Introducing the Footnote League

[luckymann]

AL ALL BUT DONE AS HIGHLANDERS CONSOLIDATE THEIR BIG LEAD

NL ANYTHING BUT, AS IT REMAINS A THREE-WAY RACE

Notable Performances

• 2nd: Ryan Dempster pitches a 6-hit shutout with 8 strikeouts as the Phillies easily take care of the Cards 5-0. Meanwhile, Brooklyn puts on a clinic as they rack up 21 hits – with every player including pitcher Duane Pillette getting one – in a 17-3 romp over a dreadful Reds outfit.
• 7th: Washington’s Dad Hale pitches a three-hitter to give his side a 6-0 home win over Chicago. Over in the NL, 5 hits and an RBI by SS Mickey Witek aren’t enough to stop the Phillies losing 6-4 to the Reds.
• 11th: Pol Perritt blanks the slumping Giants on 7 hits and shortstop JP Crawford has 4 hits and 3 ribbies in a 12-0 cakewalk for the Cards. The loss is New York’s 10th in 11 games.
• 14th: a good day for both St. Louis clubs sees the Browns win 1-0 against the A’s on a Pat Ragan two-hitter and the Cards smash the Giants 13-1 thanks in part to JP Crawford’s 4-for-5 / 2B / 3B / 4 RBI effort.
• 15th: the Americans come back from 4-1 down against the White Sox, scoring 2 in the 8th and then winning it with another 2 in the 9th, with second-baseman Jerry Remy the walkoff hero. They carry it over into a big 15-5 win the following day led by Oscar Charleston, who has 4 hits including 3 triples and drives in 2.
• 18th: Cincy RF David Murphy has a 5-hit game with 5 ribbies in a 14-4 thrashing of the Beaneaters.
• 19th: busy day in the AL as Heinie Peitz’s 5-hit game leads the Sens to a 9-5 win over Cleveland, Andy Messersmith shuts out New York on 5 hits in an 8-0 win for the White Sox, and the Americans save it late, scoring all of their runs in the 9th to pinch a 5-1 win from the Tigers. Over in the NL, a 5-hit barrage by Joe Pepitone is a key factor in Cincy’s 9-8 win over Boston.
• 23rd: the Cards post a 6-spot in the top 9th to get past the slumping Beaneaters 7-3, while the charging Phillies also get a late win, scoring all their runs in the 8th and 9th in a 3-2 result over Cincy.
• 30th: Mike Mowrey has 5 hits including a double and scores 3 times as the Browns put away a dogged Boston unit 11-9. Eric Young sr returns serve the following day with a 5-for-5 / 2 RBI effort, but it doesn’t change the result as St. Louis whips them 11-3.

Feats and Streaks

• 7th: AL PotW – Hector Lopez (Chicago); NL – Greg Gross (Chicago); PSLA – Chance Sisco (Chattanooga); PSLN – Shane Andrews (Jersey City).
• 14th: AL PotW – Fred Glade (Philadelphia); NL – JP Crawford (St. Louis); PSLA – Mike Vail (Newark); PSLN – Dave Freisleben (Hazleton).
• 21st: AL PotW – Austin Jackson (Chicago); NL – Norm Siebern (Philadelphia); PSLA – Rube Oldring (Joplin); PSLN – Chris Jones (Bridgeport).
• 28th: AL PotW – George Stone (Chicago); NL – Adam Kennedy (Philadelphia); PSLA – Branch Rickey (Newark); PSLN – Leon Culberson (Cedar Rapids).

Transactions

None of note

Injuries

• 4th: Giants reliever Tom Sturdivant looks done for the year after suffering ulnar nerve entrapment.
• 5th: the Sens lose 3B Charlie Neal for 6 weeks to a sprained thumb.
• 6th: a torn quad sidelines Pittsburgh SS JT Riddle for 5 weeks.
• 8th: Reds pitcher Dave Burba’s season ends prematurely after he suffers a stretched elbow ligament. The Beaneaters also lose a key member of their rotation when a bout of elbow inflammation puts Charlie Smith on ice for 3 months.
• 10th: an oblique strain will keep Brooklyn hurler Mike Lynch on ice for a couple of months.
• 14th: the Cubs run toward another playoff appearance takes a hit when gun catcher Frank Snyder is ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn PCL.
• 18th: the Cards lose excellent 2B Gene Baker for up to 6 weeks courtesy of a hamstring tear. Later the same week they lose hurler Flint Rhem for 2 months with a strained elbow. The following one, they lose 3B JP Crawford for 5 weeks to an oblique strain. It’s fair to say the franchise has had better months.
• 19th: despite their comfortable lead in the AL, the Highlanders will no doubt miss LF Frank Schulte’s big bat (.349 / .411 / .535 / 1st in the AL with 6 HR), who is ruled out for a month or so with a herniated disc in his back.

