Archives for April 2014

Book Review – 1954 by Bill Madden – A fun, and thought-provoking, read

April 29, 2014 by

1954

1954 – The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Baseball Forever

 

By Bill Madden

 

Da Capo Press 2014

 

$25.99

 

Baseball is often referred to as America’s most literary sport, and there is no doubt that Bill Madden has contributed to that reputation.  In 2010, Madden was recognized with the J.G. Taylor Spink Award – the highest honor given by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America – and enshrined in the writers’ wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Fortunately, for fans of baseball and its literature, Madden did not choose to rest on his laurels. Instead, he continues to add to his reputation, which gets another boost from latest book: 1954 – The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Baseball Forever.

Within the back drop of the 1954 pennant races and World Series, Madden gives readers a look at how attitudes toward race – in baseball and across American society – were changing. Consider what was going in baseball in 1954:

  • Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League (Indians, 1947), led the AL in home runs and RBI while helping Cleveland achieve an 111-43 record – breaking a five-season Yankee stranglehold, not just on the AL pennant, but also on the World Series championship.
  • Willie Mays returned from military service to top the NL with a .345 average and capture the MVP Award, while leading the Giants to the NL title.
  • Hank Aaron who, in 1953, had led the Class A Sally League in batting average, RBI, runs and hits, made the jump from Class to the majors, as well as the move from second base to the outfield – where he would join Billy Bruton, the 1953 NL stolen base leader (and first black player to make the major leagues without previous Negro League experience).
  • The Cubs began the season with the first all-black, shortstop-second base, double play combo – Ernie Banks and Gene Baker, who had both seen action when the team integrated in  late in 1953.
  • On July 17, 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers broke baseball’s unspoken, but implied, racial quota by starting a line up with more blacks than whites.
  • The World Series, for the first time ever, saw black players on both teams’ rosters.

Madden deals with these and other historically and socially significant on-the-field achievements and advancements, and also gives readers a look at the intolerance and indignities black players faced in the early 1950s. He recounts the roadblocks many highly talented black players faced in even getting to the majors (keep in mind, as Spring Training opened in 1954, only eight of the major leagues sixteen teams had integrated).  And, things were not much easier once a player made the leap to the majors (and found on-field success).  Black players found themselves having to stay in separate hotels or negotiating the right to stay in the team’s chosen hotel only if the they agreed to stay out of such areas as the lobby, dining room or swimming pool. Madden, through observation and interviews, provides unique insight in how different players – Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Hank Aaron, Don Newcombe and others – handled these (and even more glaring) slights, inequities and prejudices.  (I found Madden’s reporting of the fiercely negative reaction to the the first Sports Illustrated cover to feature an athlete of color – April 11, 1955, with Leo Durocher, Durocher’s wife, actress Laraine Day and Willie Mays – particularly telling.)

While 1954 provides an important (and, I am sure for many, eye-opening) social commentary on the times, it also includes plenty of baseball action, told in the words of the participants, news coverage of the day and Madden’s own captivating prose.  There are accounts of key games, great plays and clutch hits that carry the reader through the 1954 season and World Series.

Overall, 1954 gives the reader the “feel” of the season and the times.  You can feel the anger and frustration of black players striving not just for recognition, but basic respect and fairness, as well as the tension of on-field rivalries and tough pennant races.  As you read, you also get a feel for the churn and change taking place in the game (on the field, in the club house and in the executive offices).  Ultimately, 1954 provides insight into how baseball in the 1950s – despite its flaws and shortcomings – was actually out in front of the curve when it came to the acceptance of black Americans.

And, there are “back stories” as well.

  • How – had the Red Sox been less reluctant to integrate or the Giants willing to part with just $100 a month more – baseball might have seen Willie Mays sharing the outfield with Ted Williams or Hank Aaron.
  • The fact that, with just one game left in the season, the NL batting race saw three players separated by .0004: Don Mueller at .3426, Duke Snider at .3425 and Willie Mays at .3422.
  • The tough, grind-it-out attitude of the players in the 1950s, illustrated particularly well in an injured Al Rosen‘s 3-hit, 2-homer, five-RBI performance in the 1954 All Star Game.
  • The negative reaction of players, managers and coaches to a 1954 rule change that required players to bring their gloves into the dugout when their team came to bat. (It had been baseball custom until then for fielders to leave their gloves on the field when they came in to bat, and just pick them up when back on defense.)
  • Mickey Mantle’s own assessment of the “Who was New York’s best center fielder  – “Willie (Mays), Mickey (Mantle) or the Duke (Snider)?” question.
  • Minnie Minoso’s thoughts on why he led the AL in hit-by-pitches ten times from 1951-1960.

1954 is a solid addition to Madden’s work and to the overall library of baseball literature. It provides readers not only with a look at one of baseball’s most exciting seasons, but also insight into the racial tensions being felt not just across the national past time, but across the nation.  It works on many levels, as a sports book, history book and social commentary.  It  is a fun, but also thought-provoking, summer read for baseball fans.

 

Other books by Bill Madden:

Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball

Pride of October: What It Was to Be Young and a Yankee

Zim, A Baseball Life (with Don Zimmer)

Damned Yankees: Choas, Confusion, and Craziness in the Steinbrenner Era (with Moss Klien)

 

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Filed Under: Reviews

Instant Replay Too Long? How About A Run Added Three Innings Later?

April 28, 2014 by
Even these guys need to consult the rule book sometimes.

Even these guys need to consult the rule book sometimes.

Are you, like me, dismayed by “instant” replay decisions that are occasionally taking four minutes or more? How about a ruling that took three innings?

In an April 28, 2007, game at Cleveland, the Baltimore Orioles were awarded a run, on an overturned umpire’s ruling, three innings after the base runner crossed the plate.  It was a situation that tested the “language of the law.”

It all started with the game tied 1-1 in the top of the third.  With Jeremy Sowers on the mound for the Indians, Orioles’ lead-off hitter and second baseman Brian Roberts singled past third base and then stole second. Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora then walked (putting runners on first and second). Right fielder Nick Markakis followed with a weak grounder to Indians’ shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who tossed to Josh Barfield at second for the force out (remember that term – “force out”).  On the play, Roberts moved to third base and Markakis was safe at first on a fielder’s choice. Next up was Orioles’ clean-up hitter and shortstop Miguel Tejada, who singled to right, scoring Roberts and sending Markakis to third.

