1910 World Series

Action from Shibe Park during the 1910 World Series

The Philadelphia A’s beat the Chicago Cubs easily in this World Series 4 games to 1, giving Connie Mack his 1st Championship. The mighty A’s will go on to win 2 of the next 3 World Series as well.

The A’s will use just 2 pitchers, Jack Coombs and Chief Bender while the Cubs will use 7. The new “livelier” ball will be used for the entire series, benefitting the A’s tremendously, as they will hit .322 as a team. Coombs and Bender would combine to hit .368.  Losing Johnny Evers to a broken ankle on Oct. 1st helped to contribute to a .234 team average for the Cubs.

There were a couple of World Series firsts, albeit in just the 7th World Series so far. Jimmy Archer became the 1st player to play for both leagues when he played game #3 for the Cubs. He had previously played for the 1907 Tigers. After Danny Murphy hit a 3 run home run in game 3(the only home run in the series), Manager Frank Chance argued a little to vociferously that it should have been a ground rule double. He lost the argument, and then became the 1st player ejected from a World Series.

Approximately 124,000 fans would attend this 5 game series.

GAME #1 10/17/1910 @ Philadelphia.

Orvall Overall vs Chief Bender

A’s 4    Cubs 1

Almost 27,000 fans watched Chief Bender and the A’s easily handle the Cubs. Bender allowed just 3 hits while striking out 8. The as of yet, not quite Home Run Baker had 2 doubles and 2 rbi, while Bender contributed an rbi single. After allowing a 1st inning single, Bender pitched to the minimum 21 batters over the next 7 innings. A couple of A’s errors in the 9th lead to the only Cub run.

GAME #2 10/18/1910@ Philadelphia

Mordecai Brown vs Jack Coombs

A’s 9    Cubs 3

Every Philadelphia player had at least 1 hit with Eddie Collins leading the way with 3, which included 2 doubles. A 6 run 7th sealed the deal for the A’s. Jack Coombs struggled allowing 8 hits and 9 walks but still picked up the complete game win.

GAME #3 10/20/1910@ Chicago

Jack Coombs vs Ed Reulbach

A’s 12   Cubs 5

Ed Reulbach lasted just 2 innings as the A’s scored 8 runs in the 1st 3 innings. Coombs had 3 hits and 3 rbi, while Danny Murphy smacked a 3 run home run that lead to Frank Chance’s ejection.

Game #4 10/22/1910@ Chicago

Chief Bender vs King Cole

Cubs 4   A’s 3 (10)

The Cubs trailed 3-2 in the 9th, facing a 4 game sweep, when Wildfire Schulte opened with a double. Frank Chance tripled him in to tie the game. In the 10th Jimmy Archer banged a 1 out double and scored on Jimmy Sheckard’s 2 out single.

Game #5 10/23/1910 @ Chicago

Jack Coombs vs Mordecai Brown

A;s 7   Cubs 2

Jack Coombs won his 3rd game of the series. With the score 2-1 in the 8th the A’s scored 5 times to secure their 1st World Championship. Jack Coombs lead off with a single to start the 5 run rally. Danny Murphy hit a 2 run single giving him 9 rbis for the series.

DMB World Series Prediction: The A’s should win this replay, but I think it will go 6 games. Mordecai Brown should pitch better, but despite winning 3 games in 1910, Jack Coombs should pitch better as well. I don’t think he’ll walk 14 batters in this replay. The A’s will hit for more power which will make the difference.

Connie Mack riding the elephant and pitcher Harry Krause precariously close to the elephant’s “posterior area”.

Who’s In The Hall Of Fame?

James Henry O’Rourke, “Orator Jim”

 

Jim O’Rourke has a lifetime batting average of .310 over 18 seasons, with over 2,300 hits. He won a championship with the Providence Grays in 1879 and received this cool medal. Of course they spelled Grays with an “E”, which was probably just a preference of the time, but they spelled Orator Jim’s name wrong, omitting the 2nd “r” in O’Rourke. 3 times in my life, I’ve received an engraved pen as a gift, and all 3 x the 2nd “a” in Graham was missing. I wonder if there’s a connection there?                         

