93 foul balls hit in longest 9 inning MLB game, August 18, 2006 in Boston

The longest 9 inning game ever was Yankees-Red Sox, August 18, 2006 (4:45). There were 93 foul balls in the game, according to an article I posted on 9/14/06. The link is inactive now but may be available elsewhere. According to Baseball Reference,

• there were 437 pitches thrown in that game, 215 by the Yankees, 222 by Boston.

• (In a 9 inning game May 7, 2008, Indians vs Yankees, there were only 266 pitches thrown).

• Ken Davidoff in Newsday today writes MLB is considering imposing fines on teams (link now inactive) for perceived time-wasting practices. I noticed the 93 foul balls on 8/18/06 and was wondering if foul balls could get more blame. Perhaps pitchers are wearing themselves out and shortening their careers on purpose to make games longer.

Reference (Link now inactive): Newsday article by Ken Davidoff, "Yankees, Mets Among Long-game Offenders," 5/7/08

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