Arm trouble kept Camp out of the majors in 1979, but the sinkerballer returned in
1980 to save 22 games and set a Braves record with 77 appearances. He recorded a
1.78 ERA with 17 saves in 1981, and tied for the NL lead with nine relief wins. After
that he was used in every pitching role, with mixed results. A notoriously poor hitter
(.074), he surprised everybody with his only ML home run in the 18th inning of a
July 4-5, 1985 marathon with the Mets; his post-3:00 AM blast with two out on an
0-2 pitch from Tom Gorman tied the game at 11-11, but he lost it 16-13 in 19 innings.
(JCA)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»July 4, 1985: In a marathon game that borders on the surreal, the Mets endure two rain delays and 6:10 of playing time to beat the Braves 16–13 in 19 innings on Fireworks Night in Atlanta. The Mets had taken a 10–8 lead in the top of the 13th inning, only to watch the Braves tie it up. The Mets score again in the 18th, but relief hurler Rick Camp (a .060 hitter who was batting because Atlanta had no more position players available to pinch-hit) ties the score with his first ML home run on a 2-out 2-strike pitch in the bottom of the inning. No pitcher ever homered that late in a game before. Finally the Mets erupt for five runs in the 19th off Camp and Atlanta can respond only with 2. Keith Hernandez hits for the cycle for the Mets, and the game ends at 3:55 A.M. on July 5th, the latest finish in ML history. At 4:01 A.M. the post-game fireworks display begins, causing local residents to think the city is under attack.
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