Then the fun began. With Markakis on third and Tejada on first with one. Orioles’ catcher Ramon Hernandez laced a line drive to center field that looked like a sure base hit. Speedy Indians’ outfielder Grady Sizemore, however, made a diving catch. Markakis tagged up, headed for home and appeared to cross the plate before Tejada, who had been off with the hit, was doubled off first. Plate umpire Marvin Hudson waved off the run – apparently in line with the rule that if the third out of an inning is recorded on a force out (or by a batter who failed to reach first) a run cannot score on the play,

No one protested at the time, the call stood and the game continued.  In the top of the fourth, however, Orioles’ coach Tom Trebelhorn raised concerns about the ruling with the umpires.   The game continued and, between innings, so did the umpires’ discussion of the call. After considerable discussion and a check of the rulebook, the umpires’ – in the sixth inning – put the Markakis’ third-inning run on the scoreboard. This prompted the Indians to play the game under protest, not because of the ultimate ruling, but on its timing. Cleveland maintained the run could not be added after the game had continued.

What was all the confusion?  It comes to those key words “force out.”  First, we can set aside the rule that a run cannot score on a play if the third out is recorded by a batter failing to reach first base.  The catch of Hernandez’ fly was the second out.  But what about the stipulation that a run cannot score if the final out of an inning is a force out.  Here’s where the language of the law comes into play. The rules define a force situation as occurring when a base runner is forced to leave his time-of-pitch base because the batter has become a runner. A runner at first base is forced to attempt to advance to second base when the batter becomes a runner and runners at second or third base are forced to advance when all bases preceding their time-of-pitch base are occupied by other base runners (who are also forced to advance). However, a runner who fails to tag up and is thrown out, even though he is required to retreat to his time-of-pitch base and a tag is unecessary, is not considered to have been retired through a  forced out.  Therefore, since Markakis touched home plate before Tejeda was doubled off first (his time-of-pitch base), the run counted.

By the way, the Indians protest was denied on the grounds that, since the umpires’ error involved specific rules and not a judgment call, and because there was nothing in the Official Baseball Rules to address exactly when umpires can make a such a correction, the umpires could correct the mistake retroactively.

For those with the need to know, Baltimore won the game 7-4.

 

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Filed Under: Rants & Raves

BBRT’s John Paciorek Award

April 22, 2014 by

 

JP AwardBBRT today launched its own baseball award – The John Paciorek Award – or JPA (which could stand, in this case for “Played Just Abit.”  The JPA will recognize players who have had short, maybe very short, major league careers, but whose accomplishments, nonetheless, deserve recognition.  Just as the emergence of these  players on the MLB scene was often unexpected, the JPA will be awarded on no specific/expected timetable.  BBRT, in fact, most often uncovers these brief, but bright, stars when researching some unrelated baseball topic.  Spoiler Alert – the first JPA winner is San Francisco Giants’ infielder Brian Dallimore, but first a bit about John Paciorek, whose MLB career is the inspiration for this recognition. (Note: Just as the Cy Young is the answer to the trivia question, “Who is the best pitcher to never win a Cy Young Award?”, BBRT hopes John Paciorek will be the answer to: “Who is the most interesting MLBer to never be recognized with the John Paciorek Award?”

John Paciorek’s baseball history and heritage is, indeed, interesting.  First, John Paciorek made it to the major leagues at a very young age.  Signed out of Saint Ladislaus High School in Hamtramck, Michigan (where he had starred in football, basketball and baseball), Paciorek appeared in his first major league game on the final day of the 1963 season (September 29) at the age of 18.  Second, Paciorek comes from a true baseball family.  He was the first born of eight siblings and was followed to the big leagues by younger brothers Jim and Tom Paciorek.  (Like John, Jim’s MLB career was short – 48 games for the Brewers in 1987. Brother Tom, however, achieved a .282 average over an 18-season – 1,392 game – MLB career.)

But, back to John.  The 6’ 1”, 200-pound outfielder, had spent the 1963 season with Class A Modesto Colts, hitting just .219 in 78 games.  The parent club, the Houston Colt .45s (that was their name then), however, was suffering through a difficult season – they were 65-96 going into that final game.  The September 1963 Colt .45s were all about the future and, in fact, on September 27, had fielded an all-rookie lineup (average age 19). So, John Paciorek’s spot in the season’s final starting lineup was no surprise. What he did that day, however, was.

pACIOREKPlaying right field and batting seventh in a 13-4 win over the NY Mets, Paciorek ended up with three hits and two walks in five plate appearances, with four runs scored and three runs batted in.  Perhaps equally surprising is that it marked Paciorek’s only MLB appearance.  Back pain the following spring, followed by back surgery (he played 49 minor league games in 1964 and missed all of the 1965 season) put an end to his MLB playing days. (He did play in four more minor league seasons.)  Still, you will find John Paciorek in the Baseball Encyclopedia and his is arguably the greatest one-game MLB career ever.  Among one-gamers, he holds the record for times on base and runs scored, and shares the record for batting average, on base percentage and RBIs.  You can find more details on Paciorek’s lone major league game here.

Paciorek, by the way, went on to become a high school teacher and multi-sport coach, and the author of two books (Plato and Socrates – Baseball’s Wisest Fans and The Principles of Baseball, and all there is to know about hitting.) You can enjoy Paciorek’s prose directly at his blog “Paciorek’s Principles of Perfect Practice.”

So much for the inspiration – now, on to the first JPA winner.

Brian Scott Dallimore did not, like John Paciorek, make it to the big leagues at a young age.  He was, in fact, a 30-year-old veteran of eight-plus minor league seasons when he finally got the call. He was, in baseball parlance, a true journeyman.  He had journeyed from minor league city to minor league city, seven teams in those eight years.  He had also journeyed from one parent team system to another (Astros, Diamondbacks and Giants).  And, he had traveled around the infield, playing third base, second base and shortstop. What he had never done was give up on the dream.  And, things were looking up.

From 1996-2000, Dallimore played in 468 minor league games (never above AA), compiling a .264 average (with a high of .275 in 2000).  Then, in 2001, things seemed to click, as Dallimore hit .327, with eight home runs, 67 RBI and 11 stolen bases for the Diamondbacks’ AA affiliate El Paso Diablos.  He followed that up with a .294-6-50, 13 SB season at AAA Tucson.  He was, however, 28 and the Diamondbacks did not resign him.

Dallimore signed a minor league deal with the Giants and went on to hit .352 in 91 games with AAA Fresno in 2003. That performance didn’t earn him a September call up, but it helped get him his first-ever invite to major league camp for  2004 Spring Training, where he hit .279 in 21 games.  While he started the 2004 season back at Fresno, the minor league veteran had been noticed.  The Giants’ players selected Dallimore as the winner of the 2004 Harry S. Jordan Award, annually recognizing a player in his first Spring Training whose performance and dedication to the game best reflected the spirit of the San Francisco Giants.