Monthly Awards

American League

Batter: Austin Jackson, Chicago (.386 / 19 RBI / 13 R)

Pitcher: Elden Auker, Detroit (5-3 / 2.18 / 32 K / 70 IP)

Rookie: Beau Bell, Boston (.371 / 22 RBI / 12 R)


National League

Batter: Greg Gross, Chicago (.476 / 10 RBI / 24 R)

Pitcher: Jim McAndrew, Chicago (7-0 / 2.77 / 35 K / 65 IP)

Rookie: Lefty Leifield, Chicago (3-1 / 2.13 / 26 K / 51 IP)


PostScript League American

Batter: Rube Oldring, Joplin (.453 / 13 HR / 29 RBI / 26 R)

Pitcher: Kirk McCaskill, Newark (5-1 / 2.45 / 59 K / 44 IP)


PostScript League National

Batter: Kevin Young, Houston (.337 / 7 HR / 13 RBI / 13 R)

Pitcher: Lew Moren, Bridgeport (7-0 / 2.42 / 80 K / 67 IP)

FL S+ PAGE

FL REPORTS HOME

OOML POST

[luckymann]

Isolated power for the month of August

[luckymann]

Cribbed from THIS article on SABR Bio by Joseph Wancho.

Most big-league ballplayers spend their career – if not indeed their life – dreaming about playing in the World Series and winning awards without ever actually getting to do either. Tom Tresh, on the other hand, not only got to play in the Fall Classic in his 1962 debut year but play a starring role in it, then win the Rookie of the Year. Little wonder then perhaps, despite him putting together some more good seasons before his career was cut short prematurely by injury that the rest of his playing time seems somewhat anticlimactic in comparison.

Thomas Michael Tresh was born September 20, 1938 in Detroit with, as they say, baseball in his blood. His father Mike was a catcher for the White Sox in the late 1930s and most of the following decade, finishing his career with a short stint at Cleveland in 1949, by dint of which young Tom had from an early age an understanding of the lifestyle of a major league ballplayer.

After a storied career at Allen Park HS that saw him letter nine times in three sports, Tom moved on to Central Michigan University. A number of clubs showed interest in him from the start, but it was the Yankees who signed him with a $30,000 bonus in 1957. (Keeping a promise to his parents that he would see his studies through to completion, Tom went back to CMU every off-season until he had indeed earned his bachelor’s degree in phys ed. “It took me only four terms to graduate,” he said later. “Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.”)

Tom steadily worked his way through the Yankees farm system – including winning RotY honours at Richmond of the International League in 1961, where he hit .315, drove in 42 runs and led the team in hits (176) and doubles (23) – before making his big-league debut as a pinch-runner for Johnny Blanchard on September 3, 1961.

When incumbent shortstop Tony Kubek’s National Guard unit was called up to active duty just before the start of the 1962 season, Tresh and Phil Linz competed for the starting role at that position, before manager Ralph Houk finally settled on Tom, it is thought because of his prowess as a switch hitter. He quickly formed a strong combination with second-baseman Bobby Richardson, who had taken the rookie under his wing, and was eventually named in the All-Star squad for that season, splitting duties with Luis Aparicio and doubling in a run on the big night.

When Kubek returned to the club earlier than expected, Tresh was moved to LF playing next to his boyhood idol Mickey Mantle, who rated his abilities highly. The Yankees won the AL pennant that year as Tom hit .286 with 20 homers and 93 RBI, and was named American League Rookie of the Year by both the Sporting News and the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA).

If Tom was overawed by his quick ascension to the very top of his trade, he certainly didn’t show it. In Game 5, with the Yankees and Giants tied at two games apiece and the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the 8th, Tresh came to the plate with two on and one out to face Jack Sanford. He proceeded to knock one out of the park to give the Yanks a 5-2 lead, and they went on to win the key game by 5 to 3.

He wasn’t finished playing a crucial role in the series.

The Giants tied the series with a win in Game 6 to send it to a decider at Candlestick Park. In that game, the Yankees were clinging to a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning when Willie Mays sent a low liner to left field that Tom caught with a fingertip grab. The catch proved costly to the Giants, as the next batter, Willie McCovey, tripled with the bases empty.

The Yankees went on to win the game 1-0 and capture the World Championship. It would be the last one for 15 years. For the Series, Tresh’s .321 batting average, 5 runs and 9 hits all led the team.