In 1880 while playing for the Boston Beaneaters he played along side his brother John in the outfield, the 1st pair of siblings to do so.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.

1910 Philadelphia A’s

Top row: Harry Davis, Frank Baker, Jack Coombs, Ira Thomas, Chief Bender, Ben Houser, Cy Morgan, Pat Donahue

Middle Row: Rube Oldring, Bris Lord, Danny Murphy, Connie Mack, Eddie Plank, Jack Lapp, Amos Strunk

Bottom row: Topsy Hartsel, Stuffy McInnis, Tommy Atkins, Lew Krause, Louis Wanzelet, Jimmy Dygert, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry, Paddy Livingston

Connie Mack lead his A’s to a 3rd AL pennant and 2nd World Series appearance. By beating the Cubs in 5 games they will garner their 1st World Series Championship.

This A’s team became the 1st AL team to win 100 games, their 102-48 record beat out the NY Highlanders by 14.5 games. They hit .266 as a team which lead the league, while their 671 runs scored was good for 2nd behind the Detroit Tigers.(679) Their 19 home runs were 24 less than the league leading Boston Red Sox. The A’s still showed some pop despite the low HR total. Their 105 triples, and 191 doubles were tops in the league.

In this pitcher’s dominated American League the A’s put up an impressive 1.79 team ERA. 7 of the 8 teams were sub 3.00 with the St Louis Browns being the only exception at 3.09. The A’s won the team triple crown by leading the league in hitting, pitching and fielding.

At catcher the A’s primarily used 2 backstops. Jack Lapp played 71 games while hitting just .234 with only 7 extra base hits. Ira Thomas was a capable backup hitting .278 in 60 games. Earle Mack(son of Connie) started 1 game behind the dish. He went 2-4 with a triple making Poppa proud. Earle would get just 12 more at bats over the next 2 seasons without reaching base.

At 1st base the veteran Harry Davis was playing in his final year as a full time starter. He hit just .248 and over the next 6 seasons would play in just 78 games. His last ab came in 1917 at the age of 43. He did not get a hit.

2nd base saw the continued emergence of Hall of Famer Eddie Collins. At just 23 years old Collins hit .324 with 81 rbi to lead the team. He also stole a league high 81 bases.

23 year old Jack Barry played shortstop, hitting .259, while leading the league with 63 errors.

Frank Baker(before he became Home Run) hit .283 with just 2 hrs. At 24 he was becoming one of the elite 3rd basemen of the time. His 15 triples and 74 rbi were both good for 6th.  His 207 putouts at 3rd lead the league, and his 312 assists were good for 2nd.

In the outfield the veteran Topsy Hartsell was at the end of his career. He hit just .221 and drove in only 22 runs in 90 games. He played just 25 more games in 1911 and was out of baseball. Rube Oldring tied for the the team lead in hrs with 4. He hit .302 with 27 doubles. Danny Murphy also hit .300 and lead the team with 28 doubles.

Bris Lord joined the team in July via a trade with the Cleveland Naps. Bris Lord is interesting for several reasons. His full name is Bristol Robotham Lord, and his nickname was The Human Eyeball. He supposedly had a freakishly large forehead.  Lord was traded to the A’s for Morrie Rath and a player to be named later. That player was the infamous Joe Jackson.

19 year old Stuffy McInnis played played 33 games at short while hitting .301.

On the mound the A’s featured 31 game winner Jack Coombs. This was the 1st of 3 straight 20+ win seasons for Coombs. He lead the league with 13 shutouts, while his 1.30 ERA was 2nd to Ed Walsh’s 1.27. Despite a 1.55 ERA Cy Morgan won 18 games while losing 12. Cy was a little wild. He lead the AL in walks with 117, and hit batsmen with18.  Chief Bender won 23 games, the 1st of only 2 20+ seasons for the Hall of Famer, and Eddie Plank won 18 games to round out the 4 man rotation.

