DMB World Series Year In Review-1911

Since starting this replay back in February of 2009 I’ve managed to replay 36 years of post season play, starting with 1876. I originally expected to do 3 seasons a month until I reached 1993. 1994 marked the end of baseball for me as I knew it, so I wasn’t going to honor the players and teams after 1993.

I initially wondered what I would be blogging about after I finished the 93 season, estimated to be around June of 2012.

But the pace of the replays has slowed down, so there is no longer any concerns about reaching 1993 anytime soon. The blog has evolved into less replay and more slices of baseball history,  book reviews,  and personal rants. All good things I hope. Unfortunately the time that I have to devote to this blog has greatly diminished due primarily to work issues. So rather than blasting through the replays, it will now proceed at a more leisurely pace. I hope you continue to follow along as I slow things down, while stopping to smell the pine tar and chewing tobacco along the way.

BASEBALL 1911

The 1911 baseball season was the 1st full season to feature the new cork-centered ball. Averages went up, as did ERA’s. The American League alone had 27 players break the .300 mark. Ty Cobb won the batting title with a .420 average, beating out rookie phenom  Joe Jackson and his .408 average. Cobb put together a 40 game hitting streak during the season as well.

Honus Wagner lead the NL with a more modest .334. This was his 8th and final NL crown.

Ring Lardner lamented that because of the new livelier ball more runs were being scored and it was almost impossible to finish a game in under 2 hours. Ring Larder would stroke out if he witnessed a Yankees/Red Sox game played today.

The Chalmers Automobile Co handed out another car, this time to the MVP in both leagues, rather than the leading hitter. Ty Cobb won in the AL, while Wildfire Schulte won in the NL. Schulte also lead the league with 21 home runs, 4 of which were of the grand slam variety. This number would not be topped until Ernie Banks hit 5 in 1955. Schulte would finish the season with 20+ hrs, 20+ triples, 20+ doubles, and 20+ steals. The only other player to do this was Willie Mays in 1957.

After just 2 games the grandstand in the Polo Grounds was destroyed by a fire. The Giants would play in Hilltop Park until June 28th, when the new steel-and-concrete grandstand was completed. It didn’t seem to hurt their season at all as John McGraw’s Giants won the pennant by 7.5 games over the Chicago Cubs.

In the American League Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s won the pennant going away, besting the Tigers by 13.5 games.

This would set up the 2nd World Series between Mack and McGraw. The Giants last World Series appearance was in 1905 against these same A’s. The A’s 1st baseball dynasty was firmly established with their 2nd straight World Series appearance.

Also in baseball:

3/24- Mrs Helene Hathaway inherits the St. Louis Cardinals after her Uncle Mathew Robinson dies. She becomes the 1st female owner of a modern major league team.

4/14- Addie Joss dies of meningitis at the age of 31.

7/24- An All Star game is played to raise money for the widow of Addie Joss. The All Stars beat the Naps 5-3, while raising over $12,000.

7/29- Smoky Joe Wood no hits the Browns 5-0.

 9/22- Cy Young wins his final game, 1-0 over Pittsburgh.

If you’re interested in more about the 1911 season I urge you to check out Verdun2’s blog here and here.

1911 Final Standings

NL

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Giants                154   99   54    1  .647     -   756  542
Chicago Cubs                   157   92   62    3  .597   7.5   757  607
Pittsburgh Pirates             155   85   69    1  .552  14.5   744  557
Philadelphia Phillies          153   79   73    1  .520  19.5   658  669
St. Louis Cardinals            158   75   74    9  .503  22.0   671  745
Cincinnati Reds                159   70   83    6  .458  29.0   682  706
Brooklyn Superbas              154   64   86    4  .427  33.5   539  659
Boston Rustlers                156   44  107    5  .291  54.0   699 1021

AL

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Philadelphia Athletics         152  101   50    1  .669     -   861  602
Detroit Tigers                 154   89   65    0  .578  13.5   831  777
Cleveland Naps                 156   80   73    3  .523  22.0   693  712
Chicago White Sox              154   77   74    3  .510  24.0   718  624
Boston Red Sox                 153   78   75    0  .510  24.0   680  643
New York Highlanders           153   76   76    1  .500  25.5   684  723
Washington Senators            154   64   90    0  .416  38.5   624  765
St. Louis Browns               152   45  107    0  .296  56.5   567  812

 

 

 

The Addie Joss All Star team. Notice anything unusual?

How about now?

Yep, that’s Ty Cobb wearing a Cleveland Naps uniform. It seems his Tiger uniform was lost en route to the game.

Also in 1911:

BORN-

1/1- Hank Greenberg

2/6- Ronald Reagan

3/16- Josef Mengele  The “Angel of Death” was never captured and lived until 1979.