The following season, Tresh once again showed his versatility when Mantle was hurt and Tom filled in at CF for two months, committing only four errors and fielding the position at .981 while bashing 25 homers and driving in 71 runs. That year, the Bronx Bombers once again won the AL pennant, but were swept in 4 games by Koufax and co, who allowed them to score just four runs the entire series. They lost it again in 1964 to St. Louis in seven, but that would be the last time for some time the pinstripes would be seen in the Fall Classic.

Tom played all three outfield spots during 1965, winning a Gold Glove on top of a .279 / 26 HR / 74 RBI offensive line that saw him finish 9th in the AL MVP voting. Still, that didn’t earn him the solidity you might expect. When a neck injury forced Kubek’s retirement at the end of the 1965 season, the club brought in Ruben Amaro to replace him. But in the season’s fifth game, in the process of trying to make a defensive play, Tom slammed into Amaro, wrecking the shortstop’s knee and ending his season. Then they tried rookie Bobby Murcer at short, only for him to make three errors in his first game. Next, they moved third baseman Clete Boyer over to shortstop and put Tom at third base in order to give sophomore Roy White some playing time in the outfield. No wonder then that, despite a career-high 28 home runs, Tom’s production was well down on previous years, with him hitting just .233 and driving in 68 runs.

Then injury struck, with Tom being diagnosed with loose cartilage in his knee after a fielding mishap during 1967 spring training. The club insisted he was OK to play through it, but at the end of the season the knee required surgery. He was never the same ballplayer again.

In 1968 he hit just .195 / .305 / .308 with 11 homers and 52 RBI and started just as poorly the following year before requesting, and being given, a trade to Detroit to be closer to his family. He found some form there, clubbing 13 homers in 377 plate appearances, but when the club insisted he report to the minors at the start of the 1970 season to rehabilitate his still-troublesome knee, Tom was done. He finished his career with a .245 average while hitting 153 round-trippers and knocking in 530 runs.

Tom Tresh never fully left the world of baseball, however. In addition to serving ats the assistant coach at his alma mater CMU, he was a regular fixture at card shows and Yankee fantasy camps. Tom passed away in 2008, aged 70.

In the FL at the time of writing, Tom is a Chicago Cub—and a pretty handy one at that. Since being drafted as the 6th overall pick in 1904, Tom has a .275 / .353 / .359 slash. He’s hit 2 homers, driven in 55 runs and scored 45, and amassed 2.5 WAR. At just 21, he looks to have a long Footnote League career ahead of him, and – as with all Spotlight Players – I’ll keep you updated along the way as to how he is progressing. Tempus effulgeo, Tom, shine as brightly and as long as you can.

BASEBALL REFERENCE PAGE

S+ PAGE

[Brad K]

Interesting that a real life rookie of the year made the FL. I remember late 60s becoming aware of Tresh, looking at his year by year stats, and wondering what happened to him.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Interesting that a real life rookie of the year made the FL. I remember late 60s becoming aware of Tresh, looking at his year by year stats, and wondering what happened to him.

Yeah, I remember when he was added mulling long and hard over the decision to allow him to stay. In the end it was the fact that he only got to play about half as long as he probably should have that swayed the decision. 22 WAR all up is within acceptable limits, but only just. Again, he's far from a household name even though many may remember him from that key time in MLB history on a Yankees team that was coming to the end of a period of domination. But he really was only a footnote to that team, and therefore more than deserving of his spot IMHO, especially given he wasn't rated off the charts or anything - mid 60s OVR / POT in this league.

[luckymann]

1905 Rookie Draft Update

As I do each season, I have analysed the progress of teams signing the players they selected in this year’s Rookie Draft.

Here is a rundown with regard to the Round 1 picks:

1 Cincinnati Reds: C Pat Collins, 20 – signed on 07/18 with a bonus of $1,185. After hitting .175 with 4 HR and 12 RBI at Cedar Rapids, he has just been called up to the bigs but is yet to make an appearance.

2 Cleveland Naps: P Jumbo McGinnis, 26 – signed on 07/29 with a bonus of $1,107. Has pitched 70 innings for the parent club with a 2-5 record and an ERA of 3.12.

3 New York Giants: RF Red Murray, 20 – signed on 06/16 with a bonus of $2,420. Has been with the Giants all year and has hit .236 with 2 HR and 29 RBI.

4 St. Louis Cardinals: RF Hi Myers, 18 – signed on 07/23 with a bonus of $2,006. Is currently at Houston, where he has struggled so far, hitting just .171 with one homer and 4 ribbies.

