I had a premonition that Boone was going to hit a dinger.
Seriously. On TV they showed that no one was warming up in the bullpen when Mariano was pitching in the 11th and I was like, "What? Either they think it's over when they come up or they're nuts!" I thought about who was coming up and I was just about to call my brother and tell him that Boone was going to hit a dinger. I didn't because I was afraid I'd jinx it.
When he hit the first pitch I couldn't believe what I was seeing at first. And when I saw the ball hit the stands I almost passed out. My wife and daughter were out of town so I was the only one in my house (luckily, because I would have woken them up had they been home) and when I realized what was happening I lost it.
What a game! And to think you were there... I envy you.
There does seem to be ghosts of the great ones there. When Boone got up to bat, my buddy sits down while everyone else was standing and goes "Oh $hit, this is an out". I grabbed him,stood him up and said "What are you kidding? This is how legends are born!" Next thing you know we are jumping around,yelling,screaming,hugging total strangers. It was just an amazing thing.
Think of it, how do you explain:
1)The coach leaving Pedro in for one inning longer than he should have?
2)The coach taking Varitek out for a pinch runner while the game is tied in the bottom of the 9th?
3)Taking Ortiz out for a pinch runner in the 11th, almost giving up the notion of a 12th or 13th inning for both Varitek or Ortiz. And
4) Like you said, it seemed as though Grady Little was going to win or lose it in the 11th. An unbelievable night with, I'm sure, all the ghosts of the greats in the bleachers enjoying the game.