The World Series Read online

  The Giants nearly scored again in the sixth inning, when Larry Doyle slugged the ball to right center field. It looked like a surefire home run until outfielder Harry Hooper hurled himself over a low wall and snagged the ball out of the air.

  The score was still 1–0 when Jake Stahl of the Red Sox came up to bat. There was one out. Stahl rapped a short fly ball to left center field. The Giants' shortstop, left fielder, and center fielder all headed toward it, gloves outstretched. But somehow, none of them made the catch! The ball fell to the ground, and Stahl was safe on second.

  Mathewson appeared rattled by the flubbed play, for he walked the next batter to put runners at first and second. He worked pinch hitter Olaf Henriksen to a full count, and then threw a fadeaway pitch.

  Pow! Henriksen connected with a searing blast past third base. Stahl scored and the game was tied.

  The score was still 1–1 at the end of the ninth, forcing the game into extra innings.

  The Giants took the lead in the top of the tenth, when Murray reached home after Speaker missed a pickup. The next batter, Chief Meyers, then blazed a line drive right at Wood, who had been brought in to help Boston to a win. Wood nabbed the ball with his pitching hand and threw Meyers out at first to end the inning.

  Unfortunately, the catch injured Smokey Joe's hand. He took a seat on the bench and pinch hitter Clyde Engle took his turn at bat. Engle was a decent hitter, but not great. He connected for a floater toward center field, an easy out.

  Fred Snodgrass held up his glove to catch the ball — and missed! Engle was safe at second.

  Mathewson walked the next batter, Steve Yerkes. When Speaker popped up a foul between home and first, the second out — and possibly a game-ending double play — looked in the bag.

  First baseman Fred Merkle, catcher Chief Meyers, and Mathewson all rushed for the catch. Merkle was closest, but for some reason, Mathewson bellowed for Meyers to take it. Meyers dove — and missed.

  “That's gonna cost you this ball game!” Speaker yelled gleefully as he headed back to the plate. He backed up his bold words with a line drive to right. Engle scored, Yerkes went to third, and Speaker stood grinning at second. It was a tied game, and there were still two outs to go.

  Mathewson walked the next batter to load the bases. Then Larry Gardner came up to the plate with one intention in mind: to hit the ball far enough so that even if it was caught, Yerkes could tag up and beat the throw home.

  Mathewson threw. Gardner connected. The ball flew toward right field. Devore got under it — and caught it!

  Yerkes took off from third as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Devore hurled the ball to Meyers. Meyers stretched out his glove. The ball came fast, but Yerkes came faster. He hit the dirt in front of home plate and slid in under Meyers' glove! The Red Sox had their winning run — and their second World Series championship!

  The New York Times would later report that the tenth inning of game eight was “the most stirring finish of a world championship in the history of baseball.” Fortunately for baseball fans, there would be many more such finishes in the decades to come.

  CHAPTER TWO

  1920s

  1924: The Big Train Steams to Victory

  The Giants returned to the World Series in 1913, hoping this time to come out on top. They didn't. The Philadelphia Athletics beat them four games to one. The following year, the Boston Braves swept the A's in four straight games. The Red Sox, led by the pitching and batting skills of a young Babe Ruth, were victorious in 1915 and 1916, and again in 1918. In 1917, the White Sox took the championship away from the Giants. All these Series had memorable plays, but it was the 1919 World Series that found a place in the history books — for all the wrong reasons.

  From 1914 to 1918, many countries, including the United States, were embroiled in World War I. Peace was finally declared at the end of 1918 and with it a return to life's normal routines. For many, that routine included baseball and the World Series.

  That year, the Chicago White Sox were the heavy favorites to win the newly expanded, best-of-nine Series. Their opponents, the Cincinnati Reds, were a talented team but nowhere near as strong as the Sox. Yet to the amazement of many, the Chicago squad lost to Cincinnati, five games to three!

  The reason for the stunning upset was revealed a year later. Several of the White Sox players, it turned out, had been paid by gamblers to throw the Series. The scandal rocked the baseball world; the disgraced players were banned from the sport and the team became forever known as the Black Sox.