Dallimore didn’t know it then, but he was only a poor Giants’ start and an injury to Ray Durham away from finally making his major league dream come true.  Dallimore was called up to the big club and made his debut as a pinch hitter (grounding out) on April 29th, 2004.  It was his performance on April 30th, however, that earns Dallimore the first-ever BBRT John Paciorek Award.  In fact, if it wasn’t for that April 29th pinch hitting appearance, Dallimore would have recorded one of the best first games ever in the MLB history.  As it was, he still carries the honor of having his first major league hit be a grand slam home run.  In a game won by the Giants 12-9 (and in which the score stood at 9-9 after just two innings), Dallimore walked and scored in the first inning, crashed a grand slam home run for his first MLB hit in the second, singled in the third, singled and scored in the fifth, and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. So, for his first start, Dallimore was on base five times in five plate appearances, had two singles and a home run (grand slam) in three at bats, scored three runs and drove in four.

Dallimore ended up hitting .279 with one home run and seven RBI in 20 games for the Giants that year – he also went .324-8-65 in 111 games back at Fresno. He played seven more games at the major-league level in 2005, hitting a double in seven at bats (he also hit .302-8-45 in 100 games at Fresno that season.)

Dallimore signed as a free agent with the Brewers after the 2005 season, but retired before the 2006 season began.  Despite his short stint in the majors, on April 30, 2004, Brian Scott Dallimore truly had his day in the sun – or in this case under the lights. So, for that – and for his love of the game – BBRT selects him as the first JPA winner.

                                        

 

                                                   BRIAN DALLIMORE

 

BBRT invites your nominations for the JP Award – players with short, but notable, stays in the major leagues.

I tweet (on X) baseball @DavidBaseballRT.

 

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts

Pitchers Gone Wild!

April 18, 2014 by
NOT ALWAYS THAT EASY TO CONTROL!!!

NOT ALWAYS THAT EASY TO CONTROL!!!

Earlier this week (Wednesday, April 16), The Red Sox topped the White Sox 6-4 in a game in which nine White Sox pitchers (including infielder Leury Garcia, who took the loss) issued 15 walks.  The Red Sox used a pair of free passes and a double to score two runs in the top of the 14th inning to pull out the victory.  The very next day, in the second game of a split doubleheader, BBRT’s home team Twins – trailing the Blue Jays 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth – put together a six-run, game-winning rally on the backs of eight walks, three wild pitches and one lone hit (a Jason Kubel single).

Those two games got BBRT thinking about what events might be found if they made a low-budget video of “Pitchers Gone Wild.”

First, while the games mentioned above might make the cut, they would be far from the headliners.  Those fifteen walks by the White Sox fell short of the record (for one team) for walks in a game.  The record for a nine-inning contest stands at 18, accomplished twice.  First, on May 9, 1916, three Philadelphia Athletics hurlers walked 18 Tigers in a 16-2 loss at home. Lefty Carl Ray, whose MLB career consisted of just five appearances, took the brunt of the punishment.  Ray came on in a mop-up role with the Athletics down 9-0 after two innings.  He threw the final seven frames, giving up seven runs on six hits and twelve walks.  By the way, the Tigers also contributed to the Pitchers Gone Wild audition in this game – the two Tiger pitchers gave up a combined 12 walks, playing a solid supporting role in setting the record for most walks by both teams in a nine-inning contest (30).  The magic number of 18 walks in nine innings was reached again on May 20, 1948, when a pair of Red Sox pitchers walked 18 in a 13-4 loss to the Indians in Cleveland.

Note: The pre-1900 record for walks by one team in a nine-inning game is 20, by the American Association (then a major league) Cleveland Blues (versus the Louisville Colonels) on September 21, 1987.  The National League record of 17 has been reached three times.

The record for walks in a single game (including extra innings) is held by the Cleveland Indians, whose used seven pitchers and issued 19 free passes in a 20-inning 8-6 loss to the Washington Senators on September 14, 1971.  Here again, the opposition held up its send of the Pitchers Gone Wild script, with the Senators using nine pitchers to issue eleven walks, setting the extra-inning walks record by both teams at 30 (equal to the nine-inning record.) Notably, two well-known starters were in the game at the end, with former Tiger and last MLB single season 30-game winner Denny McLain picking up the win for the Senators, and Cleveland’s hard-throwing Sudden Sam McDowell taking the loss.

Turning now to the eight walks the Blue Jays “gave” to the Twins in a single inning – again, the total is short of the record.  On September 11, 1949, four Washington Senators’ pitches gave up 12 runs to the Yankees in the bottom of the third inning of a 20-5 loss to the Bronx Bombers – courtesy of a record (for a single inning) eleven walks, accompanied by two doubles, two singles and an error.  During the inning, a record four Yankees were walked twice – Cliff Mapes (RF), Charlie Keller (LF), Joe Collins (1B), and Jerry Coleman (2B). The Yanks, by the way, scored their twenty runs on a combination of 17 hits and 17 free passes.

Pitchers Gone Wild was the theme in the seventh inning of the White Sox/Athletics game of April 22, 1959 – when the Sox scored eleven runs off three As’ pitchers on just one hit (a single). The inning started off with two errors (by the shortstop and third baseman) and a single (actually three errors, the third hitter, Johnny Callison, hit a run-scoring single and a second run scored on an error by the right fielder).  It was then that the fun began.  The Sox went on to collect 10 bases on balls (a record eight with the bases loaded) and one hit-by-pitch (with the bases loaded) for eleven runs.

Pitchers Not As Wild As You Might Think. Sometimes looks can be deceiving.  On May 2, 1956, The Giants and Cubs (playing in Chicago) matched up in a 17-inning contest (won by the Giants 6-5) that featured 19 bases on balls.  The pitchers, however, were not that “out of control” – a record 11 of those were intentional walks – and ten of the eleven worked as planned.

