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THE SUMMER OF .406 AND "THE STREAK" ...
Ted rampages past the Nationals
September
1, 1941 ... Riding the crest of Ted Williams'
latest slugging rampage, the Boston Red Sox swept their Labor Day
doubleheader with the Washington Nationals, by smashing counts of 12
to 9 and 10 to 2, delighting the 22,577 cash customers at Fenway
Park. For the last five days, Williams has been on a home run tear.
During his last six games, he has hit six and not only has his home run count
soared, but his RBI total has climbed to 106, placing him within reach of
Keller's 119.
These home runs he slammed against three different Washington pitchers and
were the first he has been able to knock out of the park against the pitching of
the Nationals this season. He broke his personal major league record for homers,
as his best mark had been the 31 that he knocked out during his freshman year in
1939. It also gave him a new mark for hitting home runs at Fenway Park, as he
picked up his 15th, 16th and 17th during the doubleheader.
While Joe Dobson turned in a brilliant five hitter to win the second game,
his performance was overshadowed by the Kid. Four times during the afternoon,
the Nationals intentionally walked Ted, and as one would expect, the fans did not
like it a bit.
His first home run opened the Boston fifth inning of the first game, as the
ball floated beyond the foul pole in right. His next belt drove in the tying and
winning runs in the eighth inning, as the ball traveled 420 feet into the
bleachers. The last home run came in the second game, when Ted propelled a three
and one pitch into the alley that separates the bleachers and grandstand in
right field.
The first game saw the Sox put on a seven runs splurge in the eighth-inning
with Washington leading 9 to 6. It changed what appeared to be a hopeless cause
for Sox pitching. Dobson's fine hit pitching and a six run explosion in the
sixth inning, sparked by the final Williams home run of the day, highlighted the
second game.
Although the Sox had given Mickey Harris, a 3 to 1 lead in the early innings
of the opener, the Nationals ganged up on the young left-hander for a five-run
drive in the fourth inning and continued their clubbing against relief pitcher
Mike Ryba, compiling a 9 to 6 lead, when the Sox came up in the eighth-inning.
In that inning, after Dom DiMaggio struck out, Pete Fox lashed a vicious
double into centerfield that put Lou Finney, who started things off with a walk,
on third-base. Skipper Joe Cronin then belted a single off the left centerfield
fence to bring his two outfielders across the plate. With Cronin representing
the tying run, the Nationals, who had shown their respect for Ted, by walking him
the first two times at bat, pitched a him this time and Ted took it deep, with
his 32nd home run, just inside the right-field foul pole in deep right. That
gave the Sox a 10 to 9 lead, sending the fans into a frenzy.
Before the inning closed however, a single by Jimmy Foxx, a double by Bobby
Doerr, a pass to Skeeter Newsome and a long two base clout into right-center by
Finney, produced three more and iced the verdict for Nelson Potter, who was the
third of four pitchers that Cronin called upon during the game.
The Sox had to come from behind again, to win the second game. Washington had
scored twice in the second inning on a single by Cecil Travis, a triple by
Mickey Vernon and a long fly by George Archie. One of these runs was answered
for in the Boston half of the inning, when Ted reached second base with a line
drive into left, that Buddy Lewis dropped for a two base error. Ted was chased
across by Double-X with a single into centerfield.
Washington lead by one run until the fourth inning, when with one out, Ted
drew his third walk of the day and took second on another base hit by Foxx.
After Doerr struck out, successive singles by Frankie Pytlak and Skeeter
Newsome, combined with an error by George Case, gave the Sox three runs and a
lead they never relinquished.
The amazing Kid started the six run Red Sox attack in the sixth inning that
clinched the game, with his final home run of the afternoon that he deposited in
the runway separating the grandstand from the bleachers. Following this blast,
five more runs came home on singles by Doerr, Pytlak, Dobson and DiMaggio,
another miscue by Case, and a double by Cronin. Ted again came to bat for the
second time in the inning, but this time received his fourth intentional pass.
Williams newest assault against enemy pitching, brought him the major league
home run leadership and jacked up his batting average to .410. He clouted three
home runs during the sweltering matinee, the second of which enabled the Sox to
overhaul Washington in the eighth inning of the opening game. The three home
runs raised his season's total to 34, giving him a lead of one over the Yankees'
Charlie Keller. |
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