The Charleston RiverDogs walked off in the 10th inning after a 10-minute raccoon delay
Totally normal reason for a game to take longer than usual: The home team walks off in the 10th inning, as the Charleston RiverDogs did on Wednesday.
Totally not-so-normal reason for a game to take longer than usual: Said walk-off is preceded by a 10-minute raccoon delay.
And so was the fate of the RiverDogs, Class A affiliate of the Yankees, as they were tied, 2-2, with the Rome Braves in the middle of the 10th inning. Matt Dean reports for MiLB.com:
"A pair of raccoons found their way into the dugout and delayed the game for nearly 10 minutes, before the critters were rounded up and safely released outside the ballpark. Jeff Hendrix would draw a walk out of the raccoon delay before [Mandy] Alvarez smashed his double to left to lift the RiverDogs to victory."
Players and grounds crew were in the dugout with rakes and trash cans, crawling on benches and equipment stands, trying to fish the raccoons out and back into safety. Watch the clip above for the whole ordeal, featuring some riveting play-by-play from the RiverDogs' broadcaster.
Looks like the team got itself a rally raccoon:
And considering this is the third baseball-curious raccoon in the past year or so, it might be time to admit it: They just want to watch a good ballgame.