Pitcher's Paradise
White Sox at Naps, April 23, 1908
Pitcher’s Paradise
In real life, this game featured a phenomenon we haven’t known in baseball for decades.
The White Sox not only were shut out at Cleveland, 5-0, but had to get out as soon as possible to head to St. Louis:
It’s been a long time since teams had to hurry up to finish their games in order to make the train to their next road destination.
Good luck trying to account for that in your replay!
Joss Holds On
The hardest part about pitching duels is figuring out what to write about.
Addie Joss was absolutely brilliant in this one. He was given a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and made it last for the entire game.
The biggest challenge came in the bottom of the 9th, when Fielder Jones singled for Chicago with nobody out. Up came Ed Hahn:
The hit and run worked, but not quite well enough. Patsy Dougherty struck out, leaving it all up to George Davis:
That weak ground ball finished the game up. Joss struck out 5 and walked only 2 in a masterful 4-hit effort.
Ed Walsh, the loser, pitched even better than Joss, striking out 7 and giving up only 5 hits in 8 innings. Unfortunately, though, he did give up a run, and that’s what actually counts.
Note that I managed to play this entire game without bunting. You can watch the video and tell me where I should have bunted.