The A’s will easily handle the Cubs in 4 games to win their 1st World Championship. They would use just 2 pitchers in the 5 games. Chief Bender(1-1), Jack Coombs(3-0)  pitch every inning of the series. I wonder if the DMB World Series will do the same?

What’s On My Bookshelf?

Babe Ruth

Note: This is not a photo of the actual figurine.

Back in the late 80’s I was reading a Tuff Stuff magazine and I saw an advertisement for a Babe Ruth Hartland figurine for $25. At the time I didn’t own a single piece of baseball memorabilia, except for some beat up baseball cards, so I decided who better to kick start some kind of memorabilia collection than a Babe Ruth statue. When it arrived in the mail and I saw what I purchased, I was a little disappointed. The figurine is about 7 inches tall made of a hard plastic.  The Babe is pointing where he’s about to hit the next pitch and he’s leaning on a bat, made of a cheesy soft plastic, the kind that the little green army men were made of when I was a kid.

When I purchased the figurine it wasn’t about saving it in pristine condition so that I could sell it for big bucks in the future, it was just about having something that represented Babe Ruth. There are 2 different issues of this figurine, one of which was issued in the 50’s, and in pristine condition would be worth a couple of hundred dollars. There was a 25th anniversary edition that was issued in the 80’s and 90’s, and in pristine condition might be worth $30. I’m not sure if I have an original Hartland from the 50’s or one from the later issue. The 25th anniversary edition supposedly have 25th anniversary printed on the figurine’s belt, but I don’t see it on my Ruth. If I was to guess, I’d say it was the later issue.  

The figurine doesn’t come with a base so the only way the Babe could stand on his little tiny plastic feet was to lean precariously on his plastic bat that was inserted in a tiny hole in his left hand.

At the time I didn’t have a bookshelf, so I placed him on top of my bedroom dresser. My wife had thought I was regressing back to my childhood, and she was right. Every time someone would walk through the bedroom, the Bambino would wobble, and usually fall down, sending the bat flying.  I was constantly picking him up, retrieving the bat that always seemed to make a beeline for under the bed, and replacing him on the dresser. It drove my wife “batty”, for lack of a better word.

A couple years later we got a german shepard puppy that I named Murcer, after my all-time favorite player. Murcer loved to chew things, as most dogs do, and it was inevitable that he would get a taste of the Babe.  Luckily when the Babe finally toppled over in the presence of Murcer, I was able to save the figurine, but the bat was kibble. Murcer gobbled up the bat and begged for more. With nothing for the Babe to lean on I had to put him in a drawer, so he wouldn’t become just another chew toy for Murcer.

Years later when Murcer was gone, I put the Babe on my bookshelf, and every time I look at it it reminds me of my dog Murcer. He’s been there ever since, leaning back on a book in order to remain upright. He still falls over every once in awhile, but it doesn’t matter, he’ll always have a place on my bookshelf.

Who’s In The Hall of Fame?

William Hulbert

William Hulbert was one of the architects of the National League. As a representative of the National Association Chicago White Stockings he held a meeting in New York that resulted in the formation of the National League in 1876. It changed baseball from an association of players to a league of clubs. Hulbert took over as the 2nd President of the NL in 1877 after the not so dynamic, yet Hall of Fame worthy(?) Morgan Bulkeley. He immediately expelled the franchises in Philadelphia and New York for not completing their 1876 schedules. It left the NL without a presence in 2 of America’s largest cities, but it strengthened the leagues desire for structure, organization and compliance with the rules. Hulbert was President of the NL for just 6 years, dying of a heart attack at the age of 49 in 1882.

Hulbert was not elected to the Hall of Fame until 1995, a full 113 years after his death, a record for the longest wait for enshrinement.

Hubert is buried in Graceland, next to the King. Sorry, he’s buried in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. This is his grave marker:

It’s in the shape of a baseball and includes his name and all the original cities of the National League.

