That was the predicament former Red Sox pitcher Luis Aponte faced just before sunrise on the morning of April 19, 1981, when he was in the minors. Even now, 24 years later, Aponte's answer is laughable and hard to believe.

``I was at the game. I swear.''

That's the best answer he could think of? We can only guess at how Aponte's wife responded, but Aponte was in fact telling the truth, thanks to one of the most famous baseball games ever played. If not for a game-tying RBI double from Tampa's Wade Boggs in the 21st inning - no, that's not a misprint - Aponte might have made it home by closing time.

Instead, the minor-league game between the Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox played on until 4:09 a.m. because of a misunderstanding about the 12:50 a.m. curfew rule. When International League commissioner Harold Cooper finally was reached, he ordered the teams to suspend play after 32 innings, and more than eight hours of great pitching, spectacular defense and very little clutch hitting.

When play was stopped, the original crowd of around 2,000 at chilly McCoy Stadium had dwindled to 19 brave souls, prompting Pawtucket owner Ben Mondor to reward them with season tickets.

``I remember it like it was yesterday,'' said Boggs, the Pawtucket third baseman who went 4-for-12 in the game. ``It was just a cold and miserable night. Every bat we were breaking we were putting in an oil drop, burning them because it was so cold.''

While several items from the game have been on display in Cooperstown the past two decades, Boggs is the first player involved to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, Boggs won't be the only one for long. Rochester's third baseman in the game that never wanted to end? Cal Ripken Jr. Ripken is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2007 and is a certain first-ballot selection.

Due to the baseball strike that shut down the majors 11 days earlier, when the teams resumed play June 23, the game had developed into a national story. All three major TV networks reported from Pawtucket and the game was shown on ESPN. A sellout crowd of more than 5,000 showed up.

``They wanted us to come up to Fenway to conclude that game with Rochester and we felt that was crossing picket lines,'' Boggs said. ``So we declined.''

When the game resumed, Pawtucket wasted no time against losing pitcher Steve Grilli, who was with Syracuse when the game started in April. Grilli hit Marty Barrett with his first pitch in the bottom of the 33rd inning.

Three batters later, and only 18 minutes after the resumed game's first pitch, Dave Koza singled off reliever Cliff Speck with the bases loaded to score Barrett, giving Pawtucket a 3-2 win.

The longest game in baseball history was finally over.

``It was amazing,'' Boggs said.

LONGEST GAME
Some interesting details from the 33-inning game between Pawtucket and Rochester that began on April 18, 1981, and didn't end until June 23 when play resumed: