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13 of the most extraordinary baseball games of all time

Over the past nearly 100 years, a baker's dozen worth of outrageous major league baseball games.

4. July 12, 1931: Overrun stadium causes doubles deluge in St. Louis

RALPH FRESCO/AP

  • By Ross Atkin Contributor

The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Chicago Cubs, 17-13, after losing, 7-5.

The Cardinals and Cubs combine to hit 32 doubles during a doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, including a record 23 in the second game. But maybe only a handful of these hits were legitimate doubles. The crowd that day led to this oddity. With the first-place Cardinals playing their chief rivals, more than 45,000 fans turned out at a ballpark with fewer than 35,000 seats. The overflow crowd overwhelmed the ushers, leading fans to spill onto the playing field. The ground rules were temporarily altered so that balls hit into the outfield area occupied by spectators were scored as doubles.

Additional fact: The modern Cardinals share a record for hitting the most doubles in a single inning (seven). These 2012 hits were all legitimate doubles, tying a record first set by the Boston Bees in 1936.

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Mark Sappenfield
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