Left On Base
How many chances does a team get?
Left On Base
Okay — nobody thought that the 1949 Cubs were going to play well. However, their performance in this game was nothing short of frustrating.
I mean, it’s true that the real life Cubs were just as bad. Just take a look at how this game went in real life:
But I still think this game was more frustrating.
Three Wishes
The Cubs were granted three chances to win this game. They failed at every one.
The first came in the top of the 7th inning, with New York up, 3-2. Roy Smalley came up with one out:
After the next hitter lined out, Gene Mauch came upw ith two men out:
Sadly for the Cubs, though, it was all for naught. Hank Edwards grounded out harmlessly.
But then it happened again in the 8th.
This time it was Phil Cavarretta leading things off:
After two batters flied out, Frankie Gustine came up with two men out:
Sadly, this one ended when catcher Bob Scheffing popped out harmlessly.
And it happened one more time in the 9th, as Smalley led things off:
The newspapers at the time were filled with stories of Leo Durocher fighting with fans. Smalley avoided adding his name to the list of baseball figures involved in fisticuffs, as he thought better of charging the mound here.
Up next was pinch hitter Smoky Burgess:
It might have been an incredible catch, but it looks like a pop-up in the boxscore.
That made one out. Here came Mauch with a chance to do something positive:
And that’s the way it goes.
The Cubs weren’t able to take advantage of 3 walks or 6 hits, scoring twice in the first and then putting up absolutely nothing afterwards.
New York, meanwhile, is keeping pace with the Pirates.