5 Boston Americans: RF Beau Bell, 25 – signed on 07/04 with a bonus of $934. He has started his FL career with a bang, hitting .378 with 2 homers and 36 RBI in 209 AB for Boston, and has won the Rookie of the Month Award in both July and August.

6 Philadelphia Athletics: C Mitch Meluskey, 22 – signed on 07/24 with a bonus of $897, and has hit .277 with 15 ribbies in 101 AB for the parent club so far.

7 Detroit Tigers: C Dick Dietz, 22 – signed on 07/12 with a bonus of $1,045, and has hit .269 with one RBI in limited game time.

8 Philadelphia Phillies: C Pop Schriver, 18 – signed on 07/29 with a bonus of $2,240, and is playing for Hazleton, where he has struggled to acclimatise so far, hitting just .096.

9 Pittsburgh Pirates: P Tom Bradley, 20 – signed on 07/30 with a bonus of $1, 690. He has done OK in his rookie FL season with a record of 3-6 and a 4.28 ERA.

10 St. Louis Browns: RF Johnny Moore, 24 – signed on 07/28 with a bonus of $789, and has spent the year at Joplin, hitting .155 with 2 HR and 4 RBI.

11 Chicago White Sox: 1B Wayne Gross, 22 – signed on 07/17 with a bonus of $668 and has hit .147 with 1 RBI in limited game time.

12 New York Highlanders: LF Doug Glanville, 23 – signed on 07/24 with a bonus of $897. Doug has hit .227 with 3 RBI in a smattering of appearances at the Highlanders.

13 Washington Senators: 1B Ken Harrelson, 19 – signed on 07/27 with a bonus of $1,650 and has done OK for the Sens with a BA of .267 with a dinger and 10 RBI.

14 Brooklyn Superbas: SS Bill Knockerbocker, 19 – signed on 07/24 with a bonus of $1,760 and has been a handy addition for Brooklyn with an average of .306 and 9 RBI in 121 AB.

15 Boston Beaneaters: CF Gabe Kapler, 20 – signed on 07/09 with a bonus of $486. Has hit .183 with a handful of runs driven in and was recently named the FL’s #15 prospect.

16 Chicago Cubs, LF Rob Deer, 21 – signed on 07/24 with a bonus of $425. Young Rob has begun strongly for the Baby Bears, hitting .411 with a homer and 10 RBI.

Yet again all first-rounders have been locked down by the clubs that drafted them, which is how it should be. Tempus effulgeo, gents and all the best for your Footnote League careers!

1905 PostScript League World Series

Well another PSL season is run, won, and done.

In a classic 7-game PSL World Series, the Reading Keystones won their first Championship over a dogged Shreveport Gassers outfit. The Series ended in the most dramatic fashion when pinch-hitter Bobby Mitchell earned a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning to get the Keystones home 6 to 5. Congratulations to the Reading club and all involved at the Cubs organisation.

• Game 1: Shreveport 4 def. Reading 1 (Shreveport leads Series 1-0)
  
• Game 2: Reading 4 defeated Shreveport 2 (Series tied 1-1)
  
• Game 3: Shreveport 6 defeated Reading 1 (Shreveport leads Series 2-1)
  
• Game 4: Reading 6 defeated Shreveport 4 (Series tied 2-2)
  
• Game 5: Reading 4 defeated Shreveport 2 (Reading leads Series 3-2)
  
• Game 6: Shreveport 8 def. Reading 3 (Series tied 3-3)
  
• Game 7: Reading 6 defeated Shreveport 5 (10 innings)

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Yeah, I remember when he was added mulling long and hard over the decision to allow him to stay. In the end it was the fact that he only got to play about half as long as he probably should have that swayed the decision. 22 WAR all up is within acceptable limits, but only just. Again, he's far from a household name even though many may remember him from that key time in MLB history on a Yankees team that was coming to the end of a period of domination. But he really was only a footnote to that team, and therefore more than deserving of his spot IMHO, especially given he wasn't rated off the charts or anything - mid 60s OVR / POT in this league.

He went from good to average to bad real fast. As I posted earlier, back in the day looking at that I wondered what happened to him. At the time I didn't know about the decline of Zoilo Versailles.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

He went from good to average to bad real fast. As I posted earlier, back in the day looking at that I wondered what happened to him. At the time I didn't know about the decline of Zoilo Versailles.

If the stories are to be believed it was the Yanks making him play through that knee injury that did TT in.