  Fortunately, the World Series of the early 1920s did much to restore baseball's good reputation. And in 1924, fans witnessed one of the best competitions the sport had yet seen.

  “First in war, first in peace, last in the American League.” That was the running joke about Washington, D.C., home of the United States government and the worst baseball team, the Washington Senators. Despite having one of the best hurlers in the game, Walter Johnson, the Senators had wound up in the cellar year after year. That changed at last in 1924, when Washington surprised everyone by beating out the mighty New York Yankees for a chance at the World Series title.

  Their opponents were the other New York team, the Giants. The Giants had a formidable lineup including six batters who hit better than .300 that season. The Senators were the sentimental favorites, but against such competition, few believed they would come out on top.

  Johnson, or the “Big Train,” as he was known, pitched for the Senators in the opening game at Griffith Stadium in Washington. By the end of the ninth inning, he had struck out several batters — but he'd also given up two home runs. Luckily, Washington had managed to push two of their own runners across home plate. With the score 2–2, the game went into a tenth inning.

  Then it went into an eleventh, and a twelfth. Johnson remained on the mound, but he was looking tired. He gave up two walks and three singles to hand the Giants two runs. The Senators added only one more in their last at bats.

  The loss overshadowed the fact that Johnson had set a World Series record that day, striking out twelve batters. “I gave them everything I had, but it wasn't enough,” he told a reporter, his voice laced with disappointment.

  No one rooting for the Senators was disappointed by the second game, a 4–3 victory for Washington, although some may have wished the match hadn't been such a nail-biter. The Senators were up 3–0 in the fifth, saw their lead shrink by one in the sixth, and then disappear altogether when the Giants scored twice in the ninth.

  Washington came up for their last raps with the score tied at 3–3. Leadoff batter Joe Judge walked and then was bunted to second. One out, but the game-winning run was in place.

  The Senators' clutch man, Roger Peckinpaugh, faced pitcher Jack Bentley. He let the first pitch go by for a ball. He fouled the second to bring the count to one and one. And then he laced the next past the third baseman into the outfield. Judge charged from second to third and then flew the rest of the way home to make the score 4–3.

  The Series score now stood at one game apiece. Four games later, it stood at three games apiece. The 1924 World Series would be decided in the seventh and final game.

  The game was played in Washington before a capacity crowd that included the president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, and his wife, Grace. Grace Coolidge was an avid baseball fan. She and others in the crowd were undoubtedly puzzled when they saw who was on the pitcher's mound for the all-important game.

  With a season record of 9–8, right-hander Curly Ogden was hardly the Senators' best pitcher. Why, then, was he starting when southpaw George Mogridge was available?

  The reason had everything to do with strategy.

  Statistically, left-handed batters do better against right-handed pitchers. The Giants had a powerful left-handed hitter, Bill Terry, who was averaging .500 in the Series. Once John McGraw, the Giants' manager, knew the Senators were starting a right-handed pitcher, he put Terry in the lineup.

  That's what Bucky Harris, the
Senators' manager and second baseman, was counting on. He allowed Ogden to pitch against two batters in the first inning. Then he pulled him from the game, put Mogridge in his place, and sat back to see what would happen when Mogridge faced Terry.

  What happened was that Terry grounded out and struck out his first two at bats!

  The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. With one out and no one on base, Harris came to the plate. He smashed a long fly ball over the left-field fence for a home run! The Senators were on the scoreboard.

  The score remained 1–0 until the top of the sixth. Pep Youngs walked and then advanced to third on a solid single from George Kelly's bat. Bill Terry was next in the roster. But McGraw pulled him and had a righty, Irish Meusel, pinch-hit against the lefty pitcher.

  When Harris saw Meusel, he immediately took action. He replaced Mogridge with Firpo Marberry —a righty!

  This time, however, the strategy failed to make a difference. Meusel hit deep into the outfield. The ball was caught for an out, but Pep Youngs tagged up and raced home to give the Giants their first run. Two batters later, they had their second — and they still had runners on first and second with only one out.

