Baseball Revisited

May 30, 2011

DMB 1911 World Series-Game #2

Filed under: 1911,World Series — Kevin Graham @ 9:22 am
Tags: , ,

NOTE: The Philadelphia A’s beat the NY Giants in 6 games in the actual 1911 World Series.

10/16/1911 @ Shibe Park

Rube Marquard vs Eddie Plank

MARQUARD DOES IT ALL AS GIANTS WIN 2ND GAME

rube_marquard Rube Marquard is often cited as the worst starting pitcher to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

When facing Rube Marquard you can’t control him, you can only hope to beat him….? you can beat him but you can’t contain him….?…….(Insert Sportcenter cliche here) Hopefully you get the idea.

Rube Marquard struck out a DMB World Series record 11 A’s and scored all 3 Giant runs on his way to a 7 hit complete game shutout. Marquard tripled to lead off the 3rd inning and scored on Josh Devore’s sac fly. That was all he needed for his win, but just to make sure, he scored in the 5th and 7th inning as well.

Marquard’s 11 strikeouts topped the 10 registered by Cy Young in the 1903 DMB World Series against the Pirates.

10/16/1911, NYN11-PhA11, Shibe Park
                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
1911 Giants            0  0  1  0  1  0  1  0  0     3  6  2     6  0
1911 Athletics         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0     0  7  2    10  0

Giants               AB  R  H BI   AVG    Athletics            AB  R  H BI   AVG
Devore            lf  3  0  1  1  .143    Lord              lf  5  0  1  0  .100
Doyle,L           2b  4  0  1  1  .143    Oldring           cf  4  0  0  0  .333
Snodgrass         cf  4  0  1  1  .375    Collins           2b  4  0  1  0  .375
Murray,R          rf  4  0  0  0  .125    Baker             3b  4  0  1  0  .333
Merkle            1b  4  0  1  0  .125    Murphy            rf  4  0  2  0  .429
Herzog            3b  4  0  0  0  .000    Davis             1b  3  0  0  0  .000
Fletcher          ss  3  0  0  0  .000     McInnis          ph  1  0  0  0  .500
Meyers            c   4  0  1  0  .333    Barry             ss  4  0  1  0  .250
Marquard          p   4  3  1  0  .250    Thomas            c   4  0  1  0  .125
                     34  3  6  3          Plank             p   2  0  0  0  .000
                                           Lapp             ph  0  0  0  0  .000
                                                               35  0  7  0
Giants                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Marquard         W 1-0           9.0  7  0  0  1 11 135  88  0.00
                                 9.0  7  0  0  1 11 135  88
Athletics                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Plank            L 0-1           9.0  6  3  2  2  4 131  85  2.00
                                 9.0  6  3  2  2  4 131  85
PhA: McInnis batted for Davis in the 9th
     Lapp batted for Plank in the 9th

E-Doyle,L 2, Murphy, Davis. 2B-Thomas(1). 3B-Marquard(1). RBI-Devore(1),
Doyle,L(1), Snodgrass(2). SB-Devore(1). K-Doyle,L 2, Snodgrass, Marquard,
Lord, Oldring, Collins, Baker, Davis 2, Barry, Thomas 2, Plank 2. BB-Devore,
Fletcher, Lapp. SH-Plank.
GWRBI: Devore
Temperature: 70, Sky: clear, Wind: in from left at 12 MPH.

May 29, 2011

Baseball Card/Memorabilia Reminiscing

Filed under: baseball card reminiscing — Kevin Graham @ 12:13 pm
Tags: ,

 

 

Remember the good old days when tobacco companies could target children by inserting baseball cards into their cigarette packs? Those were more innocent times, without government regulation to mess up a good thing. It’s not like Joe Camel ever appealed to children. Why would anybody ever think that cherry flavored chewing tobacco would appeal to children? That’s just being silly.

Anyway, back in the 19th Century, baseball cards in cigarette packs were all the rage, and in 1888  S.F. Hess&Co put together a tobacco card set featuring newsboys from 8 different city newspapers. The N333 Newsboy League Cards represented papers from Albany, Rochester, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, and Syracuse. Approximately 50 different newsboys were featured. Most of the cards included the player’s last name, his position, and the newspaper he hawked for. Some of the newsboys remained anonymous. Maybe mom intervened.

newsboy1Holmes, Catcher

newsboy2Yeomans, Sub

newsboy2Mayer, Pitcher

newsboy3McDowell, CF

newsboy4

Mahoney, SS

I would love to know the story of these proud ball players. What became of them? Did they grow up to be captains of industry, or doctors, or just proud parents that passed their love of a game on to their children?

