Herb Adams Wins It
Plus: Day in Review, May 10, 1949
Herb Adams Wins It
The 1949 White Sox were not a great team. We’ve been over this a few times now.
However, every once in a while the bad teams give you a good game.
This one wasn’t great for Chicago in real life. Chicago pitching gave up a ton of walks, and wound up watching the game get away:
But, thankfully, Diamond Mind Baseball is not the same as real life.
The Rally
As usual, we’ll just skip to the good stuff.
The White Sox came into the 9th inning of this game tied at 2. There wasn’t a whole ton of offense, and, believe it or not, there also weren’t a ton of walks — well, at least not on the part of the White Sox.
Athletics starter Joe Coleman was still out there, trying to make it a full 9.
Up came Don Wheeler with one out:
Gordon Goldsberry, the next hitter, flied out harmlessly to right for the second out.
And that’s where the magic happened.
Up came Gus Zernial:
And now things were different. The White Sox had a runner in scoring position in a tie game. Up came Herb Adams, an unheralded player who was already 2 for 4:
And that, my friends, is why the Athletics aren’t going to win the pennant.
Coleman gave up 7 walks, though none of them really featured into the scoring. 150 pitches is a lot, though, and might have contributed to the loss.
Adams was the star, going 3 for 5. Note, though, that Joe Coleman went 2 for 4. Where are those pro-DH arguments again?
Other Action
Red Sox 9, Browns 2: At St. Louis, Dom DiMaggio went 2 for 4, Vern Stephens went 2 for 4, and Ted Williams went 3 for 5 as the Red Sox dominated.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2: At Chicago, see above.
Indians 6, Senators 2: At Cleveland, Bob Feller came close to throwing a complete game, but wound up being taken out after faltering in the 9th. Watch the game here.
Tigers 3, Yankees 2: At Detroit, the Tigers hold off a feeble late Yankee attack to win. Watch the game here.
Dodgers 3, Cardinals 1: At Brooklyn, Rex Barney threw a 2-hitter for the victory. Brooklyn is now back up to .500.
Giants 13, Cubs 5: At New York, Johnny Mize hit 2 home runs to add to Chicago’s woes. Watch the game here.
Phillies 8, Reds 3: At Philadelphia, the Phillies offense came alive.
Standings
The Yankees have started to falter, and the Giants are starting to come back. It’s early, but it’s also quite exciting.
Batting Leaders
Pitching Leaders
Team Batting
Team Pitching
Team Fielding