  Grace Coolidge and the rest of the Senators' fans grew quiet. Would their beloved team bow down beneath the might of the Giants after all?

  The answer seemed to be yes when New York added another run on a ball-between-the-legs error made by shortstop Ossie Bluege.

  But Harris had one last card to play: Walter Johnson.

  Few noticed Johnson warming up. They were too busy watching the action unfold on the field. Neither team scored in the seventh inning. Marberry held off the Giants in the top of the eighth. With the score 3–1, the Senators came up to bat.

  Bluege, the first hitter, got out. Pinch hitter Nemo Leibold zinged a double into left field. Now Muddy Ruel approached the plate. Ruel hadn't gotten a hit the whole Series. This time, however, he singled. Leibold ran to third. The next batter, Bennie Tate, walked to load the bases.

  The fans were on their feet, roaring for a hit. They didn't get one from Earl McNeely, who flied out. Two outs, bases loaded — and up came Bucky Harris. Harris took two strikes from pitcher Virgil Barnes. On the next, he laid down a grounder toward third.

  Third baseman Fred Lindstrom moved forward. As he crouched for the catch, the ball struck a small pebble and ricocheted into the air over his head!

  That crazy hop gave Leibold and Ruel all the time they needed to race home. The inning ended soon after, but the Senators had tied the game at 3–3.

  Now came the time for Bucky Harris to play his final card. When Walter Johnson walked out of the bull pen and onto the mound, the crowd erupted with cheers.

  They cheered again when he retired the side without giving up a run. But the Senators didn't score in the ninth either. In fact, the score remained tied until the bottom of the twelfth inning.

  Washington's first batter, Ralph Miller, grounded out to second. Then Ruel popped a high fly ball right over the plate.

  New York's catcher, Hank Gowdy, tore off his mask and tracked the ball as it faded into the darkening sky and then started back down. Eye still on the ball, Gowdy lifted his glove and stepped back, right onto his mask! He lurched sideways and fell. The ball fell, too — right on the ground beside him.

  Foul ball. Ruel, still alive, clocked a double off the next pitch.

  With the winning run standing on second, Walter Johnson came up. He hit a bouncing grounder to short, a surefire out.

  Or was it? Unbelievably, shortstop Travis Jackson kicked the ball — and Johnson arrived safely at first! He stayed there when the next batter, Earl McNeely, knocked a grounder to third. In a bizarre replay, the ball struck a pebble and took a wild hop over the third baseman's head — just as it had earlier in the game!

  Ruel took off and ran as he had never run before. When he touched home plate, the crowd went insane. The Washington Senators, the worst team in the American League, had just stolen the World Series away from the mighty New York Giants!

  “Winning today makes everything all right,” Walter Johnson said later. “If I never pitch another ball game, I will have this one to remember, and I'll never forget it.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  1930s

  1932: The Legendary Called Shot

  The most famous baseball player in the world is unquestionably George Herman “Babe” Ruth. The Babe debuted with the Red Sox in 1914. He spent five seasons in Boston, chalking up amazing stats and helping the team win the World Series in 1915, 1916, and 1918.

  In 1920, he was traded to the New York Yankees. For the next fourteen seasons, he continued to astonish with his power at the plate and his prowess on the field. He also led the team to four World Series wins. While any World Series that featured the “Sultan of Swat” was exciting, one moment in the 1932 championship stands out as the most memorable —and the most controversial — in baseball history.

  New York faced the Chicago Cubs that year. Animosity between the two clubs was running high even before the Series began. Why? Midseason, Chicago had acquired a new shortstop, Mark Koenig, from New York. The former Yankee went on to bat .353 in the thirty-three games he played as a Cub. In New York's opinion, Koenig was a big reason the Cubs had reached the World Series. When they found out Chicago planned to give Koenig only a half-share of any World Series winnings, they were outraged for their old teammate — and announced their outrage publicly.

  New York's manager, Joe McCarthy, also had a grudge against Chicago. Two years earlier, he had been fired as manager of the Cubs when the team failed to repeat as pennant winners. Now, he wanted nothing more than to show them what they had given up by beating them in the Series.