1910 Chicago Cubs

Top row: Ginger Beaumont, Jack Pfiester, Lew Ritchie, Heinie Zimmerman, Solly Hofman, Frank Chance, Jimmy Sheckard

2nd row: John Kane, King Cole, Orlie Weaver, Harry Steinfeldt

3rd row: Johnny Kling, Charles Murphy(Owner), Orval Overall

4th row: Lew Ritchie(?again?), Mordecai Brown, Jeff Pfeffer, Wildfire Schulte

5th row: Ed Reulbach, Johnny Evers, Jimmy Archer, Tom Needham, Bill Foxen, Joe Tinker

Player/Manager Frank Chance lead his Cubbies to a 4th NL pennant in 5 years, winning 104 games, good enough for a 13 game margin over the 2nd place Giants.

The Cubs scored 711 runs, 2nd to the Giants 715 runs. No other team in the NL scored more than 674 runs. They hit just .268 as a team, also 2nd to the Giants who batted .275. Their 34 home runs, though small in number to today’s standard, still lead the league along with their 84 triples.

The Cubs pitching is what separated them from the rest of the NL. Their 2.51 team ERA was .17 better than the Giants, and a full .5 points better than the league average.

This team was laced with World Series veterans, which, by my quick count, included at least 12 players that played in the 1908 World Series.

At catcher was the returning Johnny Kling. His 1 year self-imposed hiatus from the game allowed him to win the World Pocket Billiards Championship in 1909. He appeared in 91 games while hitting  a solid .269. Manager Frank Chance played 1st, and at 33 was beginning to show his age. He hit .298 but it included just 20 extra base hits. Chance would spend increasingly more time in the dugout than on the field over the next 4 seasons, playing in just 46 games over that time span, before taking his last ab in 1914.

Johnny Evers played 2nd, hitting .263 but scoring 87 runs. He would not be available for the World Series do to a broken ankle suffered in a game on Oct. 1st.  Heinie Zimmerman and his .284 average will start in Evers place.

Joe Tinker once again manned shortstop, providing quality defense and a .288 average. The non-poetically sounding Harry Steinfeldt played 3rd and hit just .252 with an anemic SLG% of just .317. This was Steinfeldt’s last season with the Cubs, he would be released to the minors at the end of the season. He would catch on with Boston in 1911, appearing in just 19 games in his final big league season.

The meat of the Cubs order roamed the outfield. Jimmy Sheckard hit .256, and his 5 home runs was 2nd on the team. Wildfire Schulte hit a league leading 10 home runs to go along with 15 triples and a .301 average. Solly Hofman’s .325 average was tops on the team as were his 16 triples and 86 rbi.

The Cubs pitching was once again lead by Mordecai Peter Centennial”Three Finger” Brown. He won 25 games to go along with his 1.86 ERA. His ERA was actually .55 over his 1909 ERA. This would be the last of his 6 sub 2.00 ERA’s of his career.

Rookie King Cole won 20 games while leading the league with a 1.80 ERA  The King will win 18 games in 1911 and just 15 over the next 3 seasons before retiring at the age of 29.

Harry McIntyre came over in a trade from Brooklyn and won 13 games, joining Ed Reulbach(12), Orval Overall(12) and Lew Ritchie(11) with double digit wins. Pfiester pitched in just 6 more games in 1911, winning 1, and would retire after the 1911 season. Lew Ritchie was a mid-season trade acquisition from Boston.

The Cubs lost to the Philadelphia A’s in 5 games in the 1910 World Series. This series was played entirely with the new cork centered baseball. It seemed to suit the Philadelphia A’s just fine as they outscored the Cubs by a 35-15 margin.

What’s On My Bookshelf

Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury

If you’re a fan of science fiction then you have to be a fan of Ray Bradbury. His Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes are must reads.

