|
“DIARY OF A WINNER”
|
FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM July 20, 1912 ... With 22,000 baseball enthusiasts keyed up to the highest pitch, the Red Sox and Chicago White Sox put up a battle yesterday at Fenway Park that was a real thriller, a scrap in which both teams played perfect baseball and the hair-raising situations were numerous. The fans' joy knew no bounds the instant Bill Carrigan connected with one of Ed Walsh's fastballs and sent it spinning to centerfield and sending Duffy Lewis home with the winning run in the ninth-inning, making the score 3 to 2 in favor of the Speed Boys. It was a last game of the series and Jimmy Callahan, the Chicago manager, was dead set on taking it as he had in the opening game, but Boston, having won three straight, was eager to make it four and they love nothing more than pressing the spikes deep into the reputation of Big Ed Walsh. No game was ever fought with more determination by the home team. The Sox had an early lead of two runs on good hitting, scoring one in the first inning on a screaming double by Steve Yerkes and a single by Tris Speaker. Then in the second inning Jake Stahl made a perfect connection with a fast one, to see it go soaring out over the left-field wall. With Charley Hall on edge, there was a heap of trouble in store for the men from the Lakeside. However, Hall was wild at times and while holding his opponents to the same number of seven hits that was scored off Walsh, he was too generous with his free passes. Morrie Rath alone, was hit once and passed three times in five times at bat. In the second inning, with men at second and third, Hall got the next two men on strikes and an out at first. In the fourth, Ping Bodie doubled and Matty McIntyre got a base hit resulting in one run. Chicago tied the score in the fifth when with one down, Rath walked and scored on a nice triple by Callahan. The manager then tried to score on a grounder to Larry Gardner, but he was nipped at the plate. The bases were still occupied when McIntyre grounded out to Jake Stahl, ending the threat, with the score now tied at 2 to 2. After Stahl's home run, Walsh commenced to pitch his best game and kept it up until the sixth inning, when Speaker opened with a double, taking advantage of Bodie, who was taken it easy on the play. Lewis tried to sacrifice, but eventually gave up and hit one to short. Buck Weaver made a sensational throw to third, where he got Speaker. With one gone in the seventh inning, Heinie Wagner hit one to centerfield that made it to the fence for three bases, but he was cut off at the plate on Carrigan's bunt that Eddie Collins fielded cleanly with a perfect throw.
Then came the ninth-inning. With one, Rath walked and tried for second base, where Wagner made a sensational leaping grab of Carrigan's high throw and slapped down the tag for the out. It was now up to Boston in the ninth. With the crowd worked up to a fever pitch after Lewis singled to right and went to second on a short passed ball by the catcher Billy Sullivan. Larry Gardner sacrificed and with Lewis at third, when a long fly ball would score him, Callahan, Harry Lord and Walsh had a conference on the mound. Callahan wanted Walsh passing Jake Stahl, who was having a big day. On his way back to the dugout he turned around and told Walsh to pass Heinie Wagner also. He figured that by filling up the bases he had a good chance for a doubleplay and wanted to play that angle. The infield came up close but the shortstop and secondbaseman moved a little further back to the edge of the grass. If the ball was sharply hit to either one of them there were going to try for a doubleplay at second base the first. If there was any doubt, the ball would go to the plate for the force out and hopefully make it to first for a doubleplay that way, as Carrigan is not a fast runner. It was a case and good judgment because when the ball was put in play there was a chance to head off the winning run. Carrigan was more likely to hit a ground ball than either Stahl or Wagner and this is what Jimmy Callahan wanted. The crowd was howling like mad when Carrigan finally came up to the plate, but he was cool and collected. Walsh pitched one for a ball and the next one for a strike. Carrigan figured out that Ed would take no chances of getting in the hole, where passing him forced home the winning run so he was ready for the next ball to come right over the plate. It came fast and true to the center of the plate, just above the knees, and Carrigan lashed it hard out to centerfield, sending home Lewis, who was jumping up and down as he crossed the plate. The Chicago players walked off the field, a most disgusted a lot of players, while the Red Sox ran from their bench to surround Carrigan. The fans cheered and cheered and cheered, as the team left the field after one of the most sensational games of the year. |
.jpg)
.jpg) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
 |
 |
