"I thought Jesus was comin": The Twins-Rangers Thunder Game

Five years ago Saturday, the first-place Texas Rangers hosted the hapless Minnesota Twins in Arlington. The weathered Roy Oswalt started against Cole De Vries, an anonymous, dorky-looking 27-year-old rookie who had gone undrafted out of the University of Minnesota six years prior and who would be out of baseball two years later. It was the final game before the All-Star break, which meant the Rangers' coaches and eight of their players would be departing for Kansas City soon. (Just one Twin, Joe Mauer, was selected for participation.)

The weather was, as usual, in the mid-90s, hot enough for the teams to hold batting practice in indoor cages rather than outside. The sun was totally visible for most of the first few innings, though clouds gradually crept in.

Entering the top of the fourth, neither team had scored. To lead off the inning, Josh Willingham worked the count full before walking. Justin Morneau followed with a flyout to bring up the catcher, Ryan Doumit. A few pitches into the at-bat, Doumit fouled off a fastball to make the count 2-2.

And then the sky exploded.

More than 43,000 people (including the author) simultaneously flinched. Most of the players immediately scampered to their dugouts. Willingham dropped to all fours. Jerry White, the Twins' first base coach, ducked for cover behind first base umpire Jeff Kellog. Everyone on the field seemed to agree that, despite the lack of rain at the moment, we were going into a rain delay.

Meanwhile, a cluster of Rangers made fun of the scene in the infield.

Unfurling the tarp turned out to be prudent, as soon, the rain did fall, drenching the stands and making the misters in Vandergriff Plaza behind center field unnecessary. The delay lasted 46 minutes before the game resumed. Longtime public address announcer Chuck Morgan thanked the crowd for staying after the loudest clap of thunder in the history of the park.

After the game, witnesses gave their reactions to the interruption. Michael Young called it "the loudest thunder [he'd] ever heard in [his] life." Ben Revere, in a tweet since lost to time, said his "heart stopped." Ron Washington told reporters, "I thought I was a spirit. I thought I was dead."

Denard Span had bigger fears:

That's the loudest noise I've ever heard. I thought Jesus was comin!

— Denard Span (@thisisdspan) July 9, 2012

When play resumed, Doumit closed his at-bat in one pitch, grounding into a 6-4-3 double play. The Twins would eventually be first on the board through a Justin Morneau RBI single in the sixth. In the ninth, they would tally a couple runs against former Twin Joe Nathan (prompting many in the park to clear out), but Glen Perkins blew the save, sending the game to extras. In the bottom of the 13th, the Rangers' bats rallied against Alex Burnett, ending with a single over Span's head to give Texas their 52nd win of the season and further bury the Twins in the AL Central.

Ultimately, it was just Game 85 (or 86) of 162, another day on the calendar. But that day, the baseball gods and Mother Nature conspired so that it would be remembered another way.