Fahrenheit 451 starts with the line: It was a pleasure to burn. Guy Montag was a fireman, and his job is not to put out fires, but to burn books. Books were illegal, books put bad ideas in your head, books allowed you to think about what could be. The government would have none of this.

Montag enjoyed burning books until he met a teenage girl who questioned why, and wondered why not. Montag was enthralled by her free spirited ideals, and was crushed when she died in an automobile accident. Later, an old woman refused to leave her beloved books and committed suicide among her burning treasures. Montag picked up one of her books, read the 1st line and he too began to question why. He begins to surreptitiously gather more and more books and hides them in his house. When he’s found out he flees to an encampment of book lovers who have each memorized a different work of literature, so that when and if the ban on books ends, they will have a mental, word for word record of these works.

After a war destroys the city, a war that was inevitable, the book lovers return to the city in hopes of rebuilding not just the city but humanity.

The novel is dark, disturbing, and despairing, while also offering hope for mankind.  A humanity on the cusp of destruction, brought back by the power of the written word. All in all an enjoyable read!!!!!

The title of the book references the temperature needed to ignite paper. But it seems the correct temperature is actually 451 degrees Celsius, a temperature considerably higher than 451 F.  Bradbury liked the sound of Fahrenheit 451 over Celsius 451. I don’t know how true this is, but I would agree with Ray Bradbury on any and all things literary.

This book sits on my bookshelf at a cool Fahrenheit 71.

DMB World Series Year in Review-1910

1910 saw 2 non existent pennant races as Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s easily handled the 2nd place NY Highlanders by 14.5 games. The defending AL champion Tigers were 3rd, 18 games out.

In the NL the Cubs won their 4th pennant in 5 years winning 104 games and easily besting the NY Giants by 13 games. The 530 games won by the Cubs over that 5 year span is a major league record that may never be approached again.

During the season baseball introduced a new livelier baseball, which was used intermittently  throughout the season. It was used for the entire World Series. The ball had a new cork center inside the rubber core and was used for the entire 1911 season. Average runs per game went from 7 to 9 from 1909 to 1912, and the league average went from .244 to .269 over the same period.

The season started out auspiciously enough when then President Wm. Howard Taft was asked to throw out a ceremonial 1st ball by Washington Senators manager Jimmy McAleer. Taft tossed the ball to Walter Johnson who then proceeded to toss a 1 hit 3-0 shutout against the pennant winning A’s. Things obviously got better for the A’s while the Senators finished 36.5 games out with a 66-85 record, good for 7th.

The season ended on a low note that actually took 70 years to resolve. Before the season the Chalmers Automobile Co. announced that it would give the winner of the batting title a brand new car. On the last day of the season Ty Cobb was hitting .385 and leading Nap Lajoie by a comfortable margin in the batting title. Cobb sat out the final 2 games, as he usually did to preserve his lead, while Lajoie was playing a doubleheader against the St Louis Browns. Lajoie was well respected by the players, while Cobb was considered a dickhead.(My words not theirs). Lajoie miraculously went 8-8 in the doubleheader. St Louis manager Jack O’Connor ordered his 3rd baseman to play deep, allowing Lajoie to easily bunt his way on base. 6 bunt hits later and some questionable score keeping, Lajoie ended up hitting .384, still 1 point behind Cobb. O’Connor was fired for his actions, Cobb got his batting title and both players received a car from Chalmers. Case closed????? Not so much.

In 1981 someone from The Sporting News found an error in Ty Cobb’s stats. He had been credited twice for the same 2 hit game, setting his actual average at .383, now 1 point behind Lajoie. A committee set up by the Commissioner was put together to study the problem, and they voted unanimously not to change the outcome…….pussies.

Baseball Reference and Retrosheet have the corrected stats, as it should be. Despite the duplicity of manager O’Connor, Lajoie won on the correct stats and should be credited with the batting title. My trusty 1996 Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia has Cobb listed as the winner with a .385 average. (Personal aside: My baseball encyclopedia was purchased 12 years ago for $12. It’s huge, completely beat to crap because of its frequent use, and it sits prominently on my bookshelf)

The Philadelphia A’s went on to beat the Cubs in 5 games in the 1910 World Series. More on that later.