  • In the bottom of the second, with a man on second and two out, the Giants’ Al Worthington intentionally walked Cubs’ catcher Hobie Landreth to get to pitcher Russ Meyer (who grounded to end the inning, preserving a 1-1 tie).
  • The next intentional pass didn’t come until the top of the eighth (with the Giants up 5-4), when the Cubs’ Russ Meyer intentionally walked Giants’ catcher Wes Westrum with a man on second and two out to bring up pitcher Don Liddle (who flied out to end the inning).
  • Things got a little more complicated in the bottom of the ninth, when – with the game tied 5-5 – Giants’ reliever Hoyt Wilhelm faced Cubs’ slugger Ernie Banks with the winning run on second base. Wilhelm intentionally walked Banks, then Steve Ridzik was brought in and intentionally walked Cubs number-five hitter Walt Moryn to load the bases.  Ridzek than fanned Monte Irvin and Gene Baker to end the inning.
  • In the top of the eleventh, the Giants put a man on second with two out and center fielder Willie Mays due up. Cubs’ pitcher Jim Davis intentionally walked Mays to bring up Bob Lennon (who was zero-for-five with two strikeouts).  The Giants countered with pinch hitter, Bobby Hoffman, who grounded out pitcher-to-first.
  • The Giants threatened again in the top of the twelfth – with runners on second and third (single, single, sacrifice) and one out.  Giants’ catcher Westrum got his second intentional pass, bringing up pitcher Steve Ridzik.  Wayne Terwilliger hit for Ridzik and struck out. Davis then got leadoff hitter Whitey Lockman to foul out, again preserving the tie.
  • In the top of the sixteenth, the Cubs’ fifth pitcher, Jim Brosnan, gave up a double to Giants’ third baseman Foster Castleman with two outs, and the intentional-pass parade continued.  Brosnan intentionally walked Don Mueller and  pinch hitter Hank Thompson to load the bases and bring pitcher Windy McCall to the plate. Benches were getting short (ultimately 48 players would appear in the game), so the Giants used pitcher Johnny Antonelli as a pinch hitter. Antonelli grounded out to end the threat.
  • In the bottom of the sixteenth, the Cubs’ fleet outfielder Solly Drake attempted to bunt for a hit and reached on an error (ending up at second base) to start the inning. Dee Fondy sacrificed him to third and Banks was again intentionally walked before the Giants’ Joe Margoneri retired Walt Moryn and Monte Irvin to escape unscathed and send the contest into the 17th inning.
  • The Giants finally pushed across the winning run in the top of the 17th, but not without a struggle.  Al Dark doubled with one out and went to third on a Brosnan wild pitch.  Willie Mays and Dusty Rhodes were walked intentionally, loading the bases before Dark scored on a sacrifice fly by Daryl Spencer. (The Cubs did have one last hope in the bottom of the inning, putting a runner on second with two outs before the Giants brought in Ruben Gomez, who fanned Don Hoak to finally end the contest).

Finally, we can’t simply malign pitchers.  We need to give credit where credit is due. So, we’d like to acknowledge Montreal Expos’ pitchers Pascual Perez, Tim Burke, Bryn Smith, Zane Smith, Rich Thompson and Dennis Martinez, who – on August 23, 1989 – combined to pitch twenty-two innings without giving up a single walk (17 strikeouts). They did give up 20 hits and it was the 20th safety (leading off the 22th inning) – a home run by catcher Rick Dempsey – that gave the visiting Dodgers a 1-0 victory that day.  The Expos still hold the record for the longest game without giving up a walk.

 

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts, News

Bob Feller – Very Good, Very Young, Very Long

April 16, 2014 by

 

On this date (April 16) in 1940, 21-year-old Bob Feller threw the first – and still only – Opening Day not hitter in MLB history.  That makes this an appropriate day to reflect on just how talented the pitcher, who would become known as “Rapid Robert” and “The Heater from Van Meter” was.

Bob Feller was very good – very early.  He didn’t just go directly from high school to the major leagues; he went to the major leagues while he was still in high school.  In fact, he earned a share of the major league single-game strikeout record before he earned his high school diploma.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.  If Van Meter, Iowa native Robert William Andrew Feller wasn’t born to be a baseball player (BBRT would argue he was), he certainly was raised to be one. Feller’s father William was an avid baseball fan and started tutoring Bob at a very young age and, by the time Bob was twelve, Feller’s father had built a baseball field, complete with scoreboard and bleachers, on the Feller farm.  The field was called Oakview Park and was home to the Oakviews, a team (including Bob Feller) of semi-pro and high school players.  In Feller’s formative years, he played not only for the Oakviews, but also for the Adel American Legion team, the local Farmers Union team and his high school team.

In 1935, Feller, sixteen-years-old and still in high school, was signed by the Cleveland Indians – reportedly for one dollar and an autographed baseball. The next year, Feller made his major league debut as a 17-year-old, pitching one scoreless inning in relief on July 19, 1936. In his first six games, all in relief, Feller totaled eight innings pitched, giving up 11 hits, seven runs, eight walks, and notching nine strikeouts. Despite those stats, the Indians felt the youngster – who had shown a blazing fastball and knee-buckling curve – was ready for his first major league start.  It came on August 23, 1936, against the St. Louis Browns.  In that initial start, Feller threw a complete game 4-1 victory, giving up six hits and four walks and striking out 15. The teenager suffered a pair of losses (to the Red Sox and Yankees) before evening his record at 2-2 with another complete game win over the Browns in which he fanned ten.  Then, on September 13, Feller bested the Athletics 5-2, throwing a complete game two-hitter, walking nine, but striking out seventeen – which, at that time, tied the MLB single-game strikeout record.  Feller finished the 1936 season with a 5-3 record, 3.34 ERA and five complete games in eight starts.  He walked 47 and fanned 76 in 62 innings. And, of course, he had yet to complete high school.

In his first start of the 1937 season (April 24 against the Browns), the teenage phenom – who had been featured on the cover of the April 19, 1937 issue of Time magazine – came up with a sore elbow.  Feller ended up pitching six innings, striking out 11, in a 4-3 loss and didn’t appear in another game until mid-May, then was shelved again until June 22.  The break did give Feller time to complete high school (his graduation was broadcast live on NBC Radio).  He finished the year, 9-7, 3.39, with 106 walks and 140 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings. Not bad for an 18-year-old, but the best was yet to come.

From 1938 to 1941, Feller won 93 games (44 losses) – making the All Star team all four seasons and leading the AL in wins three times, ERA once, complete games twice, shutouts twice, innings pitched three times, and strikeouts all four seasons.  At the end of the 1941 season, Feller had 107 major-league victories.  And, he was all of 22-years-old.

In that four-season span, Feller also set a then major league record for strikeouts in a single game (18 versus the Tigers on October 2, 1938) and threw the previously noted Opening Day no-hitter.  Note: That 1940 opener was an omen of what was to come, as 1940 proved to be, perhaps, Feller’s greatest season.  He led the league in wins (27), ERA (2.61), complete games (31), shutouts (4), innings pitched (320 1/3), and strikeouts (261) – finishing second to Hank Greenberg in the MVP voting.

The career of Bob Feller – baseball’s most rapidly rising comet – was, however, about to be interrupted. Two days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II, Feller became first professional athlete to enlist in the U.S. armed forces; eventually serving as a Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama. Feller was discharged from the Navy in late August, 1945, having missed 3 ½ MLB seasons. He immediately rejoined the Indians and finished up the season with a 5-3, 2.50 record, completing seven of nine starts and striking out 59 in 72 innings.

