The Tale of Two Bunts
Pirates at Cubs, April 26, 1908 —and day in review
The Tale of Two Bunts
You guys already know what the modern book says:
We’re going to throw all of that science out of the window here, though. It’s 1908, and it’s time to bunt.
The First Bunt
This was a tight, scoreless game heading into the top of the 6th inning. Owen Wilson was up for the Pirates with runners on 2nd and 3rd and only one out. The infield was in, but I figured it was time to bunt anyway. I mean, hits were so scarce in this game that there was a good chance that Pittsburgh simply wouldn’t see another chance like this again.
And there it was: a beautiful bunt performed with scientific precision, good enough to trade that out for a precious run.
The Pirates now led, 1-0.
The Second Bunt
Lo and behold, the Cubs were granted a similar chance in the bottom of the 7th.
Time was running out, and pitcher Ed Reulbach found himself up to hit with one out and a runner on third.
Again, I figured that there was no way the Cubs were going to see another chance like this one today. I decided to bunt:
Like the three point shot, the sacrifice bunt is a dangerous tool, a double-edged sword that can cut you if you’re not careful. No double play is good, but this kind of double play really hurts.
The Cubs Tie It
It’s not that simple, of course.
Joe Tinker came up in the bottom of the 8th with one out and did this:
That, my friends, is why you don’t play it safe if you’re down by one in the late innings.
Up next came Frank Chance:
Chance was called out trying to steal after this single, but the damage had been done. We now had a 1-1 tie.
Breaking Free
Tommy Leach came up for the Pirates with a runner on first and one out in the top of the 10th:
That brought up Ed Abbaticchio:
That normally would have been a ground out, but the Cubs had the infield in, hoping to cut off the go-ahead run. The plan backfired, and Pittsburgh went up, 2-1.
And up came Wilson again:
That was the end for Reulbach, and wound up being the end for Chicago. The 3-1 lead soon stretched to 5-1, and there was no coming back from that.
It was close, though, regardless of what the final score tells you. Had that Pittsburgh bunt not succeeded, the Pirates would have likely lost. And, had Reulbach bunted down instead of up, it’s almost certain that Chicago would have won.
Other Action
Pirates 5, Cubs 1 (10): At Chicago, see above.
Cardinals 7, Reds 3: At Cincinnati, the Reds commit 5 errors and fall apart.
White Sox 3, Browns 2: At St. Louis, the Browns make a feeble late attempt to come back that doesn’t go anywhere. Watch the game here.
Standings
After 3 more games, little has changed.