Thriller at Comiskey!

Red Sox at White Sox, May 12, 1949

Thriller at Comiskey!

It’s early, but the American League pennant race is really heating up.

In real life, the Red Sox were 6 games out by this point, and weren’t looking so hot:

From The Boston Globe, May 13, 1949, page 34

And, by the way, the Red Sox had to get out of Comiskey Park in a hurry to catch their train:

From The Boston Globe, May 13, 1949, page 34

This is just another one of those little details that tend to go lost in our memory of the history of the game.

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Blowing It

We’ll start this game in the bottom of the 7th inning, tied at 5. With runners on first and second and one out, Earl Rapp came in to pinch hit for White Sox pitcher Bob Kuzava:

I’d say this was a pretty good pinch hitting decision on my part.

Gordon Goldsberry came up next:

The score was now 8-5 Chicago, and the White Sox were still hungry for more.

Gus Zernial was up next:

And that brought up Herb Adams — again, with only one out:

Throwing home didn’t seem important at the time, but that run wound up being quite important. Cass Michaels made the third out, and the Red Sox had only 6 outs left to make up all 3 runs.

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The Comeback

It didn’t take long for the Red Sox to come back, though.

Bobby Doerr came up in the top of the 8th with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out:

That made the score 8-6.

Billy Hitchcock, not exactly a superstar hitter, came up next:

And now it was 8-7 — just like that.

The next hitter was Al Zarilla:

For the second time in a row, the defense decided to cut off the out at the plate — and it worked. The score remained 8-7 in favor of the White Sox.

Up next was Dom DiMaggio, who is still one of the leading hitters in the American League:

Chicago did nothing in the bottom of the 8th, and, before you know it, the Red Sox were up to bat again in the 9th.

Ted Williams came up with one out and nobody on in the 9th:

Up next came Birdie Tebbetts:

Pitcher Windy McCall’s spot came up next, and the computer manager decided to use Lou Stringer as a pinch hitter:

Now that’s the way to pinch hit!

Chicago had numerous opportunities to blow this game open, but didn’t take advantage of any of them. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are still alive and well in the American League pennant race.