May 28, 2011

1911 DMB World Series-Game #1

Filed under: 1911,World Series — Kevin Graham @ 5:33 pm
Tags: , ,

NOTE: The Philadelphia A’s beat the NY Giants in 6 games in the actual 1911 World Series.

 

 

GAME #1 10/14/1911 @ Polo Grounds

Christy Mathewson vs Chief Bender

Cmathewson If anybody has this particular baseball card, and no longer wants it, you know how to reach me.

GIANTS’ 8TH INNING RALLY WINS GAME 1

As discussed before, here,  the Diamond Mind software does not like Christy Mathewson. He consistently underperforms, and this game shaped up to be more of the same.

Mathewson dodged bullet after bullet, allowing base runners in every inning except the 2nd, and loading the bases in 3 separate innings.  Despite giving up 14 hits and 2 walks, Mathewson allowed just one earned run.

The A’s scored 1st when Jack Barry laced a 2 out single to score Frank Baker from 3rd. Chief Bender took that 1-0 lead into the 8th inning, having allowed just a 7th inning single to Eddie Collins. Chief Meyers singled to open the inning, and after Harry Davis booted a groundball at 1st base the Giants had runners on the corners with 2 outs. Fred Snodgrass grounded a seeing eye single into left, and Red Murray unloaded with a booming 2 run triple to center to give the Giants a 3-1 lead.

Mathewson and the DMB software refused to go quietly into the night. Pinch hitter Stuffy McInnis singled with 1 out, and Larry Doyle booted a potential game ending double play grounder to put 2 runners on. After a ground out, Eddie Collins banged an rbi single to make the score 3-2. With runners on the corners, Mathewson faced his 1911 nemesis Frank-soon to be Home Run-Baker. But this time Mathewson came out on top by striking out Baker to end the game.

 

10/14/1911, PhA11-NYN11, Polo Grounds
1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
1911 Athletics         0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1     2 12  3    11  0
1911 Giants            0  0  0  0  0  0  0  3  x     3  4  2     5  2

Athletics            AB  R  H BI   AVG    Giants               AB  R  H BI   AVG
Lord              lf  5  1  0  0  .000    Devore            lf  4  1  0  0  .000
Oldring           cf  5  0  3  0  .600    Doyle,L           2b  3  1  0  0  .000
Collins           2b  4  0  2  1  .500    Snodgrass         cf  4  1  2  1  .500
Baker             3b  5  1  2  0  .400    Murray,R          rf  4  0  1  2  .250
Murphy            rf  3  0  1  0  .333    Merkle            1b  4  0  0  0  .000
Davis             1b  4  0  0  0  .000    Herzog            3b  2  0  0  0  .000
Barry             ss  4  0  1  1  .250    Fletcher          ss  3  0  0  0  .000
Thomas            c   4  0  0  0  .000    Meyers            c   2  0  1  0  .500
Bender            p   3  0  2  0  .667    Mathewson         p   2  0  0  0  .000
McInnis          ph  1  0  1  0 1.000                         28  3  4  3
38  2 12  2
Athletics                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Bender           L 0-1           8.0  4  3  0  2  3 112  69  0.00
8.0  4  3  0  2  3 112  69
Giants                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Mathewson        W 1-0           9.0 12  2  1  2  4 115  73  1.00
9.0 12  2  1  2  4 115  73
PhA: McInnis batted for Bender in the 9th

E-Davis, Barry 2, Doyle,L, Herzog. 2B-Baker(1). 3B-Murray,R(1).
RBI-Collins(1), Barry(1), Snodgrass(1), Murray,R 2(2). CS-Barry. K-Lord,
Baker, Davis, Barry, Doyle,L, Merkle, Mathewson. BB-Collins, Murphy, Doyle,L,
Meyers. SH-Herzog, Mathewson.
GWRBI: Murray,R
Temperature: 49, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 12 MPH.