Other Stuff:

Before the start of the season both leagues officially adopted a 154 game schedule.

Both leagues agreed to ban syndicate baseball. An owner can only have a financial interest in just 1 ML team.

Catcher Johnny Kling returned to the Cubs after taking time off to win the World Pocket Billiards title.

Ed Walsh would win the ERA title. His 1.27 ERA helped him fashion a 18-20 record. He is the only ERA winner to have a losing record with 20 losses.

The A’s Jack Coombs would put together 53 consecutive scoreless innings, on his way to a league leading 31 wins for the A’s.

4/20- Addie Joss(Naps) tosses his 2nd career no hitter. 1-0 vs the White Sox.

5/12- Chief Bender(A’s) no hits the Naps 4-0. Only a 4th inning walk prevents this from being a perfect game.

7/19- Cy Young wins his 500th game

7/25- Joe Jackson is traded to Cleveland

1910 Final Standings

NL

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Chicago Cubs                   154  104   50    0  .675     -   712  499
New York Giants                155   91   63    1  .591  13.0   715  567
Pittsburgh Pirates             154   86   67    1  .562  17.5   655  576
Philadelphia Phillies          157   78   75    4  .510  25.5   674  639
Cincinnati Reds                156   75   79    2  .487  29.0   620  684
Brooklyn Superbas              156   64   90    2  .416  40.0   497  623
St. Louis Cardinals            153   63   90    0  .412  40.5   639  718
Boston Doves                   157   53  100    4  .346  50.5   495  701

AL

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Philadelphia Athletics         155  102   48    5  .680     -   674  442
New York Highlanders           156   88   63    5  .583  14.5   626  557
Detroit Tigers                 155   86   68    1  .558  18.0   679  584
Boston Red Sox                 158   81   72    5  .529  22.5   641  564
Cleveland Naps                 161   71   81    9  .467  32.0   548  657
Chicago White Sox              156   68   85    3  .444  35.5   457  479
Washington Senators            157   66   85    6  .437  36.5   501  551
St. Louis Browns               158   47  107    4  .305  57.0   451  743

BORN:

1/3-Frenchy Bordagaray

1/11-Schoolboy Rowe

1/16-Dizzy Dean

9/21-Elden Auker

9/24-Dixie Walker

DIED:

2/15-Bug Holliday

12/13-Dan McGann

Also born on 7/14, William Hanna, the 1st part of the Hanna-Barbera duo that brought us The Flinstones, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, and the Jetsons.

     

In April Comet Haley makes an appearance in the night sky. Haley has been recorded as far back as at least 240BCE, and pops in the neighborhood approximately every 75-76 years. The last time was in 1986, the worst showing ever of the illustrious comet. It’s next visit will be in 2061. I don’t think I’ll be around to see that one.

1910 was the 1st opportunity to photograph Haley’s comet.

