Marathon
Plus: Day In Review, May 10, 1908
Marathon
One of the longest games of my baseball simulation life ended in the bottom of the 18th, when the appropriately named Tubby Spencer drove in the winning run for the St. Louis Browns:
Spencer’s single came after an absolutely exhausting game, one that saw numerous hits and what felt like dozens of chances to win it for both sides.
The Browns were coasting to victory until the top of the 9th inning, when the Tigers decided to make a game of it. After Ty Cobb walked with one out, Claude Rossman came up and did this:
That triple was a huge surprise, given how poorly Rossman has been hitting so far this season. Rossman was followed by Downs, who bunted (apologies — the screenshot for that play messed up).
And that sent us on our long and strange journey, which is best explained in the boxscore itself:
The Browns ran out of position players to pinch hit. Detroit was just about out of pitchers, and would have had to start using starters in relief roles if things kept up.
The Browns left an incredible 14 men on the bases, and had the bases loaded on several occasions to no avail. Detroit, meanwhile, managed a respectable 11 men stranded.
Perhaps the most impressive part of all of this is that the two teams combined for only 7 walks and 11 strikeouts in all 18 innings. I don’t think you could come up with a bigger contrast to the modern game.
Anyway, this one is better watched than described. See the video link above.
Other Action
In real life, May 10, 1908 was a day of doubleheaders. We’re sticking with the as scheduled version of the schedule, however, which is why we only have individual games.
White Sox 2, Naps 1: At Chicago, the White Sox win this one with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the 9th. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Cubs 3, Pirates 2: At Chicago, the Cubs win an absolutely thrilling game. Watch the game here. Read the summary here.
Browns 3, Tigers 2 (18): At St. Louis, see above.
Cardinals 4, Reds 0: At St. Louis, the Cardinals make short work of the Reds behind a 3-hit Bugs Raymond shutout.
Standings
The Giants are a half game behind the Cubs, but still find themselves in first place. Meanwhile, no fewer than four teams are competing for the throne in the American League. I can’t see how this could be any more exciting!
I’ll have a deeper dive into the statistics tomorrow, since we’re at the end of the week.