Recalling one of most dramatic days in MLB history

Look around Tropicana Field in 2016, and you’ll see a shrine to the history of a franchise whose memorable moments you can count on one hand. There’s the 2008 ALCS and the Matt Garza no-hitter in 2010. Wade Boggs crushing his 3,000th hit into the right-field seats. There’s 13 losing seasons in 18 years that have come and been forgotten, too.

Then there’s the one moment in 2011 that no one could have hoped for, because doing so would have gone beyond the scope of optimism.

On the last day of the regular season, the Rays and Red Sox were tied for the lone Wild Card spot. Tampa Bay had closed a 9 1/2-game deficit since the start of September. But that comeback seemed doomed to fade as Tampa Bay fell behind 7-0 to the Yankees on the season’s final day, and Boston held onto a lead over the last-place Orioles. In the National League the Cardinals completed an 8 1/2-game September comeback with an 8-0 win over the Astros and a 4-3, 13-inning Braves loss to the Phillies.

In the left-field short porch is the 162 Landing exhibit. In the team’s elevators is a photo of Evan Longoria’s arms raised high in the air, only a trip around the bases away from officially landing Tampa Bay in the postseason. Tangible reminders to those who saw it happen, nothing short of a miracle.

Five years later, here’s an oral history of the most improbable comeback in baseball history, and the most improbable night in baseball history, told by the people who lived it.

Part 1: “Well, you had a good run at it. You gave it your best.”

Three scenarios existed entering the night. The Rays lose and the Red Sox win, thus ending Tampa Bay’s season. They both lose or both win, resulting in a one-game playoff. Or the Rays could clinch the playoffs with a win and a Boston loss.

The Rays allowed a first-inning run on a two-out error by second baseman Ben Zobrist. Mark Teixeira followed that with a grand slam in the second inning and a solo shot in the fourth inning to make it 6-0. The Rays scratched out only two hits in the first seven innings.

Teixeira’s grand slam NYY@TB: Teixeira blasts a grand slam to left-centerMark Teixeira launches a grand slam to left-center to give the Yankees a five-run lead in the second

Tampa Bay had its chances, though. Two runners on in the first inning. One runner in the second and third. Two more in the fourth, and four total baserunners in the fifth, sixth and seventh combined. Nothing to show for it.

Dan Johnson, Rays pinch-hitter: “Everything was real light. [Rays manager] Joe [Maddon] was clear about getting everyone into that belief. ‘So what? It’s just another baseball game. Let’s get a win.’ That type of mentality. I don’t think anyone was pressing that much.”

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times beat reporter: “He relished those moments. I think Joe relished the chance to say all is good, all is calm, to set that tone. Whenever Joe Maddon talked to the media, he viewed it was having a team meeting. Because he knew that feeling, that attitude would carry out into the clubhouse. I don’t think he treated it any differently, and thus I don’t think players wanted to treat it any differently.”

Joe Girardi, Yankees manager: “I think it was a night that we mixed and matched a lot. We didn’t necessarily have a starter for that night. We used a lot of our bullpen that day.”

Dellin Betances, Yankees starting pitcher: “I found out the same day that I was pitching. Before coming on the field, I was obviously nervous. It was my first start at the big league level. They told me I was only going like a couple of innings. It was more about getting some guys work. I remember I got in trouble right away in the first inning and [Derek] Jeter, he came for a mound visit, and Jeter kind of calmed me down a little bit…Trying to be funny. It was funny at the time. It kind of calmed my nerves a little bit, and I was able to throw two scoreless.”

David Price, Rays starting pitcher: “I just try and treat it like any other game. We had to win and for the Red Sox to lose in Baltimore. It was a crazy day and a crazy last two innings of baseball, for both teams.”

Longoria, Rays third baseman: “I know I was nervous. I think everybody was. It was a nervous energy. We knew what we had to do. We knew what had to happen.”

Topkin: “The way that game started, the way that game stood halfway through the game, it was over. I was writing as if they’d lost, it wasn’t even going to matter what happened in the other game.”

Teixeira, Yankees first baseman: “I kind of felt good that day. Felt strong. Got some pitches middle in and put good swings on them. You don’t expect to score that many runs off David Price, especially in a game this big. It definitely quieted down a little bit. And in the middle innings, the crowd was pretty quiet.”

Zobrist, Rays second baseman: “That made it feel like our season was probably over.”

Tom Foley, Rays third base coach: “Halfway through the game we looked like were pretty much cooked, like it was over.”

Dewayne Staats, Rays play-by-play broadcaster for FOX: “Reality starts to creep in. You start thinking it’s finished; there’s no chance.”

Kelly Shoppach, Rays starting catcher: “Now that I’m retired, I can honestly tell you that I was trying to hit a three-run homer every time I got in the box. The game plan never changed for me. We’re just trying to scratch and claw to get everything we can.”

Joe West, home plate umpire: “I remember Joe Maddon walking off after changing pitchers. I inadvertently said, ‘Well you had a good run at it. You gave it your best.’ I was thinking it’s all over. Then he said, ‘Thank you,’ and kept walking.

Part 2: “I would say 99 times out of 100, you hook that ball foul.”

The bottom of the eighth started with the Rays down, 7-0. Johnny Damon led off the inning with a single, and Zobrist followed with a double. Then Casey Kotchman, who had the only two hits in the first seven innings, was hit by a pitch.

Sam Fuld was walked to bring in the first run. Then Sean Rodriguez was hit to bring in another. A B.J. Upton sac fly with one out made it 7-3, and Longoria cut the deficit to one with a three-run home run.

Cory Wade had been with the Rays in Spring Training and spent most of April and May with Triple-A Durham. He had a 1.23 ERA in 21 appearances with the Bulls before opting out of his contract and signing with the Yankees.

He entered the game in the ninth inning and was one strike away from closing out the Rays playoff hopes that night. With the Red Sox still leading Baltimore, 3-2, there was a chance Johnson would be Tampa Bay’s final hope.

Foley: “I guess one of the biggest things that I can remember was Johnny Damon [blooping a single to left-center to get it started]…Sean Rodriguez getting hit with a pitch, keeping the inning going. Things just started to steamroll a little bit. And we just kept coming back and coming back. You hear the news, the crowd cheering. You want to know why they’re cheering. You look up at the scoreboard, things are happening.” 

Staats: “When they made it 7-3, [analyst Brian Anderson] and I kind of looked at each other and said, ‘You know, they’re going to win this game.’ After that inning, during the break, both of us started to get that feeling at the same time.”

Kotchman: “It starts tightening up, and you know it’s not over until …

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