May 23: A Minor League Marathon in Jupiter

The Main Event

• May 23, 2011 – The High-A Clearwater Threshers drop a 23-inning game. Two players (Joe Savery and Sabastian Valle) recorded 10 at-bats each in the game. (Clearwater has since been dropped to a Low-A team with Jersey Shore — aka Lakewood — moving up to High-A.)

On the night of May 23, 2011, a routine Florida State League contest between the Clearwater Threshers and the Jupiter Hammerheads turned into one of the most remarkable marathon games in recent minor league history. What began as a warm Monday evening in Jupiter, Florida, with just 330 fans in the seats, stretched well past midnight before the final out was recorded.

A Game That Refused to End

The Jupiter Hammerheads finally beat the Clearwater Threshers 2-1 in 23 innings, ending after five hours and 37 minutes of play. With one out in the bottom of the 23rd, Jose Duarte singled home Jaime Ortiz with the winning run. Ortiz had singled off losing pitcher Justin Friend, who had entered to start the inning.

The scoring was sparse and early. Clearwater took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Brian Gump’s RBI double. Jupiter tied it in the sixth on a single by Dallas Poulk, and the two teams then went scoreless for the next 16 innings. Alejandro Ramos was credited with the win after working a single inning of relief.

The game was played at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. Clearwater is of course, a longtime Phillies affiliate while Jupiter was the Florida Marlins top farm team. Each team used eight pitchers, and Jupiter manager Ron Hassey — a major league catcher from 1978 to 1991 — was ejected in the 14th inning.

Position Players on the Mound

With both bullpens exhausted, the Threshers turned to two everyday players to take the hill in the game’s final frames. First baseman Darin Ruf pitched scoreless ball in the 21st and 22nd innings after designated hitter Joe Savery tossed a pair of shutout innings. Both players had batted fourth and fifth in the lineup that evening, making their emergency pitching appearances a testament to the sheer length and desperation of the contest.

Darin Ruf was a legitimate standout on that 2011 Clearwater squad. Back with Clearwater in 2011, Ruf hit .308 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI while leading the Florida State League with 43 doubles. He went on to have a long professional career, reaching the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012 and later playing for the Samsung Lions, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Milwaukee Brewers, finishing with 67 career home runs and a .239 batting average.

Joe Savery: The Versatile Arm

Joe Savery occupied a unique spot in the Phillies’ system as a genuine two-way player. Savery was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round (19th overall) of the 2007 MLB Draft out of Rice University in Houston. At Rice, he had been both a standout pitcher and a capable hitter, and the Phillies attempted to develop both sides of his game in the minor leagues before eventually committing him to the mound.

Savery made his MLB debut on September 20, 2011, for the Phillies — just four months after his emergency pitching appearance in Jupiter. His stint in that 23-inning game was a demonstration of the versatility that defined his minor league career. Savery played four seasons for the Phillies and Athletics, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.83 ERA and 32 strikeouts. His last MLB appearance came on May 18, 2014, for the Oakland Athletics. After baseball, Savery transitioned to finance and became a Vice President of Private Wealth Services with Americana Partners, an independent wealth advisory firm headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Sebastian Valle: Iron-Man Behind the Plate

Perhaps no player in the game embodied the endurance required more than Clearwater catcher Sebastián Valle, who caught all 23 innings without a break. His counterpart on the Jupiter side, backstop Miguel Fermin, also caught the entire game — a remarkable physical feat for both men.

Sebastián Valle Velásquez was born on July 24, 1990, in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. The Phillies discovered Valle playing for a Mexican club in an international tournament in Venezuela and signed him in the fall of 2006. By 2011, he had emerged as one of the organization’s top catching prospects. That season he led Florida State League catchers in both putouts and fielding percentage, and he and A.J. Jimenez were selected as the league’s All-Star catchers. He batted .368 against left-handed pitching, and in the 2011 Futures Game he played for the World team.

Despite the high expectations, Valle’s path to the major leagues never fully materialized. The glove-first catcher was described primarily as an asset for his ability to work with young pitchers, and while he had experience at Triple-A, he spent much of his later minor league career at Double-A. He eventually played in the Mexican League and represented Mexico in both the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic, earning recognition on the international stage that his domestic minor league career had not ultimately delivered.