May 25, 2011

Who’s In The Hall of Fame-Barney Dreyfuss

Filed under: Uncategorized — Kevin Graham @ 3:58 pm

Barney_dreyfuss

Barney Dreyfuss owned the National League Louisville Colonels until they disbanded in 1899. “Luckily” Dreyfuss was able to purchase the Pittsburg Pirates and bring along his best players from the Colonels. Coming over to the Pirates in 1900 would be Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Tommy Leach, Jack Chesbro, and Deacon Phillippe. The Pirates were now a very good team, and Dreyfuss wanted to show off his team. In 1903 he challenged the American League Pennant winning Boston Americans to a post season championship, a World Series if you may. It has met with some success since then.

Dreyfuss is considered the Father of the modern World Series. Despite his Pirates losing to Boston in the inaugural World Series, Dreyfuss was still proud of his players. So much so that he donated his share of the profits to his players. The losing Pirates actually took home a larger share than the winning Americans.

During Dreyfuss’ tenure as owner, a span of 32 years, the Pirates won 6 pennants and 2 World Series, while finishing third or better 21 times.

Dreyfuss died in 1932 at the age of 66. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2008

May 21, 2011

More 1911 Philadelphia A’s Goodness

Filed under: History — Kevin Graham @ 11:44 am
Tags:

 

athletics_newheader

The Forgotten Champions

I just came across this blog dedicated to the 1911 Philadelphia A’s.

From the website:

2011 marks the 100-year anniversary of the Philadelphia Athletics’ championship 1911 season.  This site will chart the course of the season as it unfolds through October in real time (well, real time plus 100 years).
When the Athletics decamped to Kansas City and later to Oakland, they left behind a proud legacy in their former home – nine pennants, five world series titles (more championships than any other Philadelphia sports team), five 100-win seasons, rosters full of baseball legends, and the unmatched record of 50-year manager Connie Mack.
The local fans came to fully embrace the Phillies, and current A’s fans naturally look on their own hometown championships more fondly, leaving a fading legacy of greatness for the original Athletics.  When a team moves to a new city and leaves their fan base behind, their history tends to get orphaned in the process.
This site will give lovers of baseball in Philadelphia and everywhere else a chance to look back and live vicariously through those 1911 fans as they watch their hometown A’s climb to the top of baseball’s heap.
We’ll look at the games the team played and the players who took the field that season.   The outcome is already in the record books, but let’s enjoy the ride together throughout the summer.

It’s a well put together site(I’m jealous) with box scores, updated standings, game accounts, photos, and a ton of interesting baseball information. Tim Ifill’s writing style(I’m jealous) makes this a very enjoyable read. He’s already up to May 20th, so I suggest you head on over and do some catching up.

1911 World Series: Philadelphia A’s vs NY Giants

Filed under: 1911,World Series — Kevin Graham @ 11:12 am
Tags: , , ,

                                                               

                                       nygiants             a'sNY GIANTS VS  PHILADELPHIA A’S

The 101-50 A’s take on the 99-54 Giants. Connie Mack vs John McGraw in their 2nd World Series matchup. The A’s and Giants met in the 2nd World Series in 1905. The World Series that crowned Christy Mathewson as the best pitcher in baseball. 3 complete game shutouts for the Big Train, a feat that will never be matched.

Unfortunately for Mathewson the result will not be the same. The A’s will win this World Series in 6 games, with Mathewson taking the loss in 2 of the games, and Frank Baker will forever be called Home Run Baker because of his 2 noteworthy home runs.

1911 program 10 cents for a program and the Giants’ owner John T Brush on the cover. His deteriorating health would lead to his death in Nov. 1912.

GAME #1

10/14/1911, Polo Grounds, Christy Mathewson vs Chief Bender

Giants 2

A’s      1

A pitcher’s duel that saw Chief Bender strike out 11 for the A’s, and saw Christy Mathewson retire the last 11 batters he faced.

Harry Davis singled in the soon to be Home Run Baker in the 2nd, and the Giants tied the score at 1 in the 4th without the benefit of a hit, as Eddie Collins booted a 2 out groundball allowing Fred Snodgrass to score. In the 7th Josh Devore’s 2 out double scored  Chief Meyers with the game winner.

GAME #2

10/16/1911, Shibe Park, Eddie Plank vs Rube Marquard

A’s       3

Giants  1

Home Run Baker hit a game winning 2 run home run off Rube Marquard in the 6th inning. Josh Devore the hero of game 1, struck out 4 times against Eddie Plank, as the A’s evened the series at 1. Christy Mathewson would criticize Marquard for allowing Baker to hit the decisive home run. Something he would soon regret.

