The One That Got Away
Pirates at Cubs, April 28, 1908
The One That Got Away
Losing is a natural part of baseball.
That’s one reason why I love the sport, actually. The season is long enough that a loss here and there can be excused. You know you won’t win every single game, after all. There’s always another game to play tomorrow.
Unless, of course, it’s too cold to play — which is what happened in real life:
Apologies for the faded newsprint and poor legibility.
This was accompanied by a great cartoon accurately expressing the concern that fans in Chicago had with the untimely weather:
Disappointment
Unfortunately for the Pirates, there was no poor weather to hide behind in the simulated version of this game.
Pittsburgh came into the top of the 8th inning down by a single run. Orval Overall, who boasts a 3-0 record, was clinging onto a 1-0 lead.
After pitcher Vic Willis managed to reach base, though, Honus Wagner came up:
It looked like the Pirates couldn’t miss now. There were runners on first and second for Pittsburgh with nobody out. Up next was Fred Clarke:
You’ll probably want to argue with me about this one. I was worried about the double play, and figured that bunting was probably the best option, especially considering how well Overall had been pitching. This put two men in scoring position for the Pirates with only one out.
That brought up Tommy Leach:
And, just like that, the entire complexion of the game changed. Leach’s fly ball simply wasn’t deep enough to do anything.
Ed Abbaticchio proceeded to ground out weakly to second base, ending the rally — and effectively ending the game. The Pirates didn’t get another chance.
This was the sort of game that I was expecting when I started this 1908 replay. There were few hits and even fewer walks. The fielding wasn’t great, but it didn’t matter much in the end. The Pirates left 7 on base, and lived to regret those missed opportunities, losing by the slimmest of margins.
But the race isn’t over yet.