A Night to Remember in Florida

The 23-inning game between Clearwater and Jupiter stands as a vivid snapshot of minor league baseball at its most gritty. Future major leaguers grinding through the Florida heat, relievers running out of arms, and two catchers crouching through the night until well past midnight — all of it watched by just 330 fans. For players like Savery, Valle, and Ruf, it was one extraordinary chapter in careers that were still being written.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for May 23

• May 23, 1890 – The Cubs 10-8‚ ten-inning win at Philadelphia is thrown out by National League directors when umpire Jack McQuaid admits he made an error in not allowing Philadelphia to send outfielder Bill Gray in as a substitute during the game.
• May 23, 1901 – Nap Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics receives the ultimate sign of respect from an opposing team when he is intentionally walked with the bases loaded by the Chicago White Sox.
• May 23, 1925 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Pete Donohue showed he could swing a bat. Donohue came through with a home run and four singles to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-2.
• May 23, 1931 – Pitcher Jim Elliott poked a ball to right field, but is thrown out at first by Dodgers right fielder Babe Herman. Elliott got the win in an 8-5 victory for the Phillies.
• May 23, 1952 – Traded Bubba Church to Cincinnati for Johnny Wyrostek and Kent Peterson. Church had broken into the majors with the Phillies in 1950, going 8-6 with a 2.73 ERA for the Phils. This was the second of two stints in Philadelphia for Wyrostek, who played in Philly from 1942-1947 and 1952-1954.
• May 23, 1987 – After the Phillies beat San Francisco thanks in part to a ninth inning balk, Giants skipper Roger Craig has words with umpire Doug Harvey. Harvey issues a rare post-game ejection.
• May 23, 1991 – Tommy Greene pitched a no-hitter to beat the Expos 2-0. It was only his 15th major league start. The Expos lineup featured Delino DeShields, Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga, and Marquis Grissom.
• May 23, 2003 – The Phillies edge the Expos‚ 4 – 2‚ as Philadelphia’s Jose Mesa becomes the tenth player in history to reach 100 saves with two different teams. He also reached the century mark with the Cleveland Indians.
• May 23, 2003 – In a Low-A South Atlantic League game in Lakewood, NJ‚ between the BlueClaws and Kannapolis‚ a groundskeeper is ejected from the game. Buddy Biancalana‘s Lakewood team is leading 3 – 0‚ when it starts raining hard. Bill Butler‚ who wanted to protect the field by putting the tarp on, walks on the field‚ but the umpires want to stop him. The discussion turns heated and he is ejected. He is a three-time Groundskeeper of the Year in the minors and is working his 13th season in the business. He says he told umpires Brandon Cooney and Steve Cummings it was time to cover the field. (Butler would be the groundskeeper for the first few seasons of Lehigh Valley IronPigs baseball.)
• May 23, 2006 – Carlos Beltran hits a two-run home run in the bottom of the 16th inning that gives the Mets a 9-8 victory over the Phillies. The game lasts 5 hours, 22 minutes, has 522 pitches and is the longest for the Mets since 1995.

ICYMI

• Philly Baseball News – FSL Player of the Week: Ramon Marquez

Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for May 23

• Elias Peak (born 1859) – Born in Philadelphia, Peak was a second baseman/shortstop who played for the Philadelphia Keystones of the Union Association in 1884. He played in 54 games, hitting .195 for the Keystones. He also played in one game for the Boston Reds that season, hitting .667 (2-3). 1884 would be his only season in professional baseball.
• Jack Taylor (born 1873) – A right-hander, Taylor pitched for the Phillies from 1892-1897. His best season was in 1894 when he started 24 games and appeared seven times in relief. That season he finished 23-13 with a 4.08 ERA and 298 innings pitched.
• Nap Shea (born 1874) – A catcher who played just three games in the majors, all three with the Phillies. He hit just .125 (1-8).
• Cesar Hernandez (born 1990) – Primarily a second baseman, Hernandez began his career with the Phillies and played seven seasons in Philadelphia. In that time he hit .277/.352/.381/.733 in 832 games.

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