In his first full season after his discharge, Feller picked up right where he left off before the war,  leading the league in wins (26), complete games (36), shutouts (10), innings pitched (371 1/3) and strikeouts (a then MLB-record 348), while posting a 2.18 ERA.   In the first three full seasons after his post-war return, Feller led the league in wins twice, complete games once, shutouts twice, innings pitched twice, and strikeouts three times.  Makes one wonder what Feller would have done without the war-time interruption.  You can get a pretty good idea when you consider that, in the six full seasons surrounding his military service, (three before/three after), Feller’s average season was 24-12, 2.80 ERA, 26 complete games, five shutouts, and 239 strikeouts.

Ultimately, Rapid Robert Feller finished an 18-season career with 266 wins, 162 losses, a 3.25 ERA, 3,827 innings pitched, 279 complete games, 44 shutouts and 2,581 strikeouts. He made eight All Star teams, threw three no-hitters (12 one-hitters), led the AL in strikeouts seven times, wins six times, innings pitched five times, shutouts four times, complete games three times and ERA once.

Just how good was Bob Feller? In his December 15, 2010 obituary, the New York Times described Feller like this: “Joining the Indians in 1936, Feller became baseball’s biggest draw since Babe Ruth, throwing pitches that batters could barely see — fastballs approaching 100 miles an hour and curveballs and sinkers that fooled the sharpest eyes.”  The statistics back that assessment up and so do the hitters.  Accomplished batsmen from Stan Musial to Joe DiMaggio to Ted Williams have described Feller as one of the best – if not the best – pitcher of his time. In DiMaggio’s words: “I don’t think anyone is ever going to throw a ball faster than he (Feller) does. And his curveball isn’t human.”

Finally, I would be remiss to not note that I was privileged to meet Bob Feller at a minor league baseball game (long after his retirement as a player) and he was a true gentleman who retained his love for (and insight into) the game and his appreciation of the fans (no one was denied an autograph or a smile that day.)

 

Bob Feller – very good, very early, very long.   And, very much missed.

 

I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts

Book Review: Down To The Last Pitch – Good to the last page

April 14, 2014 by

down_to_last_pitchDown To The Last Pitch – How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time

By Tim Wendel

 2014 DA CAPO PRESS

$25.99

 

The 1991 World Series, matching the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves, will go down as one of the most exciting ever played.  The 1991 Fall Classic went the full seven games, ending in a 1-0, ten-inning win for the Twins.  Three games went extra innings, four came down to the final at bat and five were decided by a single run.  The Series was filled with tension and turning points (close plays at the plate, critical double plays, controversial umpires’ calls, base-running blunders, game-saving catches, timely strikeouts). ESPN, in celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the World Series, named the 1991 matchup the “greatest World Series ever.”

The 1991 Series had more going for it than dramatic games and avid home crowds (all the games were won by the home team).  It was, in fact, an historic event even before the first pitch was thrown. Never in major league history had a team gone from last place to pennant winner (punching a ticket to the Fall Classic) in a single year.  In 1991, both World Series’ participants had accomplished that feat.

If ever a World Series deserved its own book, it was the 1991 match up.  Fortunately, for baseball fans, Tim Wendel (award-winning author, one of USA Today Baseball Weekly’s founding editors, exhibit advisor to the Baseball Hall of Fame and, as evidenced by his prose, a knowledgeable and passionate baseball fan) has given us that book in the form of the recently released Down To The Last Pitch – How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time.

Down To The Last Pitch lives up to the events it describes.  Wendel couples his journalistic skills with an understanding and appreciation of the national pastime to take readers deep into the 1991 World Series – not just into the ballpark, but right into the dugout and onto the field. Down To The Last Pitch provides an inside look at what was going on behind the scenes and in the minds of the players, managers and coaches as – game by game – the tension ratcheted up.  Wendel presents this historic Series in a combination of his own words and observations and those of its participants. For baseball fans, it’s a story worth telling, reading and remembering.

As Atlanta third baseman and 1991 National League MVP Terry Pendleton said of the Series, “Every pitch, every strike, every ball, every inning – everything mattered in every game.”

Just how much it all mattered comes through in Wendel’s account of Minnesota catcher Brian Harper’s thoughts during a break in the action after the Twins had intentionally walked David Justice to load the bases with one out and the score tied at 0-0 in the top of the eighth inning of Game Seven. Wendel lets Harper describe the pressure in his own words:  “That’s when I envisioned a come-backer to Jack (Morris), he throws it to me at home plate, then I airmail one past (Kent) Hrbek into right field. We lose the Series and I’m the goat of all time. I would be the next Bill Buckner.  I literally thought this after we walked David Justice. So, I then I’m thinking, ‘Okay, get that thought out of your head. Lord, please help me relax here and let me do my job.’”

Harper was apparently successful in pushing that negative vision from is mind.  And, it’s a good thing, because his nightmare (just slightly modified) began to play out right before his eyes. The Braves’ next hitter, Sid Bream, hit a grounder to Hrbek at first base, who fired to Harper for the force out at the plate, leaving Harper to make that inning-ending (or game-losing) home-to-first double play throw- which, as we all know, he did successfully.

Wendel’s game-by-game description of the Series provides plenty of these very human insights into the action, adding color and depth to his accounting.  He includes the often told story of how Twins’ starter Jack Morris (who threw a ten-inning, complete game shutout in Game Seven) had to lobby manager Tom Kelly to stay in the game after the ninth inning. He ends the tale with Kelly’s submission and comment, “Oh hell. It’s only a game.”   Down To The Last Pitch adds a little context to Morris’ grit and determination, having already noted that Morris (described as having “the air of an ornery, aging gunslinger”) was disgruntled after being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning of Game Four (tied 1-1 at the time and eventually won 3-2 by the Braves). Morris later told Sports Illustrated, “TK screwed up by taking me out.  We would have won it.”  Nobody was taking the ball from Morris’ hand in the deciding game.

Down To The Last Pitch also uses the flow of the game as a natural bridge to observations on, not just the players involved, but baseball itself.  The reader gains insight into such player-related topics as John Smoltz’ 1991 turnaround (a 2-11 won-lost record in the first half and a 12-2 record in the second half), how reliever Rick Aguilera ended up as the first pitcher used as a pinch hitter in the World Series since 1965, and events that shaped the baseball lives of many of the players who took the field for the Series (like Mike Lemke’s childhood pickup games on the grounds of the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center or the impact of the lights from the Twins’ original Metropolitan Stadium shining into the bedroom window of a young Kent Hrbek).

