Small Ball, Big Runs
Senators at Red Sox, April 16, 1908
Small Ball, Big Runs
I hate to tell you this, but these NPIII write-ups are going to be a lot different.
First of all, I’m managing both teams, not just one. That’s right: there’s no computer manager to pin the blame on. If the wrong decision is made, it’s my own fault.
Second of all, there’s no play-by-play. There will be a little bit here and there, but I’m going to have to come up with my own descriptions here. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to record my impressions as we play through these games, and heaven help us if I wind up featuring a game that I’ve recorded.
But there’s a lot to talk about.
Comeback
Boston went out to an early 3-0 lead in this one, and wound up leading 6-2 after 5.
I managed to help the Senators peck away at that lead, however — and did so largely using small ball.
Washingtion managed to score 2 in the top of the 7th the hard way. Gabby Street led things off by reaching first on an error by Heinie Wagner (no, not THAT Wagner).
Charlie Smith, the Senators pitcher, came up next, and if you think I should pinch hit, you simply don’t understand 1908. Smith managed to get one of those crazy bouncing balls over to Bob Unglaub at first. Unglaub isn’t exactly the greatest fielder in the world, and, by the time the Red Sox finally retrieved the ball, Street was on third and Smith on second — and there was still nobody out.
That’s when the offense came. Jim Delahanty (no, not THAT Delahanty) hit one sacrifice fly, and Clyde Milan hit another, and now it was 6-4 Boston.
The Senators continued to rally with a single by Jerry Freeman and a walk by Bob Ganley. Otis Clymer made believers out of us all when he hit a single to left, but Gavvy Cravath (don’t you love those old first names? His nickname was “Cactus”) threw out Freeman at the plate, and the inning was over.
Delahanty singled home George McBride in the top of the 8th, which narrowed the lead to 6-5, and it looked like magic was in the air.
However, it wasn’t to be. Milan hit a single to open up the top of the 9th, and then tried to steal second in hopes of getting in scoring position. Street’s throw was on the money, however, and the Senators went down quietly after that.
This was one of those strange games that you run into in the deadball era. The teams combined for 19 hits and 11 runs, and yet there were 3 stolen bases and 3 men caught stealing in this one, along with 2 sacrifice flies.
You’ll notice that I didn’t bunt. That’s a rarity — I always bunt in 1908. I didn’t bunt here because Boston had such a big lead so early. It didn’t make sense to play for one run until the Senators were down by one — and that’s where the caught stealing really hurt.
This was great fun, too. There’s nothing more fun than a tense game like this, where fielding mistakes are plentiful and where just about anything can happen.
Real Life
Though there are some excellent books out there about the season, 1908 is still not well known or understood by even the most historically minded baseball fans. As a result, I’m going to try to use more original newspaper clippings in these writeups.
Interestingly enough, this game in real life went down similar to how it did in the replay:
As was the case in real life, the Red Sox won their second game in the replay — also behind the pitching of Cy Morgan.
Who do you think “Uncle Cy” refers to in this headline? Why, it’s none other than Cy Young, the other Cy on the Red Sox staff, at 41 years young.
Now, the Boston Globe report of this game is too long to post here, and we’ll be here all day if I go into much detail. I’ll just use this old cartoon to give you the idea:
Man, I wish I could see what Jack Thoney’s lead off first was like.