I don't know with Zoilo that it was a decline so much as just one out of the ordinary season. A blip, per se. I mean he got more WAR in '65 than he'd had in the previous 3 years combined.

Was BALCO around back then?

[Brad K]

Why so many players in the team photo?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Why so many players in the team photo?

As it's the only level of minors I've set it to no limit, roster-wise.

[luckymann]

AL RACE FIZZLES OUT AS HIGHLANDERS BEND BUT DON’T BREAK, THEN STEADY AND CLINCH

NL STILL MATHEMATICALLY ALIVE BUT CUBS ALMOST THERE

Notable Performances

• 1st: the Cubs and Lefty Leifield start the month well with a 7-0 win over the Reds in which Leifield goes the distance for a 4-hit shutout with 9 strikeouts.
• 4th: Jumbo McGinnis pitches a 3-hit shutout to lead Cleveland to a 3-0 win over St. Louis, while Washington’s Warren Hacker shuts out the A’s in a 1-0 road win. Over in the NL, Pittsburgh’s Tom Bradley is superb as he pitches an 11-inning 7-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the Cubs and Brooklyn’s Jimmy Jones 5-hits the Beaneaters in yet another game decided by just the solitary run.
• 5th: a ripper in Cleveland as the Naps fall behind 8-5 in the top 9th when the Browns score 3, but then fight back to score 4 and win it 9-8 on a walkoff grand slam by John Knight.
• 6th: Herman Pillette spins a 3-0 shutout as the Phillies beat the Superbas 3-0.
• 7th: well the AL race has certainly livened up as the Highlanders fall into a complete hole just as the Sens go on a withering run. Washington’s 8-win streak, coupled with New York having lost 9 straight and 11 of the past 12, means that the 15-game lead the Highlanders enjoyed at the start of the month has been reduced to 9 with 27 games still on the table. A 10-inning 3-2 win for the Sens over the Highlanders the next day would not have done the New York fans’ nerves any favours.
• 14th: a superb pitching performance from the Phillies’ Bill Swift, who allows just 2 hits over 10 scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over the Beaneaters to register his 23rd win of the season, top in the NL.
• 17th: a big day for Detroit first-baseman Patsy Tebeau, who goes 7-for-7 over two games of a doubleheader against St. Louis, with the two sides sharing the honours. In the NL, Jim Lefebvre and his Pittsburgh teammates go wild, with the Pirates 2B going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI in a 21-6 stomping of the Reds.
• 18th: some crazy finishes to games today, with the Browns scoring 3 in the top 10th to beat the White Sox, the Highlanders getting out of jail with 3 runs in the bottom 9th to get a 5-4 walkoff win over the A’s, and the Americans plating 5 in the top 12th in a 13-8 win over Washington.
• 19th: Detroit RF Sam Mertes cracks 2 homers – giving him an AL-leading 7 for the season – and drives in 4 as the Tigers beat the Naps 8-4, while the Cubs just escape an upset loss by scoring 6 in the 8thto get past the Reds 13-10.
• 22nd: 2B John Hummel goes 4-for-4 with 3 doubles and 3 ribbies to lead the Beaneaters to a 9-3 road win over the Redbirds.
• 25th: a true pitchers’ duel sees Harry Gumbert of the Cards go head-to-head with Ryan Dempster of the Phillies, with the game remaining scoreless until St. Louis walks it off courtesy of a misplayed flyball by Philadelphia CF Lenny Randle.
• 26th: both CF Austin Jackson and 1B Steve Cox have 5 hits and 2 RBI as the White Sox beat the Americans 10-4. Meanwhile, a 3-2 home win over the Browns clinches the AL pennant for the Highlanders and sends them to the franchise’s first World Series.
• 28th: Detroit’s Dave Danforth gets his second straight shutout win, blanking Boston 11-0 on 2 hits to move to 16-4 for the year.
• 29th: a big day for Detroit shortstop Hal Rhyne, who goes 4-for-5 with two doubles and 6 ribbies as the Tigers knock off Boston 9-4. Amazingly, both Ryan Dempster and Harry Gumbert – involved in that extra-inning shoot-out a few days earlier – each follow up that effort with another shutout.

Feats and Streaks

• 4th: AL PotW – Mike Mowrey (St. Louis); NL – Luis Melendez (Philadelphia); PSLA – Clyde Wright (Williamsport); PSLN – Howie Schultz (Hazleton).
• 5th: after finishing the 140-game regular season tied at 79-61 atop the PSLA, just one game ahead of Chattanooga, Shreveport and Newark are forced to play a one-game tiebreaker for a spot in the PSL World Series against Reading. After falling behind 3-1, Shreveport score 6 late to win 7-3 and book their spot in the decider, the Gassers’ first post-season appearance.
• 11th: AL PotW – Beau Bell (Boston); NL – John Anderson (New York).
• 18th: AL PotW – Patsy Tebeau (Detroit); NL – Chappie McFarland (New York).
• 25th: AL PotW – Eric Young sr (Boston); NL – Leon Durham (Boston).

