On July 4, 1985,^[2][3][4] theNew York Mets beat theAtlanta Braves 16–13 in a 19-inningMajor League Baseball (MLB) contest^[5] that featuredKeith Hernandezhitting for the cycle,^[6] Mets managerDavey Johnson beingejected, and the Braves coming back to tie the game twice in extra innings, most notably in the bottom of the 18th.

The game was especially highlighted^[7] by relief pitcherRick Camp,^{[8][9][10][11]} a career .060 hitter at the time with no home runs^[12] batting only because the Braves had no position players left, shockingly hitting a solo home run on a 0–2 pitch in the 18th off ofTom Gorman^[13] to re-tie^[14] the game at 11–11.^[15] As a result, it has become known simply as theRick Camp game.^[16]

Following a 90-minuterain delay,^[17][18] the game was set to begin around 9:00 p.m.EDT. Both teams scored a run in the first inning. In the top of the first,Gary Carter drove inKeith Hernandez with a single. The Braves countered withClaudell Washington leading the frame off with a triple, then scoring on aRafael Ramírez groundout.

Mets starterDwight Gooden continued to struggle by walking three of the next four batters to load the bases with two outs. He ultimately managed to escape the jam by forcing aRick Cerone groundout to end the Atlanta threat.

After2+1⁄3 innings, the rain came down again for another 41 minutes, consequently bouncing Gooden from the game.^[19] Mets manager Davey Johnson played the game under protest after he was not allowed to make a double-switch when Gooden left the game. Crew chiefTerry Tata ruled that Mets relieverRoger McDowell had officially entered the game when he came onto the field to inspect the mound after the delay.^[20] The Braves then took a 3–1 lead in the third after the rain delay.

Braves managerEddie Haas stuck with his starterRick Mahler following the second delay. In the top of the fourth, Mets rallied for four runs to take a 5–3 lead, thanks in part to aWally BackmanRBI single into center field off Braves relieverJeff Dedmon. In the bottom of the fourth,Terry Leach came in to relieve Roger McDowell, who had been pinch-hit for byClint Hurdle in the top of the frame, and only allowed one run on four hits over the next four innings.

In the top of the sixth inning, Keith Hernandez hit what appeared to be a single, one of the two hits he needed to complete the cycle, but umpire Terry Tata ruled that his line drive to center had been caught byDale Murphy. Hernandez hit a home run in the eighth and a single in the 12th to complete the cycle.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the Mets leading 7–5,^[21] Dale Murphy hit a bases-clearing double offJesse Orosco to give the Braves the 8–7 lead. The Mets answered with a run in the ninth with consecutive singles fromHoward Johnson,Danny Heep, andLenny Dykstra againstBruce Sutter.

The score remained tied until the 13th, when Howard Johnson hit a two-run homer off ofTerry Forster to put the Mets ahead 10–8. The Braves'Terry Harper tied it again with a home run in the bottom of the inning. In the top of 17th, with the score tied at 10, both Davey Johnson andDarryl Strawberry got ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

The Mets, however, grabbed an 11–10 lead in the 18th on a Lenny Dykstrasacrifice fly.^[22] In the bottom of the 18th, Braves pitcherRick Camp was batting againstTom Gorman and proceeded to hit the 0–2 pitch for a home run over the left field wall, the only HR Camp hit in his professional career, minor leagues included.^[23]

Gary Carter led off the 19th with a single and after a sacrifice, pinch-hitterRusty Staub was walked intentionally.^[24]Ray Knight, who had left the bases full three times already, came through with an RBI double to make it 12–11. The Mets would tack on four more runs in the 19th to go up 16–11.

The Mets then called inRon Darling,^[25] the seventh Mets pitcher,^[26] to close it out. Darling would allow two unearned runs to cut the lead to 16-13, and with two on and two out, Camp again stepped to the plate. Another homer would have tied the game yet again, but this time the Braves pitcher struck out, finally ending the contest.^[27]

Once the game was over, even though the date/time was July 5, 3:55 a.m.,^[28] the Braves' stadium crew shot off the scheduledFourth of July post-game fireworks^[29][30] for the fans who endured to the end. As one final bizarre extra, calls from local residents came in to the emergency services 911 center given they were not aware these were planned fireworks. This was the secondlatest^[31][32][33] any major league game has ever ended. Eight years later, the record was topped by adoubleheader between theSan Diego Padres and thePhiladelphia Phillies in July 1993, which saw the second game (July 3) end at 4:40 a.m., less than an hour before sunrise. It also occurred after rain had delayed the start of the first game (July 2) that saw it end past 1 a.m.Philadelphia'sVeterans Stadium also had a scheduled fireworks display that night/morning but postponed it.^[34] Coincidentally, the second game also featured a notable hit by a relief pitcher, asMitch Williams' walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning off ofTrevor Hoffman won the game for the Phillies, 6-5. It was one of just three total hits in Williams' career, and the final plate appearance of his career as well.

In total, there were 46 hits, 22 walks, 37 runners left on base, five errors, and two ejections.^{[35][36][37][38]} The time of the game was 6 hours, 10 minutes, not counting the rain delays, which tacked on more than two hours.

• Braves–Mets rivalry
• List of nicknamed MLB games and plays

• New York Mets at Atlanta Braves Box Score, July 4, 1985 on Baseball Almanac
• New York Mets vs Atlanta Braves July 4, 1985 Box Score on Baseball-Reference.com

• New York Mets
• Atlanta Braves
• 1985 Major League Baseball season
• July 1985 sports events in the United States
• Major League Baseball games
• Baseball competitions in Atlanta
• 1985 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1985 in Atlanta

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