Wendel also uses game action to lead into more general commentary on baseball. The crack of the bat on Twins’ number-nine hitter Greg Gagne’s Game One home run, for example, takes Wendel back a previous conversation with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (who hit 586 MLB home runs). Robinson described the sound of a home run as “Like you’re out in the woods and you step on a branch. A dry branch. It’s that snap that goes just so.”  That’s the sound Wendel reports hearing, even above the crowd, on Gagne’s home run.  That distinctive snap spurred him to share Robinson’s thoughts not only on the “sound” of a home run, but also on its excitement. In Robinson’s words, “Nothing else offers the kind of excitement a home run does. Not even a perfect game. Because a home run is instant – it’s so surprising.”

Down to the Last Pitch also includes commentary on factors affecting the Series’ outcome that may have escaped the average fan.  Wendel delves, for example, into the unavailability of speedsters Otis Nixon (drug-related suspension) and Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons’ football training camp) – two Braves’ players with potentially game-changing speed. Few remember that Nixon, out for the Series, hit .297 with 72 stolen bases in 124 games in 1991.

Ultimately, Down To The Last Pitch is a great read not just for Twins and Braves fans – although it is a must for followers of those teams – but for any fans who want to get closer to the game.  I was lucky enough to attend the Twins’ home games in the 1991 Series and, after reading Down To The Last Pitch, I feel “closer” to the action than ever.

And, there is even more.  Once you’ve completed Wendel’s account of the seven exciting contests that made up the 1991 World Series, there is – like an extra inning game – even more baseball to come.  The book includes two Appendices: One covering what happened after the Series to many of the principals involved (and other notables from the 1991 season); and a second outlining a dozen great World Series moments.

In short, Down To The Last Pitch has something for baseball fans down to the last page.

Other baseball books by Tim Wendel you may enjoy: Summer of 68: The Season that Changed Baseball and America Forever (reviewed here); High Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Improbable Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time; Far From Home: Latino Baseball Players in America; The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America’s Favorite Sport.

BBRT tweets  baseball @DavidBBRT

Filed Under: Reviews

Nerves of “Steal!”

April 14, 2014 by

Remind me never to play poker against this kid!

 

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts, News

April 13, 1926 – Opening Day Duel for the Ages

April 13, 2014 by

 

Walter Johnson – spinner of seven Opening Day shutouts.

 

April 13, 1926 marked the fourteenth and final Opening Day start for the Washington Senators Walter “Big Train:” Johnson.  The 38-year-old right-hander (a future Hall of Famer and considered one of – if not the – top power pitchers of his era) was in his twentieth big league season, having already collected 397 of his eventual 417 wins.  Johnson was coming off a 20-7, 3.07 1925 campaign for the Senators, who had led the AL with a 95-66 record, losing the World Series in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Johnson had gone 2-1, 2.08 in the Series, with three complete games.)

Opposing Johnson, before 25,000 fans at Washington D.C.’s Griffith Stadium, was Philadelphia Athletics’ right-hander Eddie Rommel.  The 28-year-old Rommel, in his seventh MLB season, had led the AL in victories in 1925, going 21-10, with a 3.69 ERA for the Athletics, whose 88-64 record trailed only the Senators in the AL.

Note: In his first seven AL seasons, Rommel had led the AL in victories twice (1922 & 1925) and in losses twice (1921 & 1923).  Johnson, as he took the mound on Opening Day in 1926, had led the AL in wins six times, ERA five times, strikeouts 12 times, shutouts seven times and complete games six times.

In addition to Johnson, the starting lineups included five future Hall of Famers: Centerfielder Al Simmons and catcher Mickey Cochrane for the Athletics; and centerfielder Sam Rice, second baseman Bucky Harris and leftfielder Goose Goslin for the Senators.

The stage was set for a great Opening Day match-up – and the fans were not disappointed. Johnson threw a complete Dame, 15-inning shutout (his record seventh Opening Day shutout), giving up six hits and three walks against nine strikeouts.  Rommel proved nearly the Big Train’s equal that day, going fourteen scoreless frames, before giving up a lone run in the bottom of the fifteenth (Rommel gave up nine hits and six walks, while striking out just one in a gritty performance).  Two pitchers going into the fifteenth inning on Opening Day? Doubt we’ll ever see that again.  For BBRT’s thoughts on the decline of the complete game click here.

Little did fans know how special that 1926 opener was.  Turned out Johnson’s masterpiece was his final Opening Day start.  The Big Train finished the 1926 season 15-16, 3.63.  The following year a leg injury kept him from starting the Opener and he retired after running up a 5-6, 5.10 record. Rommel went 11-11, 3.08 in 1926.  He pitched another six seasons, never again topping 13 wins – although from 1927-32, he went 53-21 with 53 starts and 129 relief appearances.

How good was Johnson? His final record was 417-279, with a career ERA of 2.17, 531 complete games in 666 starts, and still MLB-record 110 shutouts.  In arguably his best season (1913), Johnson notched an AL-leading 36 wins (versus seven losses – a league-leading .837 winning percentage) and a league-low 1.14 ERA, while also boasting AL-high complete games (28), shutouts (11), innings pitched (346) and strikeouts (243).

Filed Under: BB Fun Facts

Twins’ Opening Day 2014 – Winter Is OVER!

April 8, 2014 by
This part of Opening Day was exciting!

This part of Opening Day was exciting!

Minnesota winter is officially OVER – and we can thank Mother Nature and the Minnesota Twins.  BBRT was in the stands yesterday (April 7) – third deck behind home plate – as the Minnesota Twins opened their home season with an 8-3 loss to the visiting A’s.  Despite the disappointing outcome, it was baseball that counted, the field was in great shape (just three days ago about a half-foot of snow fell on the Twin Cities), the beer was cold, the hot dogs hot, the peanuts salted, the cotton candy “shudder sweet” and approximately 36,000 fans were ready to welcome baseball and the Twins “home.”

The temperature at game time was in the mid-50s (about 20 degrees warmer than the 2013 home opener that BBRT shivered through, read about it here) and the sun was shining.  In Minnesota, in April, we break out the shorts and sun screen and call this kind of day “a real scorcher.”

We arrived at Target Field early, for a trio of reasons (baseball tends to do things in threes):

1) The Twins continued a tradition of having franchise “celebrities” open the gates.  This year’s cast of honorary gatekeepers included such notables as Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, three-time AL batting champ Tony Oliva, former Twins’ manager Tom Kelly and former Twins’ first baseman Kent Hrbek.

2) We didn’t want to miss any of the Opening Day festivities, especially the ceremonial first pitch from Somali-American and Minnesota resident Barkhad Abdi (nominated for an Oscar for his role the 2013 film “Captain Phillips.) Abdi, by the way, made a strong throw to the plate.  As a bonus, there was also a solid performance by local a cappella (never thought I’d use “a cappella” in a baseball post) group Home Free, who won season four of “The Sing Off.”

