their seats and had turned towards the sizeable Tiger contingent near the flag court. En masse, we informed them that the game was now over. I’ve never been in that certain mindset before or since. There was skepticism, yet fear in the eyes of the DET fans. Delmon ripped the first pitch down the LF line for a 3-run double. On contact, the stadium exploded with noise. I’ve never heard a baseball stadium so loud and I’ve never gone so completely nuts. I barked my shins on the seat backs in front of me jumping up & down. My hands were numb from all the high-fives. I screamed so loud I lost my voice.

The Tigers fans shuffled slowly out while we basked in the giddy orange glow of an amazing comeback, a new 2-run lead, and a near-certain victory.

Best game ever.

oslead.0.0.gif

The clutchest double to ever clutch.

FanPosts are user-created content and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of Camden Chat or SB Nation. They might, though.