The box score remains confounding 25 years later.
Some parts - the game-tying homer by Cal Ripken Jr., Tippy Martinez entering at a tense juncture - fit.
Others - utility infielder Lenn Sakata playing catcher, left fielder John Lowenstein at second base, the other left fielder, Gary Roenicke, at third - look like puzzle pieces jammed into the wrong slots by a hasty child.
Yet somehow, this mishmash produced the signature game of the Orioles' 1983 regular season. That team wasn't a super-talented juggernaut. But it had useful role players up and down the roster. Every one of them helped the Orioles win a game at some point in the year.
The magic just felt especially potent that Aug. 24.
"I would call it the oddest game I ever played in," said Martinez, who now serves as pitching coach for the independent York Revolution.
For about 8 1/2 innings, it seemed a normal enough contest between the second-place Orioles and the up-and-coming Toronto Blue Jays.
The teams traded runs in the third inning, but the Blue Jays moved ahead in the fifth when outfielder Lloyd Moseby scored on an error and extended their lead to 3-1 when Barry Bonnell scored on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
By that point, Orioles manager Joe Altobelli had used John Shelby as a pinch runner, Jim Dwyer and Joe Nolan as pinch hitters, and Sakata as a defensive replacement. Such moves wouldn't have seemed unusual to Orioles fans accustomed to the aggressive substitution patterns of Altobelli's predecessor, Earl Weaver. But they set up the drama ahead.
Faced with a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth, Altobelli emptied the rest of his cupboard in an attempt to rally. After Shelby bunted a single and Sakata walked, he pinch hit Benny Ayala, who thrived against left-handers, for Nolan. Ayala delivered a single to cut the margin to one. Al Bumbry followed with another single to tie the score.
Dan Ford then struck out with runners at second and third to send the game into extra innings. It would get far more interesting.
Fans, broadcasters and the players themselves could hardly believe what they saw when the Orioles took the field for the 10th. Ayala was in left, pushing Lowenstein to second base, where he hadn't played in eight years. Roenicke, who had pinch hit for Rich Dauer, stood at third, where he had never played. Most concerning of all, Altobelli had pinch hit for both of his catchers. So Sakata, who hadn't donned the mask and mitt since Little League, crouched behind the plate.
