You know it’s an interesting game when Baseball Reference has to include weird symbols next to the ordinary game log. And for the 1986 Pirates and Cardinals, you’ll see one of these:
The last time a protest was upheld
&XGood ol’ ampersand-x. That’s because this game was played under protest and the protest was upheld; the two teams finished the game two days later.
The umpire in chief, John Kibler, called the game after rain delays of 17 and 22 minutes. Between the delays, play resumed long enough for two pitches to be thrown.
Feeney said he agreed with the Pirates’ contention that Kibler called the game prematurely. National League regulations require that umpires wait at least 75 minutes during an initial weather interruption and 45 minutes during a second one before calling a game.
The game was stopped when the Cardinals were leading 4-1, and play was resumed two days later. The Cardinals still won, 4-2.
But the upheld protest meant that Lee Mazzilli got an extra RBI that he otherwise wouldn’t have had. So remember that the next time you’re not looking at Lee Mazzilli’s Baseball Reference page, which is always.
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