Transactions

None of note

Injuries

• 1st: a fractured hand is set to keep Giants 2B Frank LaPorte out of action for 5 weeks, while Beaneaters SP Andy Coakley will miss roughly the same amount of time thanks to an oblique strain.
• 5th: a strained groin sidelines Browns 3B Mike Mowrey for 5 weeks.
• 6th: the Reds lose talented SS Ian Desmond for a month with a strained hip muscle.
• 7th: Cardinals SP Ken Forsch has his season brought to an abrupt halt courtesy of shoulder inflammation.
• 10th: A’s first-baseman Ricky Jordan’s season comes to an early end after he tears his PCL.
• 11th: the Cubs will have to make do without SP Sam Streeter, who goes down with a ruptured finger tendon and will not return this year.
• 13th: promising Pittsburgh hurler Bob Wicker is forced to cut his 1905 campaign short in order to undergo surgery for bone spurs in his elbow.
• 23rd: Phillies reliever Billy Loes will have to sit out a few weeks after straining his hamstring.
• 26th: a back strain puts Tigers ace Melido Perez out of action for what’s left of the season, same goes with boom Browns outfielder Bris Lord after he suffers a fractured foot.

Monthly Awards

American League

Batter: Eric Young sr, Boston (.419 / 11 RBI / 18 R)

Pitcher: Andy Messersmith, Chicago (5-2 / 2.25 / 31 K / 60 IP)

Rookie: Jack Billingham, Detroit (4-2 / 2.15 / 26 K / 62.2 IP)

National League

Batter: Leon Durham, Boston (.398 / 16 RBI / 13 R)

Pitcher: Jimmy Jones, Brooklyn (5-2 / 1.02 / 21 K / 70.1 IP)

Rookie: Lefty Leifield, Chicago (6-1 / 2.61 / 41 K / 58.2 IP)



FL S+ PAGE

FL REPORTS HOME

OOML POST

[luckymann]

Pitcher left on base percentage for the 1905 season to date

[luckymann]

No late-season machinations this year, so here's a straight recap of the final week of the 1905 FL regular season.

Notable Performances

• 1st: Mark Teahen goes 4-for with 2 doubles and 5 ribbies to power the Cards to a 10-2 humbling of Brooklyn.
• 4th: Stan Lopata of the A’s has 6 RBI in an 11-3 trouncing of the Browns.
• 5th: in an otherwise disappointing season for both individual and club, Warren Hacker at least manages to record his 20th win for the year with a fine 3-hit 1-0 shutout decision. His opposing pitcher Andy Messersmith, also going for win number 20, can feel justifiably hard done by, allowing just 6 hits and fanning 9.
• 6th: well it ends up much closer than all those involved with the club would perhaps have liked, but the Cubs finally clinch the NL pennant with a 9-2 win at Pittsburgh.
• 7th: Ernie Broglio goes the distance, allowing just 5 hits in Washington’s 12-inning 1-0 shutout win over the Athletics.

Feats and Streaks

• 1st: with his 197th fanned batter for the season, Cubs hurler Lefty Leifield breaks the FL strikeout mark previously set the previous year by Cy Falkenberg. He ends the game with 204 and should have another start or two to extend that even further.
• 2nd: AL PotW – Dave Danforth (Detroit); NL – Harry Gumbert (St. Louis).
• 8th: Leon Durham of the Beaneaters misses his chance to set a new season mark for HR. Having hit his 10th of the year back on August 22nd to tie George Stone’s 1903 mark, Durham then fails to hit another dinger in his last 37 games. Still, what a season he has, missing out on winning the NL Batting Triple Crown by 16 BA points and one would think he’s almost a lock on MVP honours.

Transactions

• None of note

Injuries

• 3rd: Giants 3B Pete Ward gets an unwanted early mark, going down with shoulder inflammation.
• 5th: Dave Danforth’s excellent season ends on a sour note, another victim of season-ending shoulder inflammation.

Back soon with all the action from this year's World Series between the Highlanders and Cubs!

[luckymann]

A fitting finale to the 1905 season, with two teams who were clearly the best in their respective leagues getting to duke it out in the decider.