GAME #3

10/17/1911, Polo Grounds, Christy Mathewson vs Jack Coombs

A’s     3

Giants  2   (11)

Leading 1-0 in the 9th, Christy Mathewson created a legend when he allowed a game tying home run to Home Run Baker. The A’s would score 2 runs in the 11th on 3 singles and 2 errors. In the last of the 11th the Giants scored a run to pull to within 3-2. Beals Becker was thrown out stealing to end the game. Some guy named Ruth did the same thing.  Josh Devore struck out in his 1st at bat giving him 5 straight whiffs over 2 games.

GAME #4

10/24/1911, Shibe Park, Chief Bender vs Christy Mathewson

A’s     4

Giants  2

After 6 days of rain, Game 4 featured a rematch of game 1, but this time with different results. The A’s pounded Mathewson for 10 hits, 7 of them doubles, in just 7 innings.

GAME #5

10/25/1911, Polo Grounds, Jack Coombs vs. Rube Marquard

Giants  4

A’s       3  (10)

Rube Oldring hit a 3 run home run with 2 outs in the 3rd to stake the A’s to the early lead. The Giants scored a run in the 7th on a sac fly, and tied it in the 9th on a 2 out double from Doc Crandall, and a single from Josh Devore. In the 10th Larry Doyle lead off with a double and scored the game winner on a sac fly off the bat of Fred Merkle. Doyle scored on a beautiful fade away slide. Umpire Bill Klem would say later that Doyle never touched home plate, but the A’s never noticed.

Game #6

10/26/1911, Shibe Park, Chief Bender vs Red Ames

A’s     13

Giants  2

The A’s scored 4 runs in the 4th, and 7 runs in the 7th to win this game easily. The A’s banged out 13 hits, with Danny Murphy accounting for 4 of them.

Chief Bender won his 2nd game of the Series, while striking out 5 batters. The 20 strikeouts by Bender is still a record for a 6 game series.

Bill Dineen, the winner of 3 games in the 1903 World Series worked this series as an umpire.

In the series the Giants hit just .175 with no home runs, while the A’s hit .244 with 3 long balls.

The total attendance was an impressive 179,851, with the winning player’s share amounting to a whopping $3655.

May 15, 2011

DNB Worlds Series Replay Biography- Fred Snodgrass

Filed under: Biography — Kevin Graham @ 1:46 pm
Tags: , , ,

Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass, “Snow”

Born: 10/19/1887, Ventura, Ca.

Died: 4/5/1974, Ventura, Ca

snodgrass

Who hasn’t heard of Fred Snodgrass’ $30,000 muff in the 1912 World Series? A dropped fly ball that will live in infamy. The NY Giants were playing the Boston Red Sox in game 8 of the 1912 World Series. A previous game had been played to a tie. With the Giants leading 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th Christy Mathewson, pitching in his 338th inning of the season, coaxed a lazy fly ball off the bat of lead off hitter Clyde Engel. Fred Snodgrass settled under it and then dropped it, allowing Engle to reach 2nd. Snodgrass would never make excuses for the dropped ball, he would state that he just dropped it.

The next batter, Harry Hooper, crushed a deep drive to center that Snodgrass made a brilliant over the shoulder catch on, and his subsequent throw back to 2nd just missed doubling up Engel. Mathewson inexplicably walked Steve Yerkes, a .252 hitter that season to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Tris Speaker lifted a pop foul between home and 1st that dropped safely to the ground when Mathewson called for catcher Chief Meyers to catch the ball. A ball that should have been fielded by 1st baseman Fred Merkle. Given new life, Speaker singled in Engel for the tying run.  A Larry Gardner sac fly scored the winning run.

Did Merkle deserve the goat tag? With all things being equal, Tris Speaker should have been the 2nd out, and Gardner’s fly ball would have been the 3rd out. So no, Snodgrass probably didn’t deserve all the blame. McGraw, once again stood by his players and never laid any blame, giving Snodgrass a $1,000 raise in salary for the next season.

SnodgrassFredsObit

Snodgrass was signed by John McGraw in 1908 to play for the Giants after seeing him play in Los Angeles the year before. Snodgrass was signed as a catcher. At just 20 years old he made his debut on June 4, 1908. He had just 4 abs for the entire season, with 1 hit.

In 1909 Snodgrass hit a respectable .300, playing primarily outfield. In 1910 the speedy, hot-tempered Snodgrass was McGraw’s full-time center fielder. He contended most of the season for the NL batting title, leading the league heading into September. He eventually faded to .321 which was good for 4th in the league.

