Interestingly, the real game ended after 13 innings because of darkness with the game tied 14-to-14. Red Rolfe: “In one of the wildest, weirdest most exciting games that I ever expect to be a part of we alternatively won, lost, should have won and tied the game. Hutchinson started the contest and had little.”
The Red Sox of that era were certainly a good hit, no pitch team. The lineup top to bottom was devasting. Other than Mel Parnell, Ellis Kinder and Joe Dobson, the pitching was awful. The 1950 version was even more fearsome at bat than the 1949 version. In 1950, the Bosox batted .302 as a team. No team has batted .300 for a season since then and, considering the style of today's baseball, likely never will. In 1950, every Red Sox starter batted .300+. The one exception, Bobby Doerr, hit .294 with 27 home runs and 120 RBI. As in 1948 & 1949, the 1950 Red Sox were close, came close to winning the pennant but, in the end, finished in 3rd place, 4 games behind the Yankees and a game behind the Tigers.
I am curious about the Red Sox lineup in the game reported in this posting. Ted Williams was the leadoff hitter and Vern Stephens batted second. In the real life 1949 season, Williams batted 3rd and Stephens 4th. How did that batting order come about?
By the way, true to form, in real life the Red Sox and Tigers played to a 14-14, 13-inning tie on May 3, 1949. Williams went 3 for 7 with a homer and 5 RBI. Stephens went 5 for 7 with a homer and 4 RBI.
Regarding the lineups — being an unapologetic heretic, I've decided to create lineups for myself for every game. It allows me the freedom to respond to things as they took place, to keep guys in who are hot, and to make the replay come alive a bit more. It also has to be done because I'm using the "as-scheduled" schedule, not the "as-played" one, for a variety of reasons.
It's almost certainly going to cause some distortions, and will probably be a controversial decision in these pages. But, hey, at least it gives us something to talk about!
The 1949 Red Sox have actually pitched fairly well so far. I'll also note that the real-life team didn't walk as many people as that Yankee staff. The Yankees gave up over 800 walks in 1949, easily the worst in either league, and yet still managed to win the pennant. It's such a bizarre year...
Interestingly, the real game ended after 13 innings because of darkness with the game tied 14-to-14. Red Rolfe: “In one of the wildest, weirdest most exciting games that I ever expect to be a part of we alternatively won, lost, should have won and tied the game. Hutchinson started the contest and had little.”
The Red Sox of that era were certainly a good hit, no pitch team. The lineup top to bottom was devasting. Other than Mel Parnell, Ellis Kinder and Joe Dobson, the pitching was awful. The 1950 version was even more fearsome at bat than the 1949 version. In 1950, the Bosox batted .302 as a team. No team has batted .300 for a season since then and, considering the style of today's baseball, likely never will. In 1950, every Red Sox starter batted .300+. The one exception, Bobby Doerr, hit .294 with 27 home runs and 120 RBI. As in 1948 & 1949, the 1950 Red Sox were close, came close to winning the pennant but, in the end, finished in 3rd place, 4 games behind the Yankees and a game behind the Tigers.
I am curious about the Red Sox lineup in the game reported in this posting. Ted Williams was the leadoff hitter and Vern Stephens batted second. In the real life 1949 season, Williams batted 3rd and Stephens 4th. How did that batting order come about?
By the way, true to form, in real life the Red Sox and Tigers played to a 14-14, 13-inning tie on May 3, 1949. Williams went 3 for 7 with a homer and 5 RBI. Stephens went 5 for 7 with a homer and 4 RBI.
Thanks, Mike!
Regarding the lineups — being an unapologetic heretic, I've decided to create lineups for myself for every game. It allows me the freedom to respond to things as they took place, to keep guys in who are hot, and to make the replay come alive a bit more. It also has to be done because I'm using the "as-scheduled" schedule, not the "as-played" one, for a variety of reasons.
It's almost certainly going to cause some distortions, and will probably be a controversial decision in these pages. But, hey, at least it gives us something to talk about!
The 1949 Red Sox have actually pitched fairly well so far. I'll also note that the real-life team didn't walk as many people as that Yankee staff. The Yankees gave up over 800 walks in 1949, easily the worst in either league, and yet still managed to win the pennant. It's such a bizarre year...