  The first game took place on September 28 at Yankee Stadium. Besides Babe Ruth, the Yankees had the might of their star first baseman, Lou Gehrig. Together, the two sluggers had a combined total of 75 home runs for the regular season. Many New York fans hoped to see one or both of them add to that total that day.

  Getting hits, let alone homers, off the Cubs would be difficult, however, for Chicago had a very strong pitching staff. Lon Warneke boasted a 2.37 ERA that year and accounted for 22 of the team's 90 wins; Guy Bush added another 19, and Charlie Root 15. The Cubs also had an impressive lineup of hitters, including future Hall-of-Famers Billy Herman, Gabby Hartnett, and Kiki Cuyler, whose triple on September 20 had clinched the NL pennant for the Cubs.

  The Cubs got on the scoreboard first. First Billy Herman singled to center field. Then Woody English clocked a hit into right. It could have been an out, but the Babe bobbled the play. Herman flew around the bases and made it home. English, meanwhile, stood safe at third. Two batters later, he, too, raced home. The inning ended soon after, but the Yankees were already in the hole by two runs!

  Three innings later, they were still down by two. In fact, they hadn't even managed to get a hit off pitcher Guy Bush! Then, in the fourth inning, their bats finally came alive. Ruth singled, scoring Earle Combs, whom Bush had sent to first on a walk. Then, with Ruth at first, Gehrig blasted a home run. The inning ended with the score 3-2 in New York's favor.

  It stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth inning. Bush was still on the mound, but when he walked the first three batters to load the bases, it was obvious he was tired. Still, the Cubs' manager kept him in — a move that proved to be a mistake. When Bush was finally relieved four batters later, the score had jumped from 3–2 to 6–2. And it didn't stop there. The Yankees added two more runs before the Cubs finally ended the inning.

  A six-run deficit is difficult, but not impossible, to overcome. Chicago managed to inch two runs closer in the seventh inning. But New York had a full head of steam going and at the bottom of the same inning added five more to their side. The two final runs Chicago posted the next inning simply weren't enough. New York took the win with a final tally of twelve runs to Chicago's six.

  The Cubs got off to a quick start with a run their first at
bat the next day. But New York answered right back, pushing two runners across. Chicago rallied in the third to tie things up 2–2, but the tie didn't last long. The bottom of that same inning, both Ruth and Gehrig crossed home plate to make it 4–2 Yankees. Two innings later, they added the fifth and final run of the game to go ahead by two in the Series.

  The third game took place in Chicago. The stands were crammed with Cubs fans desperate for a home-team victory. Hoping to distract or anger the Yankee players, they jeered, stomped their feet, and yelled insults at them. The Chicago dugout was just as loud, taking every opportunity to bad-mouth New York's players.

  New York seemed unfazed by the taunts; in fact, they gave as good as they got, and then did much to silence the noise with their playing.

  Earle Combs, the first Yankee batter, came up to the plate and made it to second on an error by the Cubs' shortstop. The next batter, Joe Sewell, walked. Runners were now on first and second.

  Now Babe Ruth strode to the plate. The yelling from the stands and Chicago's dugout grew deafening. It ended abruptly, however, when Ruth clobbered a home run!

  The three-run lead shrank to two when the Cubs scored their first turn at bat. By the fifth inning, the game was tied at four runs apiece.

  Once again, the Sultan of Swat approached the plate amidst a raucous roar. He stepped into the batter's box and eyed pitcher Charlie Root.

  Root reared back and threw. Ruth let it go by.

  “Strike one!” the umpire called.

  Root got the ball back from catcher Gabby Hartnett, took the signal, and hurled again. Ball one.

  The third pitch was also a ball. Ruth watched the fourth go by for a second called strike. He lifted his hand in the air to acknowledge the umpire's call. Then he pointed his finger.

  That finger point has become one of baseball's most controversial and enduring legends. It is controversial because no one can agree what Ruth was really pointing at. Some believe he was jabbing his finger at the loudmouthed players in the Cubs' dugout. Others think his single raised finger was saying he only needed one more pitch to get a hit.