3) It is a tradition in the BBRT family that all significant food (any that requires leaving your seat to acquire) must be purchased before game time.  This rule was enacted to protect the integrity and accuracy of the obligatory scorecard.

Once inside the Target Field, the feasting began.  We started with the new Porchetta Egg Rolls ($8).  We liked the combination of the creamy filling (pork and cream cheese) and crunchy outside (fried egg roll).  The portion, two large egg rolls was perfect for sharing. It could have used a bit more cream cheese and BBRT would suggest some hot Chinese mustard for dipping.  Next, we went for the traditional Walleye and Fries ($11.50) – a reliable, tasty treat – a large, flaky walleye fillet, with a crisp breading and generous portion of fries.

The Smoked Meat sandwich from Andre Zimmern's Canteen.

The Smoked Meat sandwich from Andre Zimmern’s Canteen.

Next, we spotted local celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern’s AZ Canteen. Zimmern is perhaps best known for his Travel Channel show Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and the offerings here were, as expected, a bit more exotic. We had our choice of Crispy Belly Bacon with Jalapeno Jelly and Vinegar Slaw or a Smoked Meat Sandwich with Vinegar Slaw and Maple Syrup Hot Sauce (both $12.50). We opted for the Smoked Meat Sandwich, which was moist and flavorful (a more interesting blend of flavors than in most ball park foods). For those who might be a bit wary of unidentified smoked “meat” – given Zimmern’s passion for bizarre foods – rest easy, it’s pastrami. BBRT would also recommend Zimmerns’ Cucumber-Mint Lemonade, with or without vodka.  All in all, there’s lot of new food items to try at Target Field, so get there hungry – and get there early.

Once full (close to uncomfortably so), we purchased official Twins’ “2014 Opening Day” pins and attached them to our hats, picked up a scorecard and headed for our seats for the aforementioned festivities.  (Oh yes, and while there wasn’t the jet-propelled flyover you see at so many ball parks, an American Bald Eagle did soar majestically high over the field in the middle innings.  Much more Minnesotan.)

The game itself left a little to be desired, even beyond the score.  There were a combined ten walks, one hit batsman and one run-scoring balk.  There were also nine Twins’ strikeouts and ten left on base on offense, as well as shaky starting pitching (starter Kevin Correia gave up six runs on nine hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings). All of this seemed reminiscent of 2013, when the Twins had MLB’s second-most hitter whiffs, third-highest rate of men left on base and worst starting-rotation ERA.

Still, it’s just one game, and there is hope.  The Twins just came off a 3-3 road trip, the hitting has looked better and there is more potential in the starting pitching staff.  And, most important, we have 155 more games to watch the story develop.

There were bright spots: a rousing ovation for three-time batting champ and new/now first baseman Joe Mauer; a nice welcome home for former Twin Jason Kubel, who had a double and an RBI and is hitting .381 in the early season; and a warm reception for former Twin/now Athletic Nick Punto, who came on as a pinch-runner in the seventh.

The play of day goes to the Twins’ Chris Colabello, who started in right field and ended the top of the second inning with a diving catch on Eric Sogard’s sinking liner and then threw to second to double off Alberto Callaspo.  Colabello, who had a single and a walk in five at bats, was selected AL Player of the Week (shared with Angels’ outfielder Josh Hamilton) for the first week of the 2014 season.  In six games last week, Colabello hit .391 (9-for-23) with four doubles, one home run, four runs scored and a then AL-best 11 RBIs.

The versatile (1B/OF/DH) Colabello is one of those “feel good” baseball stories. Colabello went undrafted by organized ball out of college and – before signing with the Twins’ organization in 2012 (at age 28) – played seven seasons in the independent Can-Am League, where he averaged 83 games, .317, 18 home runs, 100 runs and 85 RBI per season.  In 2011, he hit .348, with 20 home runs and 79 RBI in 92 games.  In his first season in the Twins’ system, Colabello hit .284 with 19 home runs and 98 RBI for the Twins’ New Britain (AA-level) club. In 2013, he moved up to (AAA) Rochester, where he earned 2013 International League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors by hitting .352 with 24 home runs and 76 RBI in 89 games between call-ups (55 games) to the Twins. At the major league level, things did not go as well (.194-7-17 in 2013). That performance and Joe Mauer’s move from behind the plate to first base (Colabello’s primary position) led some to suggest he consider playing overseas. Colabello, however, did not give up on his “American (League) Dream,” stuck with the Twins and a strong showing in Spring Training (.349-1-8 in 43 at bats) earned him a spot on the roster – and the clean-up slot in the home opener batting order.

Another story that grabbed BBRT’s attention was the travel of catcher Chris Hermann, who lined up for the Rochester Red Wings (AAA) home opener on Sunday and then found himself being introduced as a Twin during yesterday’s opening ceremonies.  Hermann was called up following an ankle injury that sent Jason Bartlett to the Disabled List. Hermann’s resume is not as flashy as Colabello’s (.258, with 29 home runs in 485 minor league games and .189-4-19 in 64 games for the Twins in 2012/13). He did, however, hit .412 in 17 at bats this spring, and had the thrill of lining up along the first base line for the Twins home opener player introductions.  Two openers, at two levels, in two days – that’s a busy schedule.

This Opening Day activity was NOT exciting.

This Opening Day activity was NOT exciting.

If there was one low-light to the game, it came in the third inning when a long fly ball down the right field line by A’s shortstop Jed Lawrie led to a lengthy (more than four minutes) replay review.  The initial foul call was upheld, but the whole process was unsatisfying for the fans. Note: This was the second four-minute-plus replay delay for the Twins this season.  BBRT remains old school in opposition to replays.  My feelings: 1) Over a 162-game season, the calls will even out.  2) Long replay delays disrupt the flow of the game, particularly for the pitcher; 3) At least, before the new challenge system, fans had something to watch when a manager disagreed with a call (arm waving, hat throwing, dust kicking and, of course, the ultimate: ejection).

All in all, despite the loss and the replay delay,  it was (as always) a good day at the ball park.   The sky was bright blue, the ball was stark white, the grass deep green and the fans adorned in lots of red and blue Twins’ garb.  The crack of the bat on a well hit ball was as sharp as ever, 95-mph fastballs literally “popped” into the catchers’ mitts, the vendors’ voices were in good form and the “We’re gonna win Twins” theme song sung with gusto.  The players fans love to watch ended up with the dirtiest uniforms, mustard fingerprints somehow found their way to the edge of scorecards around the stands and rally hats appeared in the late innings.  The hot dogs had that special ball park flavor, the scorecard was cheap and informative, the day’s slate of MLB games could be followed on the scoreboard – and Target Field remained one of MLB most inviting ball parks.  Oh yeah, and there was NO wave!  Perhaps, most important, baseball is back and winter is OVER.