If I was writing this review at the beginning of August, I would be telling you this had the potential to be an incredibly one-sided affair. The Highlanders were so dominant and looked likely to become the first side to win 100 games, while the Cubs were in a real tussle with both the Phillies and Beaneaters. But the Highlanders fell off a cliff and the Cubs ground out another NL pennant that wasn’t really as close-run as the final standings would have you believe, and in the end the Cubs passed the lads from NYC to finish with 95 wins.

For all the neutrals out there this has to be a good thing, because now this shapes up as a ding-dong battle between two evenly-matched and highly-talented sides – one the best pitching outfit in the league, the other the best offensive lineup. Should be a beauty.

The Highlanders’ pitching is their strength, with Bonderman, McCormick and McCaskill (3-man rotations will be in operation for the Series) – all guns. New York’s 3.09 starter ERA was the second-best in the AL, with their 3.27 FIP third. With one of the best defensive units in the field behind them, this group will be incredibly tough to score off. And if one of the starters is having an off night, they have a number of excellent options out of the bullpen to avail themselves of.

The Cubs, on the other hand, are the best offensive group in either league. They slashed .302 / .355 / .396 as a team (all top in the NL), with a .349 wOBA (again, 1st) and amassed a total of 35 WAR between them. As I’ve said previously, LF Greg Gross is in my view the most underrated player in the FL, and he was sensational again this season with his .375 BA, .446 OBP, 22 triples, and 9.1 RC27 all leading the league. If not for the presence of Leon Durham, I’d declare him the favourite in the NL MVP race, and he still has a decent chance of winning it. 1B Norm Larker has also had a banner year with a .339 BA, 3 HR and 93 batted in. Tresh, Dunwoody, Howe and Johnstone are all dangerous as well.

So, if you will, this Series can be seen as a test of the old good pitching beats good hitting axiom.

In the end, I think it will come down to experience. I just think the Highlanders are a tad underdone in that regard against the battle-hardened campaigners on the Cubs’ roster, most of whom have been here before, including their World Championship in ’03.

So for that reason I’m calling this one for the Cubs in 6.

Game recaps to come over the next few days.

[Brad K]

Chad Bradford... the most undervalued player in baseball.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Chad Bradford... the most undervalued player in baseball.

Gave my A's a few solid years of service back in the aughts.

And has been pretty useful for the Highlanders here.

[luckymann]

October 11th, 1905 World Series Game 1: Chicago Cubs (0-0) @ New York Highlanders (0-0)
NYY: Jeremy Bonderman (17-14; 3.22) v CHC: Lefty Leifield (26-10; 2.83)

26-game winner Lefty Leifield up for Chicago against Jeremy Bonderman. While Bonderman is a strong pitcher, the lean in this department is definitely towards the Cubs.

Only a smattering of hits in the early going, but it is the Cubs who look more likely to score. And score they do in the 4th when Todd Dunwoody doubles, advances to third on a wild pitch, and comes in on a single by catcher Joel Skinner. They double their lead in the next with a two-out rally as Gross and Tresh are proving handfuls. Gross walks with two out and Tresh singles to move him to second. Another hit by 3B Art Howe then brings the run in.

The home team finally gets something going in the bottom half of that inning as Soderholm singles and gets to third on a one-out single by NY backstop Frank House. An intentional pass to Robertson loads the bases but Bonderman can only pop it up and then Leifield gets out of the jam by retiring pinch-hitter Johnny Ray on a forceout to second.

The Highlanders bats are slowly finding their range and you get the feeling a dam could burst any minute. Sure enough, they finally get on the board via an RBI double by House and then Bonderman helps his own cause with a run-scoring single to tie the game at 2. The momentum shifts completely as now the Cubs look stretched to breaking-point, but like all good pitchers do, Leifield digs deep and holds strong.

The Cubs then get a man into scoring position in the top 9th when pinch-hitter Rob Deer walks and swipes second. But then Highlanders CF John Wilson makes one of those key plays when he nails Deer trying to advance to third on a flyout.

Into extra innings it goes.

In the top 11th, it looks like Bonderman has blinked first when he gives up a one-out trip to Charlie Gelbert. But he regathers himself, striking out Skinner for a crucial second out and then ending the inning by inducing a harmless pop-fly from Leifield. And the Cubs are immediately made to rue their wastefulness, when Soderholm singles to lead off the inning and eventually scores the winning run on a walkoff single by Ernie Courtney.

The Highlanders showed true grit to get home, working their way into the game after a slow start and getting the job done in the clutch. Game 2 back here at Hilltop Park tomorrow.