In 1911 he helped the Giants to the World Series, hitting .294, and stealing a career high 51 bases. In game 3 of the 1911 World Series, Snodgrass attempted to take 3rd on a passed ball. Realizing that he was not going to make it, he came in with spikes high on 3rd baseman Frank Baker, tearing the skin on Baker’s leg.  This was the 2nd aggressive slide into Baker in the series.

Following his infamous 1912 World Series, Snodgrass had another fine season, hitting .291. 1914 was his last full season with the Giants, hitting .263. After a terrible showing in 1915, Snodgrass was released by the Giants in August after hitting just .194 in 80 games. He was signed by the Boston Braves, showing signs of life with a .278 average over the remainder of the season. After hitting just .249 in 1916, Snodgrass was released at the end of the season by the Braves. He played for the Vernon Tigers in 1917, hitting .277. It would be his last year in professional baseball.

Upon retiring he became a successful banker and rancher in Oxnard. He served on the city council for several years and was elected Mayor in 1937.

He died at the age of 86 on April 5, 1974.

May 8, 2011

What’s On My Bookshelf-The Celebrant

Filed under: What's On My Bookshelf — Kevin Graham @ 8:47 pm
Tags: ,

The Celebrant- Eric Rolfe Greenberg

celebrant-novel

There have been many examples of baseball being compared to religion. The Church of Baseball, ala Annie Savoy, stadiums referred to as cathedrals, baseball traditions treated with an almost holy reverence, and a deification of many baseball legends, culminating with the ultimate baseball shrine nestled in the venerable village of Cooperstown. The Mecca of all baseball fans.

The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg written in 1983 is a celebration of one baseball player’s life through the narration of a celebrant and his iconic reverence of that ballplayer.

Jackie Kapp the son of Jewish immigrants is a jewelry designer in the family business. A former High School pitcher, that do to arm trouble, failed to achieve his dream of becoming a big league pitcher, finds himself in St Louis on a business trip with his brother Eli. Being baseball fans they head to Sportsman’s Park to catch a game. Jackie watches Christy Mathewson throw a no hitter, and is compelled to design a ring for Mathewson to commemorate his accomplishment.

Jackie’s relationship with Mathewson encompasses the narration, while including game accounts of some of Mathewson’s greatest games, including his 3 shutouts in the 1905 World Series. Worthy of another ring from Jackie.

This all leads up to the 1919 World Series. Jackie’s brother Eli gets first hand knowledge of the fix, and we get a sense of what Christy Mathewson was dealing with while covering the Series.

This book is a celebration of Christy Mathewson, his life and his death,  as well as a well written piece of historical fiction involving the Black Sox scandal of 1919.

If you’re a fan of early 20th Century baseball and Christy Mathewson, as well as being intrigued by the nefarious doings of the 1919 World Series, then this book will not disappoint.

Now, as usual, following a book review,  I’m compelled to reread this book. I guess that’s why we have bookshelves.

May 7, 2011

DMB World Series-1911 Philadelphia A’s

Filed under: 1911 — Kevin Graham @ 12:53 pm
Tags: , ,

191120Philadelphia

TOP: Harry Davis, Home Run Baker, Jack Coombs, Ben Hauser(did not play for A’s in 1911), Ira Thomas, Chief Bender, Claud Derrick, Cy Morgan, Pat Donahue(did not play with A’s in 1911)

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

BOTTOM: Topsy Hartsell, Tommy Atkins(did not play with 1911 A’s), Harry Krausse, Louis Vanzelet(mascot), Stuffy McInnis, Eddie Collins, Jack Barry

Connie Mack won his 2nd straight AL Pennant, beating out the Detroit Tigers by 13 games. The A’s started out slowly winning just 1 of their 1st 7 games and sported a 13-15 record on May 19, 12 games in back of the Tigers. They proceeded to win 13 out of 14 to get to within 5.5 games, then hung around 2nd place until August 4th, when they took over 1st place for good. The Tigers faded while the A’s thrived, winning the pennant easily by double digits.

The A’s lead the league with a .296 average and 861 runs scored. Their 35 home runs tied Boston for the league lead .

On the mound they sported a 3.01 ERA, good for 3rd, .27 behind Boston. The St. Louis Browns came in last in team ERA with a 3.86. Superb for 2011, only good for 105 losses in 1911.

