Weird things can happen at the lower levels of organized baseball. Just ask the Portland Pickles.
The Pickles play in the West Coast League, a college wood-bat circuit with 16 teams in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. It’s one of the better college summer leagues, but teams are still occasionally forced to reckon with some bush league complications.
For instance, on Saturday, as Portland’s home game against the Springfield Drifters dragged on into extra innings, it was briefly delayed when the sprinkler system in the ballpark came on automatically at midnight. The water was turned off and play was able to resume in the bottom of the 12th inning, but it didn’t last long. Minutes later, the stadium’s lights shut off.
That wouldn’t be all that noteworthy on its own, but announcer Mike Chexx’s reaction that made it unforgettable. The lights cut out just as the Portland pitcher began his windup, at which point Chexx spent 14 full seconds yelling two words: “ohhhhh!” and “yeahhhh!”
what exactly just happened:
— Portland Pickles (@picklesbaseball) June 18, 2023
- were losing 8-0
- came back to tie it in the 8th, 9-9
- went to extras
- sprinklers came on
- lights shut off
- it's still technically the bottom of the 12th
the baseball gods (and city parks) decided five hours was enough baseball for the day pic.twitter.com/0ESvkoVXpK
“The pure unbridled joy in my voice when the lights went out after calling five solid hours of baseball is hilarious to me,” Chexx wrote on Twitter after the game. “I don't know why this organization trusts me to be there [sic] announcer, but I will be forever thankful to @picklesbaseball.”
The lights in the city-owned park where the Pickles play couldn’t be turned back on, so the game was officially suspended with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning. The game was supposed to be resumed on Sunday afternoon but could not proceed as planned due to rain. That game and the previously scheduled second game against Springfield were postponed. More rain on Monday meant the 12-inning game couldn’t be finished then, either, nor could the series finale proceed as planned. At least Chexx’s enthusiastic call ended the weekend on a high note.