3/25- Jack Ruby Got up close and personal with Lee Harvey Oswald

4/25- Connie Marrero Currently the oldest living major leaguer. Pitched 5 seasons with the Washington Senators(1950-1954) compiling a 39-40 record. He turns 100 years old today. He was born in Cuba and is currently living in Havana. Happy Birthday Connie.

5/27- Vincent Price

6/8- Van Lingle Mungo

8/6- Lucille Ball

11/13- Buck O’Neil

12/1- Walt Alston

12/21- Josh Gibson

DIED-

4/14- Addie Joss

8/5- Bob Caruthers

8/31- Will White

WORLD EVENTS-

4/25- The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City. 146 people died, because management had locked the doors to all stairwells and fire escapes.

7/24- Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Picchu

8/22- The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. It was stolen by an employee of the Louvre and was not recovered for 2 years, when he tried to sell it.

Don’t look at me that way!!!!

12/14- Roald Amundsen becomes the 1st person to reach the South Pole.

I completely recommend The Last Place On Earth for more information on the quest to conquer the South Pole.

AMERICAN LEAGUE	NATIONAL LEAGUE
AVG: TY COBB(DET)- .420 JOE JACKSON(CLE)- .408   SAM CRAWFORD(DET)- .378	AVG: HONUS WAGNER(PIT)- .334 DOC MILLER(BOS)- .333 FRED CLARKE(PIT)- .324
HRS: FRANK BAKER(PHI)- 11 TY COBB(DET)- 8 TRIS SPEAKER(BOS)- 8	HRS: WILDFIRE SCHULTE(CHI)- 21 FRED LUDERUS(PHI)- 16 SHERRY MAGEE (PHI)- 15
RBI: TY COBB(DET)- 127 FRANK BAKER(PHI)- 115 SAM CRAWFORD(DET)- 115	RBI: WILDFIRE SCHULTE(CHI)- 107 CHIEF WILSON(PIT)- 107 FRED LUDERUS(PHI)- 99
WINS: JACK COOMBS(PHI)-28 ED WALSH(CHI)-27 WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 25	WINS:GROVER ALEXANDER(PHI)-28 CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)- 26   RUBE MARQUARD(NY)- 24
KS: ED WALSH(CHI)- 255 SMOKY JOE WOOD(BOS)- 231 WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 207	KS: RUBE MARQUARD(NY)- 237 GROVER ALEXANDER(PHI)- 227 NAP RUCKER(BRO)- 190
ERA: VEAN GREGG(CLE)- 1.88 WALTER JOHNSON(WAS)- 1.90 SMOKY JOE WOOD(BOS)- 2.02	ERA: CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)- 1.99 LEW RITCHIE(CHI)- 2.31 BABE ADAMS(PIT)- 2.33
MVP: TY COBB(DET)                                     .420-8-127	MVP: WILDFIRE SCHULTE                                   .300-21-107
CY YOUNG: ED WALSH(CHI)                                     27-18, 2.22	CY YOUNG: CHRISTY MATHEWSON(NY)                                     26-13, 1.99
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: VEAN GREGG(CLE)                                       23-7, 1.80	ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: GROVER ALEXANDER(PHI)                                      28-12, 2.57

NOTE: The Cy Young and Rookie of the Year winners are based on a SABR vote.

Who’s In The Hall Of Fame?- Willard Brown

 

 

 

Willard Jesse Brown played 15 seasons in the Negro Leagues all with the Kansas City Monarchs retiring in 1951. He was nicknamed “Home Run” a moniker given to him by another slugger by the name of Josh Gibson. Brown lead the Monarchs to 6 pennants while leading the league in home runs 8x, while also consistently hitting over .300. He was also a 2x Triple Crown winner in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

In 1947 he was signed by Bill Veeck to play for the St. Louis Browns. He played in just 21 games and hit .179. Unable to acclimate himself to the major leagues he was cut, never to play in the majors again. He did hit the 1st American League home run by an African-American when he hit an inside-the-parker off Hal Newhouser. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Book Review- Baseball Miscellany

Baseball Miscellany- Matthew Silverman

Skyhorse Publishing Inc

New York, NY

www.skyhorsepublishing.com

180 Pages

$14.95

Who invented baseball?

Why is the spitball illegal?

Who won the first World Series?

BASEBALL MISCELLANY

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Baseball

By Matthew Silverman

Baseball history goes back as far as you are willing to chase it. Bat and ball games can be traced to ancient Egypt and 18^th century England – and to a cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York, for those who like their baseball tales told tall. But no matter where or when the very first version of baseball was played, every game since has been both utterly different and remarkably the same, uniting fans and making it one of the most beloved pastimes in history.

In Baseball Miscellany, readers will find fascinating and unexpected answers to twenty-seven miscellaneous questions (the same number as there are outs required for a nine-inning win!) about their favorite game, such as:

· How does a curveball curve?