At catcher the A’s had Ira Thomas. He played in just 103 games and hit just .273. This still placed him 8th in the MVP voting. He was backed up by Jack Lapp and his impressive .353 average.

The A’s infield averaged just a little over 23 years of age, but they all played like seasoned veterans, Stuffy McInnis was the youngest at 20 years old. He hit a strong .321 at 1st base. HOFers Eddie Collins and the soon to be HR Baker played 2nd and 3rd, hitting .365 and .334 respectively. Baker’s 11 home runs lead the league, the 1st of 4 straight home run crowns. His 115 rbis was good for 2nd, and his 38 steals tied Collins for the team lead. Baker also chipped in a team leading 42 doubles and 14 triples.

Rounding out the “$100,000” infield was Jack Barry at shortstop and his .265 average.

In the outfield Bris Lord, he of the unfortunate nickname, “The human eyeball”, hit .310. This would be his last fulltime season, retiring after the 1913 season. Rube Oldring hit .297 and the veteran Danny Murphy hit .329 with 6 home runs and 104 runs scored. 22 year old Amos Strunk, in his 4th season with the A’s hit .256 as the 4th outfielder.

On the mound the A’s were lead by Jack Coombs and his league leading 28 wins. Coombs lead the league with 40 starts, but he also lead the league in earned runs allowed with 132. His ERA of 3.53 was 5th among the A’s 5 starters. Eddie Plank won 23 games, his 2.10 ERA lead the team, while his 6 shutouts lead the league. Cy Morgan won 15, Chief Bender won 17, and Harry Krause won 11. These 5 guys would combine to start all but 9 games for the A’s.

The Philadelphia A’s and the newly crowned Home Run Baker will go on to beat the NY Giants in 6 games in the 1911 World Series.

May 1, 2011

DMB World Series-1911 NY Giants

Filed under: 1911 — Kevin Graham @ 9:57 am
Tags:

New_York_1911_Giants_team

1911 National League Champion NY Giants

Less than a week into the 1911 season the grandstands in the Polo Grounds were destroyed by fire. John McGraw and his Giants had to play their home games in Hilltop Park until repairs could be made. They would return to the Polo Grounds on June 28th. The inconvenience didn’t seem to bother the Giants at all as they still beat out the defending NL champion Chicago Cubs by 7.5 games, with a 99-54 record. The Giants hung around 3rd place never falling further than 3.5 games back until the end of August when they put together a hot streak, winning 19 of 23  games to take over 1st place for good on August 21.  This was McGraw’s 3rd NL pennant and 2nd World Series appearance.

The Giants scored 756 runs just 1 run behind the league leading  Cubs. They were 2nd in doubles(225) , and triples(103) as well, while finishing 4th in the league with just 41 home runs, 19 behind the league leading Phillies.  These Giants were all about getting on base and stealing a base. They lead the league with .358 OBP and 347 stolen bases. No other team in the league stole more than 300 bases.

At catcher the Giants had Chief Meyers and his .332 average. This lead the team and was good for 3rd in the league. Art Wilson was the primary back up. In 66 games he hit .303.

At just 22 years old Fred Merkle was the everyday 1st baseman. He hit .283 with 49 stolen bases, and a team leading 84 rbis. His 12 home runs were good for 4th in the league. Larry Doyle manned 2nd base and had one ofthe better seasons of his career. Hitting .310 with 13 home runs, 102 runs scored and a league leading 25 triples.

The Giants acquired Buck Herzog in a mid season trade with Boston for Hank Gowdy and Al Bridwell. Herzog took over 3rd base for an underperforming Art Devlin. Devlin would not appear in the World Series and was sold to Boston in the off season.

The speedy outfield Of Josh Devore, Fred Snodgrass, and Red Murray combined to hit .290 and steal 160 bases.

The Giants had 2-20 game winners lead by Christy Mathewson and his 26-13 W/L record and 1.99 ERA. Rube Marquard finally realized his potential winning 24 games and leading the league with 237 strikeouts. Red Ames(11), Hooks Wiltse(12) and reliever extraordinaire Doc Crandall(15) all won in double digits. Crandall started 15 games but relieved in 26 adding 5 saves to his 15 victories.

Giant good luck charm and self-proclaimed ace pitcher Charles Victory Faust  actually appeared in 2 games, pitching 2 innings while giving up just 1 run.

The Giants lost to the Philadelphia A’s in 6 games in the 1911 World Series.

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