Anything Could Happen
Plus: day in review, April 24, 1908
Anything Could Happen
We usually think of the St. Louis Browns as loveable losers, a team that was simply inept.
They’ve played well so far in this 1908 replay, though. In fact, this cartoon from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sums it up well:
In real life, the Browns were able to pull this game off, climbing up to first place in the process:
In this instance, art imitated life quite nicely.
Comeback
St. Louis was trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the 8th inning, facing Frank Smith, a White Sox pitcher who allowed only 6.4 hits per inning in real life.
Of course, that does you no good if the fielders behind you make mistakes. Jim Stephens came up for St. Louis with Tom Jones on at first:
22 is what we call an “unusual play number.” And, yes, the play was quite unusual, as White Sox catcher Alfred Shaw threw so wildly on the bunt attempt that there were runners on second and third.
After the pitcher struck out, George Stone came up with a chance to make it close:
This was made possible by the fact that the White Sox kept the infield back. In truth, Jones’ run didn’t make that much of a difference. The score was now 4-3, though, and St. Louis had a chance.
And it didn’t end there.
Jimmy Williams came up in the bottom of the 8th with a runner on base and hit one of these:
That double column triple tied the score at 4, setting things up for Danny Hoffman:
And that’s all the Browns needed.
Something Special
Oh yeah — there was also an extremely unusual rare play in this game.
Chicago had runners on 1st and 2nd in the top of the 8th inning with nobody out.
Jiggs Donahue, not exactly the best hitter in the world, was up to bat. I naturally decided to bunt with him. And, well, this was the result:
That’s right: Donahue bunted into a triple play, bunting the ball on the fly to the first baseman who proceeded to catch both runners off the bag.
I’ve never seen that before.
Just as in real life, St. Louis is in first place now, though we’ll see how long that lasts. Both pitchers pitched well, though Powell was just a hair better than Smith.
Other Action
Phillies 2, Doves 1: At Boston, controversial management on my part led to a Philadelphia victory. Read the summary here. Watch the game here.
Cubs 1, Reds 0: At Chicago, the Cubs scored a run in the bottom of the first and simply coasted to the end. I didn’t think this game was worth writing up. Watch the game here.
Tigers 10, Naps 3: At Cleveland, Ty Cobb’s 3-run home run in the top of the 4th blew this game wide open. Watch the game here.
Giants 7, Superbas 2: At Brooklyn, the Giants bats really came alive in this one. Watch the game here.
Athletics 2, Highlanders 1 (11): At Philadelphia, the Athletics pulled off a great win in a miraculous game. Read the summary here. Watch the game here.
Pirates 3, Cardinals 1: At Pittsburgh, the Pirates made short work of the Cardinals. Watch the game here.
Browns 5, White Sox 4: At St. Louis, see above.
Red Sox 3, Senators 1: At Boston, the Red Sox went out to an early lead and never fell behind. Watch the game here.
Standings
The American league is still as wide open as ever, with none of the preseason favorites making any kind of move. In the National League, it’s pretty clear that it will go down to the Cubs and Pirates, and New York might be making a quiet move in the shadows.