My Mistake
Plus Day In Review, May 19, 1949
My Mistake
We all make mistakes from time to time, right?
Well, I made one that turned out well in the end.
It’s fitting that I was managing the 1949 Cubs at the time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team as prone to mistakes as this one.
Chicago entered the bottom of the 9th trailing the Phillies by a 3-1 score. The Cubs had looked bad all day, and I was ready to write this one off.
Hank Edwards led things off for the Cubs:
Now, that double is all well and good, but it’s not going to be enough.
Up next was Herman Reich, and another auspicious thing happened:
That’s when the fun began.
Peanuts Lowrey was the batter, and what happened next was a standard Peanuts Lowrey incident. You see, I wanted to bunt with him, but I wound up calling for a hit and run instead. This is what happens when I try to rush through the off camera games.
And this is how it wound up:
That tied the game at 3, bringing up Bob Ramazzotti, who is hitting cleanup for the Cubs for some insane reason (I know, I know, I made the lineup):
And that did it: the flukiest victory I’ve ever experienced.
The Cubs aren’t good, and shouldn’t be expected to be any good. However, they are a lot of fun to watch.
Other Action
White Sox 10, Red Sox 3: At Boston, Chicago obliterated the Red Sox. Watch the game here.
Indians 4, Yankees 1: At New York, Cleveland scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th with two men out to take control of this one. Mickey Vernon provided the big blow:
Tigers 5, Senators 1: At Washington, Sid Hudson gave up only 4 hits, but walked 10 batters and blew it.
Dodgers 3, Cardinals 0: At St. Louis, Don Newcombe threw a 7-hit shutout, striking out 8.
Braves 10, Pirates 6: At Pittsburgh, the Braves put up 5 in the top of the 8th to win this one. Watch the game here.
Cubs 4, Phillies 3: At Chicago, see above.
Reds 3, Giants 0: At Cincinnati, the Reds continue their fight to get back to .500, while the Giants lose a little ground on the surging dodgers. Watch the game here.
Standings
Remember how I said a few weeks ago that it was going to be really hard for Brooklyn to overcome its slow start? This is what I was talking about. Brooklyn has been winning like crazy, and yet still finds itself 4 games behind the Giants.