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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM August 20, 1912 ... With Joe Wood on the mound, the Red Sox steamrolled the Detroit Tigers to the tune of a 6 to 2 score. If the Red Sox had perfect fielding, the visitors would not have scored a run, but little slips will come to the best players, and the first Tiger went across the plate when Heinie Wagner threw a shade wide to first on a try for a doubleplay in the fourth inning. The other Detroit run was simply a gift as little attention was paid to Sam Crawford in the ninth-inning by Wood. Joe was after the batter and Sam got around on a single, two outs, and a passed ball by Hick Cady. Wood was on edge, with bundles of speed and a rare assortment of curves and drops to mystify that heavy hitters of the Tigers. He had Ty Cobb eating out of the palm of his hand. Jean Dubuc was on the mound for the opponents, who up until a recent defeat had won 12 games in succession and had given Boston a heap of trouble all throughout the season. He pitched hard, but his undoing was a result of two line drives by Neil Ball against the left-field wall, with men on base each time in the third and the seventh innings. In those innings the Red Sox scored two runs in each frame. Cady walked to open up the third, but was forced by Wood. After Harry Hooper flied out, Ball hit the left-field fence for two bases to score Joe. Tris Speaker took his time at the plate to give Wood a chance to catch his breath and drew a walk. He then stole second and Ball scored from third when the baseball was played at second for Speaker, and on the return throw to the plate, catcher Oscar Stanage was badly spiked in the knee and taken out of the game. His replacement, Brad Kocher, had no chance of stopping the Speed Boys on the bases. Tris Speaker brought the crowd to their feet when, in the sixth inning and the score being 2 to 1 in Boston's favor, Ty Cobb singled and started for second on the hit and run. Crawford stung the ball hard and it went tearing out over second base, less than 5 feet from the ground. Speaker ran in and with a dive, took the ball off his shoe tops, rolled over, got up and threw the ball to Clyde Engel at first for a doubleplay. The Red Sox scored two of their own in the same inning on Speaker's single, a pass and a steal by Engle. This was all followed by a single to left by Heinie Wagner. A 4 to 1 lead looked good, but the Red Sox just to make sure, got after Dubuc in the seventh inning for two more on Wood's single, a double by Ball and Speaker's single, making it 6 to 1. Hick Cady showed himself to be a real asset in the first inning. Davy Jones led off with a hit and Ossie Bush laid one down in the front yard. Hick when after the ball and cut it like a shot to Wagner at second for the force out. Engle played a smooth game at first and was also was the first Boston man to find Dubuc for a safe base hit. With the bases full in the third inning, Ty Cobb hit a sharp grounder that Wood played like a shot to Cady and the ball was rifled back to first for a great double play. In fact it was two doubleplays by the home team that put the Tigers out of the running. Larry Gardner had an off day at third, making some remarkably clever plays, but slipping up on easy ones which were probably caused undoubtedly by the slippery playing field. It had rained earlier and the field was in poor condition. |
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