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LARRY "NAP" LAJOIE |
FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM
The Red Sox knock Vean Gregg
out of the box
August 24, 1912
...
A crowd of 22,000 fans made their way to Fenway Park this afternoon to
watch what would start out to be a pitching contest between Vean Gregg,
the smooth Cleveland left-hander, and Smoky Joe Wood of the Red Sox. Wood
went through the game with very little effort, while Gregg was wild at
times and also ran into several timely drives off the bats of the Red Sox,
all of which caused his retirement after four innings. The Speed Boys won
the game by an 8 to 4 score, making it three out of the four games played
in the series and 11 wins in the 18 overall games played with the Naps.
The day was perfect for baseball and the Park was picture-perfect, with
the boxes and seats in the big stands and bleachers filled to overflowing.
Harry Davis and his Cleveland players were out for a killing. Gregg had
shutout the Red Sox in a 1 to 0 game on his last appearance at Fenway Park, and
he was tuned up for this one, the last game played against Boston this year. In
the very first inning, Neil Ball and Tris Speaker pulled off a double steal with
one out. The play was close to third and Ivy Olson ran across the field to give
the umpire an argument for his call, but the response was that the Cleveland
captain was ordered to the dugout for the remainder of the game. Ball scored on
a ground ball down the first, and Clyde Engle brought down the house with a
great drive to centerfield that scored two runs. With Joe Wood sharp, it looked
like a serious task for the visitors to come back, being down 3 to 0.
Larry Lajoie scored one run in the fourth inning on his single, a steal and a
base hit by Joe Jackson. It was in this inning that the home players put a crimp
in Gregg, scoring four more runs on a pass, singles by Heinie Wagner and Wood, a
double by Harry Hooper and a single by Speaker. The Red Sox runners were able to
run the bases as they liked off catcher Steve O'Neill, accompanied by the fact
that Gregg was very wild.
George Kaler came back to pitch the last four innings, or three hits and one
run. That run came on Harry Hooper's double and Speaker's single. After being up
in the game 7 to 1 in the fourth inning, the Red Sox seemed to take things
rather easy. The Naps scored their second run in the sixth inning on Buddy
Ryan's single that shot past Ball, off his gloved hand, only to have his finger
broken. He'll be out of the game for some time as result. Singles by Jackson and
Lajoie scored the second run. The third run came in the eighth-inning on a pass,
a passed ball, and a fumble by Larry Gardner. Three Naps pinch hitters went into
the game in the ninth and managed to work only one man around on a single by
O'Neill after Heinie Wagner's fumble and a wild throw to first, along with a
passed ball.
One of the best things in the game was the fielding of Steve Yerkes at
second. Yerkes excepted six chances, three of which were on sharp drives that he
had to gather in on the run. Joe Wood had eight strikeouts for the Red Sox and
Larry Lajoie did most of the hitting against him, cracking out safe drives in
his first three at-bats. |
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