Honus Wagner Returns!

Honus Wagner returns from his short-lived retirement before the 1908 season.

Wagner’s Return

You probably missed my post on WAR a month or so ago.

I don’t blame you for missing it. Abstract conversations about statistics bore me, to be honest. However, you might want to go back and give it a read. We talk a lot in there about Charlie Starr, Honus Wagner, and this amazing 1908 season.

We won’t have to worry about Starr for much longer, though. Wagner is back.

Odd Double Play

You might think that a simple, “basic” game like NPIII is incapable of somewhat rare plays.

Well, they do happen from time to time.

The score was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 2nd inning. St. Louis was in an excellent position, loading the bases with nobody out for catcher Bill Ludwig.

Now, I had been calling for sacrifice bunts all along, ever since Billy Gilbert started off the inning by reaching on an error. Both Patsy O’Rourke and Bobby Byrne were supposed to bunt. However, both batters walked, thanks to a sudden bout of wildness by Pirate starting pitcher Lefty Leifield.

And so up came Ludwig, with instructions to bunt:

Not only did Ludwig fail to get the run home, he also managed to get himself doubled up at first base in the process. The bunt was that bad.

And that ended that rally.

The Right Way To Bunt

Owen Wilson, the Pittsburgh right fielder, taught Ludwig how to bunt the proper way. Wilson came up in the top of the 6th of what was still a one run game with Tommy Leach on at third base and one out:

That made the score Pittsburgh 2, St. Louis 1, and it looked like that was going to be enough.

A Little Bit of Power

However, St. Louis had a bit of power to show before the day was through.

Al Shaw singled with two out in the bottom of the 8th, the score still 2-1. And that brought up Ed Konetchy to swing away:

With two outs, that second-column 6 allowed the relatively slow Shaw to score, tying up the ballgame.

And on we went into extra innings.

The 11th

It remained deadlocked at 2 until the top of the 11th. Wilson singled with one out and moved to second when Harry Swacina walked.

That brought up Beals Becker with runners on 1st and 2nd and only one out. Nobody in their right mind these days would bunt in that situation. However, in 1908 the bunt was the right move, and that’s exactly what I did.

Becker’s bunt was successful, bringing up catcher George Gibson, with a chance to show how it’s done. Here’s George with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out:

Swacina was thrown out at the plate attempting to score the second run, ending the inning. However, Wilson did score a run — and that run proved to be the margin of victory.

The 9 walks in this game felt more like a 1949 game than a 1908 one.

I also neglected to mention the 9 strikeouts rung up by Art Fromme, in what would have been a headline-grabbing outing had he only been able to win.

Wagner, for his part, picked up right where he left off, going 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 walks.

Other Action

Red Sox 6, Senators 4. At Boston, Fred Burchell won despite giving up 6 walks and 9 hits. Watch the game here.

Superbas 7, Doves 6. At Brooklyn, the hometown Dodgers pulled off a miracle comeback. Read the writeup here.

White Sox 3, Browns 2 (10). At Chicago, Ed Walsh pitched and hit his way to victory in this unforgettable thriller. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Cubs 8, Reds 4. At Cincinnati, Ed Reulbach struck out 7 en route to an easy win. Watch the game here.

Naps 2, Tigers 1. At Detroit, Cleveland completed the big comeback. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Highlanders 2, Athletics 1. At New York, the Athletic Club’s comeback falls just short. Watch the game here. Read the writeup here.

Phillies 5, Giants 2. At Philadelphia, Lew Richie comes close to throwing a no-hitter. Philadelphia does manage to hold on in the end. Watch the game here.

Pirates 3, Cardinals 2 (11). See above.

Standings

Interesting to see that New York and Boston are duking it out for the top spot in the American League in both of my replays.

It’s not surprising to see the Cubs playing so well. The Giants, on the other hand, should probably be playing a bit better.