FINAL SCORE: New York 3, Chicago 2 (11 innings)

BOX SCORE

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by luckymann

Gave my A's a few solid years of service back in the aughts.

And has been pretty useful for the Highlanders here.

Are you paying him $3 million or $237,000?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Are you paying him $3 million or $237,000?

He is on a massive $424 for the 1905 season.

[luckymann]

October 12th, 1905 World Series Game 2: Chicago Cubs (0-1) @ New York Highlanders (1-0)
NYY: Mike McCormick (14-6; 2.95) v CHC: Bob Ewing (14-18; 3.63)

McCormick up against Bob Ewing in this one, with the Cubs’ hurler pitching the same game as he did in last year’s Series, in which he pitched well with a 1-1 record and 2.25 ERA. That experience again gives Chicago the slight edge, but if McCormick is on then the Cubs may well find themselves heading back home two in the hole. That said, his last start saw him give up 8 runs against Detroit in 3+ innings. The Baby Bears will no doubt take heart from that.

A messy start for the visitors sees New York go ahead with an early run when Robertson ‘s good form from Game 1 carries over as he singles and ends up at third with two outs after Chicago backstop Joel Skinner’s errant throw on a steal attempt. Skinner then compounds his error with a passed ball, allowing the runner to come home.

The Cubs hit back in the 3rd when McCormick commits the doubly cardinal sin of walking the pitcher to lead off the inning, and a Johnstone single puts men at the corners. They are forced to do a two-for-one trade when Tresh GIDPs, but all the same the game is tied. They then take advantage of an error by Highlanders 1B Charlie Householder in the next, with Woody Woodward doubling the runner all the way in from first to make it 2-1 Chicago.

NY left-fielder Frank Schulte leads off the bottom half with a double but is then injured running it out and forced from the game. Ewing gives up a couple of long flyouts but manages to keep the runner right where he is. He, however, isn’t as fortunate in the next, when the Highlanders tie the game on a Doug Glanville two-out single after Danny O’Connell had doubled.

With the game still knotted up at 2 into the bottom 7th, New York mounts a rally. Pinch hitter Johnny Ray leads off with a double and, after Frank House is walked intentionally to set up the twin-kill, Hod Ford successfully bunts them both around into scoring position. Ewing gets a huge out when Ernie Courtney hits one too hard to the 1B for the runner to score and then he escapes the jam by fanning McCormick.
As is so often the case, New York pays for its profligacy, as Art Howe walks and then scores the go-ahead run on a clutch two-out double by Norm Larker. But the hosts shake off that disappointment immediately, as Lou Chiozza comes off the bench to deliver a leadoff triple and then ties it back up again on a Bump Wills sac fly in a huge home plate collision with Skinner that jars the ball loose.

Now it is the Cubs who must dust themselves off and try again.

Their endeavours toward doing so begin promisingly when Gelbert reaches on a leadoff walk and is sacrificed around to second by Woodward, but McMormick strikes out Pepe Mangual and then Ewing to douse the threat.

For the second game in two, this contest will be decided in extra frames.

It remains tied thru 11, but then the Cubs get their chance as Woodward leads off with a hit and then Mangual gets aboard while trying to sacrifice him around, getting a bunt hit instead. Ewing himself fails to lay down a sac bunt that would have put the go-ahead man at third and the opportunity seems lost, especially when McCormick fans the next hitter to break the FL playoff record with his 12th strikeout. But then Highlanders skipper Jim Miller – in a decision I’m sure will be speculated upon for time immemorial – decides to summon Ron Herbal from the bullpen, and he proceeds to give up a 2-run triple to Art Howe, the first man he faces. He might find himself managing down in Tampa Bay or somewhere like that next year...

Surely the home side can’t get off the canvas, can they?

Never say die, these ’05 Highlanders, as House and Ford both single to put the tying run aboard, none out. Now it’s the Cubs who are forced to go to their relief corps, as Manager Tom Loftus summons Gary Kroll to lock down the win. He gets Courtney to fly out to left for the first out of the inning and strikes out Herbal for the second (in one of those little nuance plays that often go unnoticed, the Highlanders had by this time emptied their bench, meaning the pitcher had to hit for himself). And when Chiozza grounds out to first, they have that precious road win.

Wow, what an absolute classic game and this series looks headed the same way. Both pitchers were utterly magnificent and, as the old chestnut goes, it’s a shame there had to be a loser. That loser was New York, and this series is now tied at a game apiece.

Travel day tomorrow and then Game 3 in Chicago the following one.

FINAL SCORE: Chicago 5, New York 3 (12 innings)

BOX SCORE