Thriller in Philadelphia

One of the craziest games I've ever seen

Thriller in Philadelphia

When you think of the deadball era, what comes to mind?

If you’re like me, you think about 1-0 games, pitchers pitching complete games, a lot of bunting and base stealing, and not a lot of conventional offense.

Well, this one will blow your mind.

I didn’t collect many screenshots, unfortunately. However, I do think the boxscore speaks for itself:

Philadelphia spotted Boston 6 runs in the 3rd inning, and were down 9-3 going into the bottom of the 7th inning.

I thought for sure this game was over. I’m pretty sure you can see that in the recording.

Then the Athletics started to come back.

This hit by Simon Nicholls got Philadelphia as close as they would ever get:\

And, seriously, this was a really bizarre game.

There was only a single bunt between both teams, as well as a single sacrifice fly. That feels almost blasphemous in the face of what the other 1908 games have been like.

The two teams combined for 25 hits and 5 errors. Eddie Plank managed to hit two batters in only 3 innings. Both teams used a combined 7 pitchers, which is really odd for the famous era of complete games. And, strangest of all, neither team hit into a double play.

There were only 5 walks combined, which is a relief. That compares favorably with all of those 1949 games.