What Happened To The Hitter's Park?

Cubs at Dodgers, June 9, 1949

What Happened To The Hitter’s Park?

I was worried that there was something wrong with my game when I played through this one.

Just look at the boxscore:

A 1-0 game at Ebbets Field. In 1949. And the 1949 Dodgers only got 4 hits.

So what made this happen?

Well, here are a few of my thoughts, followed by why they’re wrong:

• The wind was blowing in. Nope. It was blowing from left to right, which means it did cause a few problems.

• The pitching was good. The 1949 Cubs don’t have any pitchers who could be considered “good.” Rex Barney is one of the weaker Dodger starters.

• I shouldn’t have led off with Roy Campanella. He went 1 for 3 with a walk. I know that Jackie Robinson got on base more often, but Campy is doing just fine at the top, thank you very much.

• The pitchers found the zone. There were 11 walks combined, 7 of which were issued by the Cubs. Reese’s RBI came on a walk. That bottom of the 4th was a strange inning, by the way. With one man out, Snider doubled, Robinson walked, Hodges struck out, Cox walked, and Reese walked, before Brown finally grounded into the inning ending force out. That’s a pretty typical 1949 Cubs pitching performance, however.

Now — was this game realistic?

I don’t know.

There wasn’t a single 1-0 game at Ebbets Field in 1949. Not a single one.

If you’re curious, the Dodgers did play in a 1-0 game in 1949, though only one. It was this classic in St. Louis in September. None other than Joe Garagiola drove in the winning run, and it was off Don Newcombe. I’m not sure if Vin ever asked Joe about that one.

Have you ever had a situation like this? Have you ever had a game that probably couldn’t happen in real life?

What do you think about it? Is this extremely unrealistic, or is this just the way the dice fall?

Comments are open to all on this post.