AMERICAN LEAGUE	NATIONAL LEAGUE
AVG: NAP LAJOIE(CLE)- .384 TY COBB(DET)-.383 TRIS SPEAKER(BOS)- .340	AVG: SHERRY MAGEE(PHIL)- .331 SOLLY HOFMAN(CHI)- .325 FRED SNODGRASS(NY)- .321
HRS: JAKE STAHL(BOS)- 10 TY COBB(DET)- 8 DUFFY LEWIS(BOS)- 8	HRS: FRED BECK(BOS)- 10 FRANK SCHULTE(CHI)- 10 JAKE DAUBERT(BRO)- 8
RBI: SAM CRAWFORD(DET)- 120 TY COBB(DET)- 91 EDDIE COLLINS(PHI)- 81	RBI: SHERRY MAGEE(PHI)-123 MIKE MITCHELL(CIN)-88 RED MURRAY(NY)- 87
WINS: JACK COOMBS(PHI)- 31 RUSS FORD(NY)- 26 WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 25	WINS: CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)- 27 MORDECAI BROWN(CHI)- 25 EARL MOORE(PHI)- 22
K’S: WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 313 ED WALSH(CHI)-258   JACK COOMBS(PHI)-224	K’S: EARL MOORE(PHI)- 185 CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)- 184 SAM FROCK(PIT-BOS)- 171
ERA: ED WALSH(CHI)- 1.27 JACK COOMBS(PHI)- 1.30 WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 1.36	ERA: KING COLE(CHI)- 1.80 MORDECAI BROWN(CHI)- 1.86 CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)- 1.89
MVP: TY COBB(DET) .383-8-91	MVP: SHERRY MAGEE(PHI) .331-6-123
CY YOUNG: JACK COOMBS(PHI) 31-9, 1.30	CY YOUNG: CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY) 27-9, 1.89
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: RUSS FORD(NY) 26-6, 1.65	ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: KING COLE(CHI) 20-4, 1.80

What’s On My Bookshelf

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella

If you’re reading this blog you’ve read this book. If you’re reading this blog you’ve seen the movie. If you haven’t done either, what are you doing here??? Seriously, go watch Jersey Shore or Glee, or rent Harry Potter and the Goblet of Crap and never come back here!!!!!         Are they gone? Ok let’s continue.

WP Kinsella is a Canadian, writing about baseball. Does that seem strange to you? Kinsella will be 76 on May 25th of this year. Happy Birthday WP Kinsella and thank you for such a great book.

We all know the plot of this baseball fantasy: Ray hears voices, Ray builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield, Joe Jackson shows up, Ray kidnaps J D Salinger(Terrance Mann), Moonlight Graham gets an at bat, and Ray has a catch with his Dad.

Whenever I’m flipping through the channels and Field Of Dreams pops up, I have to watch it. I think Kevin Costner is a pretty good actor when he doesn’t have gills, or he’s not delivering post-apocalyptic mail, and I think he does a great job of capturing the Ray Kinsella of the book. The book and the movie are pretty close in plot, but for me the book out shines the movie.

The book, is one of those that I have to read every couple of years. It makes me wish that there really could be a magic cornfield somewhere, and that Catcher in the Rye was a really good book, but we know that it’s just not possible. The fantasy, poetry and rhythm of the book  doesn’t show up in the film as strongly, but it does make an appearance. I will always stop and watch the movie and the book will always have a place on my bookshelf.

Baseball’s Sad Lexicon

Joe Tinker         Johnny Evers       Frank Chance

Written by Franklin P. Adams in 1910 it 1st appeared in print as “That Double Play Again” on July 12, 1910 in the New York Evening Mail. It appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune on July 15th as “Gotham’s Woe”, and then was reprinted in the Evening Mail as “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” on July 18th.

Adams supposedly wrote this little ditty while travelling to a Cubs-Giants game at the Polo Grounds. Adams was miffed at the Cubs double play trio for always seeming to snuff the rallies of his beloved Giants by turning a clutch double play.  The election of all 3 players to the Hall of Fame is sometimes attributed to this 8 line poem. Bill James makes the case that as individuals they were decent players, but as teammates they won a lot of games, and isn’t that the reason the game is played? They won 986 games over a 10 year period(1904-1913), a record that has never been approached. Hall of Fame players?…maybe. Hall of Fame teammates?……definitely.

 

These are the saddest of possible words:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,

Tinker and Evers and Chance.

Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,

Making a Giant hit into a double –

Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:

"Tinker to Evers to Chance.

The 3rd baseman for this famed Cubs’ team is Harry Steinfeldt. He was not included in the poem and he is not in the Hall of Fame. All because of the inability to rhyme Steinfeldt!!! Also, a gonfalon is a flag or a pennant, so Adams is bemoaning the lack of National League pennants for his Giants, because of this trio of bear cubs.  The poem states that you can prick a  gonfalon, but can you gonfalon a prick?………….Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.