· Who wrote “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”?

· Why don’t all teams have player names on the backs of their uniforms?

· Why is there ivy on the walls at Wrigley Field?

· And much, much more!

For the answers to these and many other questions you may never have even realized you didn’t know the answers to, you’ll have to look inside. The fascinating history and lore of our national pastime is finally revealed!

Baseball Miscellany demystifies the origins and customs of America’s most celebrated game; from spring training through the World Series, you’ll be entertained with fun, little-known facts.

Settle into your favorite arm chair, grab some peanuts or Cracker Jacks, and become an expert on all things related to baseball. Batter up!

 

Matthew Silverman is the author of several books, including Mets Essential, and 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. He also edited Total Baseball and Total Football for Total Sports Publishing.

Judging a book by it’s title can lead you to miss out on a pretty decent book. I had this book pegged as just another anecdotal baseball “history” book full of cute little stories. Such as a baseball that was hit 300 miles because it landed in a fruit truck that was heading to Newark, or a minor league game that was called because of a solar eclipse. Nice stories, maybe based on facts, maybe not, but in the end who really cares.

Once I read the introduction of the book, I knew this was not going to be one of those books. Silverman acknowledges John Thorn and Bill Nowlin, both of whose work I admire, as well as several websites that I visit on an almost daily basis. Baseball Almanac, Baseball Fever, SABR, Seamheads.com, and Mental Floss. He also acknowledges David Block, Cait Murphy, Bill James and Rob Neyer, all of whom have a place on my bookshelf. Add the fact that he is a fellow member of SABR, and my expectations for this book increased dramatically.

Each of the 27 chapters of the book answers a different baseball question. Within each chapter there are small sections entitled; Baseball Defined, Did You Know?, and Quotable.

Baseball Defined features a baseball term and discusses its meaning and origins. Terms such as “can of corn” and the often discussed “bullpen” origins are presented. Did You Know touches on different pieces of baseball facts, and the Quotable section is of coarse a baseball related quote; some very familiar and others that I had not heard before.

Some of the chapters that I enjoyed covered the on deck circle, softball, and what is a Met? All possible mundane topics, but made enjoyable by Silverman’s approach.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to baseball books, or any non-fiction book that I read is that there are never enough pictures for me. This book is loaded with photos, which is great, but they are also the books biggest drawback. When discussing the origins of the “Green Monster” a contemporary photo is provided. I would have liked to have seen a photo from 1912 as well. In the chapter discussing the position of shortstop we are treated to a picture of Tony Bernazard? Were Luis Aparicio or Ozzie Smith  unavailable? The chapter on baseball managers featured Dallas Green? I’m assuming this was do to copyright issues  that would have affected the publishing costs, but I would have liked to have seen a better selection of photos. Most of the pictures provided were taken by the author as well as his contributors, some of which added nothing to an otherwise fine baseball book.

If you’re a knowledgeable baseball fan many of the questions covered  will be familiar to you, but Silverman still manages to keep it interesting and enjoyable. He doesn’t bog you down with stats and his writing is easy going and humorous. All questions were obviously thoroughly researched as well.

If you’re a younger baseball fan and think that nothing interesting happened before the steroid era, then this book is definitely for you. It’s full of a lot of baseball information, much of which you are probably unfamiliar with, but it’s things you need to know about the game of baseball and it’s history. My 22 year old son will be reading this book next.

I hope Matthew Silverman has another 27 baseball questions that he’s going to answer for us. I look forward to it, but please, no Tony Bernazard.

 

Baseball Card/Memorabilia Reminiscing

Take a look at this fresh-faced 19 year old outfielder for the Maysville team in the Blue Grass League of 1910. Does he look familiar? He’s a 9X World Series champion. He’s in the Hall of Fame. Still don’t recognize this baseball icon?

He’s been quoted as saying, “Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa.” And, “Son, we’d like to keep you around this season but we’re going to try and win a pennant." And this one, “Can’t anybody here play this game?"

Yes, it’s the Old Professor himself, Casey Stengel. Did you ever think Casey Stengel was ever 19 years old?

This card is from the not so famous 1910 T210 Old Mill Tobacco card set. There are over 600 cards in the set and feature Minor League players from the Southeast United States. They feature players from the South Atlantic League, the Texas League, and the aforementioned Blue Grass League among the 8 leagues represented. The set also included Joe Jackson, Hank Gowdy and Fred Toney among 100’s of unknowns. The Jackson and Stengel cards are 2 of the most prized and sought after tobacco cards ever produced.

There are less than 15 known examples of the Stengel card, less than the infamous T206 Honus Wagner card. This particular card sold at auction in 2006 for $20,880.00. $20,000+ for a card PSA rated VG 3. Wow. That might even put Casey at a loss for words.