With that review of opening day complete, let’s look at just a few interesting (at least for BBRT) early season developments.

Yu Darvish picked up right where he left off in 2013 throwing seven shutout innings (7 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts) in his first start – beating the Rays 6-0 on April 6.  In the process, Darvish reached 500 career whiffs faster than any MLB pitcher ever (401 2/3 innings). Darvish topped the record (404 2/3 innings of the Cubs Kerry Wood).

Braves outfielder B.J. Upton also picked up where he left off.  After hitting .184 in 126 games in 2013, he finished the first week of the 2014 season 3-for-25 (.120 avg.), with 11 strikeouts in six games.

The World Champion Boston Red Sox threw their fans a curve.  After not being swept in a single home series in 2013, they were swept (3 games) by the Brewers in their first Fenway Park series of 2014.

Rockies’ center fielder Charlie Blackmon surprised the a large home crowd with a six-for-six day at the plate as Colorado topped Arizona 12-2 on April 4. Blackmon, who also made a “Web Gem” sliding catch in the top of the fourth, finished the day with three doubles, a home run, two singles, six runs and five RBI.  The 27-year-old Blackmon looks like he’s here to stay.  He averaged .309 in six minor league seasons – and .309 in 82 games for the Rockies in 2013.

Yasiel Puig surprised just a few fans, when he was benched for the Dodgers’ home opener after arriving late for pregame workouts.

Yankee captain Derek Jeter began his Mariano Rivera-like farewell tour with a pair of Yankees pinstriped Lucchese cowboy boots and a Stetson hat – presented by the Houston Astros.  More mementos are sure to come.  In the meantime, on Sunday (April 6), Jeter collected a pair of hits, to reach 3,320 for his career – placing him at eighth all time.

Here are the targets ahead:

Pete Rose – 4,256 hits

Ty Cobb – 4,189

Hank Aaron – 3,771

Stan Musial – 3,630

Tris Speaker – 3,514

Honus Wagner – 3,420

Carl Yastrzemski – 3,419

Finally, a special nod to Carle Place High School (Long Island, NY) junior Mike Delio, who not only tossed a 7-inning perfect game in his first outing as a varsity starter (Delio played for the junior varsity as freshman and sophomore), but also struck out all 21 hitters (on just 84 pitches – a low to mid-80s fastball and knucklecurve) in the 15-0 victory over Hempstead.

Filed Under: Rants & Raves

Baseball Lore – Teenager Girl Strikes Out Ruth and Gehrig, Using “Drop” Learned from Dazzy Vance

April 2, 2014 by

On April 2, 1931, 17-year-old Chattanooga Lookouts’ hurler Virne Beatrice “Jackie” Mitchell Gilbert (the second woman to sign a professional baseball contract*) walked to the mound with no outs, one run in and Yankee shortstop Lyn Lary on first base – in the first inning of an exhibition game against the vaunted New York Yankees.  Watching the petite 5’5” lefthander’s sidearm warm-up pitches (primarily sinkers) was the next scheduled batter – Babe Ruth. On deck was Ruth’s partner in power, Lou Gehrig.

That Jackie Mitchell should be in this spot was a surprise to some, but not all.  Mitchell was a skilled athlete, adept in both basketball and baseball.  Her father, Joseph Mitchell, began schooling her in the basics of baseball almost as soon as she could walk.  The finer points of pitching, in particular how to throw the sinker or drop ball, were passed on to Jackie at a very young age by her next door neighbor – future Baseball Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance.

By the time Mitchell was 17, she was playing for a traveling basketball team in the fall and winter and a women’s baseball team in the spring and summer.   Joe Engel, president of the Southern Association’s (AA) Chattanooga Lookouts, apparently liked what he saw and, on March 28, 1931, signed Mitchell to a Lookouts’ contract for the upcoming season.  Just five days after signing that contract, Mitchell walked to the mound, before a roaring crowd estimated at 4,000 – to face the great Babe Ruth.

The March 31, 1931, Chattanooga News wrote this about Mitchell just two days before her appearance.

“She uses an odd, side-armed delivery, and puts both speed and curve on the ball. Her greatest asset, however, is control. She can place the ball where she pleases, and her knack at guessing the weakness of a batter is uncanny.”

Mitchell – using a deceptive side-arm delivery and her trademark “drop ball” – started Ruth off with ball one.  Ruth then swung and missed at the next two pitches (prompting the Bambino to ask the umpire to inspect the ball). Ruth took Mitchell’s fourth offering for a called third strike on the outside corner – tossing his bat to the ground and stomping back to the dugout.  Unlike Ruth, Gehrig was in no mood to “take” any pitches and wound up swinging and missing at three straight “drops.”   Mitchell then walked Tony Lazzeri and her first (and what proved to be final) appearance for the Lookouts was done.  A few days later, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis reportedly voided Mitchell’s contract, on the grounds that baseball was too strenuous for women.

Note: Although Mitchell’s historic appearance, and the fact that this was an exhibition game, minimize the importance of the outcome, the Yankees won the contest 14-4.

Mitchell continued to play baseball, joining a number of amateur squads and popular “barnstorming” baseball teams. She spent four years (1933-37) with the barnstorming House of David team, which once again gave her the opportunity to face major leaguers.  On September 12, 1933, Mitchell was the starting pitcher in a House of David 8-6 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park.  Mitchell left baseball in 1937 and declined an offer to come out of retirement to join the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1943.

There was some controversy after Mitchell’s historic appearance against the Yankees, with critics theorizing it was a publicity stunt cooked up by Engel and agreed to by Ruth and Gehrig. They cite Engel’s reputation for promotion, Mitchell’s signing just days before the contest, and the fact that the game was originally scheduled for April Fools’ Day (but delayed due to rain).  If Ruth and Gehrig were “in on it,” they never said so, and others assert that the rumors of their involvement surfaced to protect male egos; and that Ruth and Gehrig were fooled by Mitchell’s unusual delivery and the significant drop of her sinker. Mitchell later said the only agreement with the Yankees was that they would that they would try to avoid hitting line drives straight up the middle (back to the mound). Whatever side you come down on, it’s a great story – and Jackie Mitchell is a great charactor –  from the history of our national pastime.  BBRT says: Like Tug McGraw, “Ya Gotta Believe!”

*In 1898. Elizabeth Stroud (under the name Lizzie Arlington) played (pitched) in a game for the Reading Coal Heavers of the Class B Atlantic league.

 

Below: L-R: Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Jackie Mitchell before the Lookouts/Yankee contest. 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized