Bits of Baseball Lore

Strange Steal of Home

August 8, 1903: As he often did, "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity of the New York Giants was pitching the second game of a doubleheader after winning the opener, 6-1. The opponent was the Brooklyn Superbas. The record overflow crowd of 31,647 assembled at the Polo Grounds saw an out of the ordinary steal of home.

In the third inning, McGinnity singled. When he tried to steal second, the throw from C Fred Jacklitsch went wild. The lone umpire, Tim Hurst, awarded McGinnity third because of interference by a Dodger fielder (2B or SS presumably) as Joe tried to advance.
"More than half of the Brooklyn team left their fielding positions and gathered around" Hurst to protest the call. P [Henry] Schmidt walked away from his box, leaving the ball behind. Standing at third "rubbing a supposedly bruised leg," McGinnity, "cleverly coached by [Manager and 3B coach John] McGraw, took advantage of this opportunity and stole home."
"The Brooklyn players looked sheepishly at each other, and then protested more vigorously, while the crowd cheered derisively. Schmidt became more boisterous than the others and was ordered out of the game. ... [Sammy] Strang, who was the last man to handle the ball before McGinnity stole home, was called to the bench by Manager [Ned] Hanlon and [Dutch] Jordan covered 3B for Brooklyn during the remainder of the game." One account says that Schmidt "was so angry he threw the ball out of the park," which caused his banishment by Hurst.
Superba skipper Ned Hanlon had managed the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s who set the pace for crafty and often illegal play. So he was undoubtedly chagrined that his players had allowed McGraw, who had played on those teams for Hanlon, to put one over on them. This may be why he pulled Strang, probably because he should have called time before returning the ball to the mound.

The Giants swept the doubleheader 5-4, scoring two in the bottom of the ninth. So for the second Sunday in a row, Iron Man won both games of a doubleheader.

Reference: "McGinnity Pitched in the Two Games New Yorks Won from Brooklyn,"
The New York Times, August 9, 1903

"Iron Man" Joe McGinnity
Joe McGinnity

Tim Hurst

"Dilatory Tactics Lose for Mackmen"

Joe Bush

Napoleon Lajoie, A's
Napoleon Lajoie

That was the The New York Times headline on July 15, 1915, over a story of the Chicago White Sox victory over the Philadelphia Athletics the previous day in The Windy City.

With rain in the forecast, the game started five minutes early.

"Chicago was leading by two runs when the roar of thunder inspired the visitors to use almost every means known to baseball to delay the game before the legal number of innings [five] were played."
"In the fourth [with the White Sox ahead 4-2], Pitcher [Joe] Bush did not attempt to put a ball over the plate, yet the local batsmen swung in order to hurry the game." Unsuccessful in trying to walk batters, Bush resorted to a different tactic.
"[White Sox P Red] Faber was hit by one of these wild throws and jaunted to first. He continued around the bases, and scored the run which in the end proved to be the winning tally. He was credited with a steal of second, third and home." In other words, Faber was trying to get thrown out stealing, but the A's made no effort to retire him.
"A few moments later [SS Buck] Weaver dropped a Texas leaguer into right and almost reached third before he was thrown out, [RF Eddie] Murphy, [2B Nap] Lajoie, [SS Larry] Kopf and [3B Wally] Schang handling the ball before he was retired, when he could easily have been put out by Lajoie."
"When it became evident that the umpires [R. J. Wallace and Tom Connolly] were insistent upon playing, the visitors braced, but could not overtake the lead which they had presented to Chicago."

The rain never materialized, and Chicago won 6-4 in 1:40.

P Red Faber, White Sox
Red Faber

3B Buck Weaver, White Sox
Buck Weaver

Strange Injuries – I

Bob Hamelin, Royals
Bob Hamelin

This occasional feature presents a collection of bizarre ways that players have gotten injured.

Steve Sparks was having a fine spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994. The knuckleballer was on his way to making the big show. However, an injury postponed his ML debut. A group of motivational speakers who called themselves Radical Reality gave a presentation to the team in which they bent iron bars with their hands, ripped telephone books in half, and inflated hot-water bottles like balloons until they burst. The next day, Sparks and some teammates decided to try the phone book feat. Steve had the huge Phoenix directory almost torn in half when he dislocated his left shoulder. After being out several weeks, he was returned to the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs for one more season. His "feat" was reported in articles in newspapers and Sports Illustrated, labeling him in the public mind for the manner in which he injured himself. "To this day, going into Boston and New York, ... I am constantly asked to sign telephone books there," Sparks said years later.
That same year (1994), another rookie, Bob Hamelin of the Kansas City Royals, almost jeopardized his spot on the roster as well. Expected to replace George Brett as the DH, Bob tore a muscle in a Las Vegas arm-wrestling tournament in January. "It seemed like a fun and easygoing type of thing, and it was pretty much not that intense," explained Hamelin when he reported to spring training. He was paid $200 to participate in the ESPN event. Bob won both of his matches but tore the flexor tendon in his right elbow in the second round. "It was embarrassing. It was stupid. It was too close to spring, especially going in with a chance to start. I've had enough injuries not to do it off the field. I'm sure it [no arm wrestling] will be in my next [contract] clause." Hamelin said the injury sounded worse than it was. "It's fine. It's not hindered my swing." And, as DH, he wouldn't have to throw. Fortunately, his optimism about his healing was justified as he earned Rookie of the Year honors by hitting .282 with 24 HR and 65 RBI.

More of these in the future ...

Unassisted Triple Play

October 10, 1920: Fifth game of the World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Brooklyn Robins (eventually called the Dodgers). The best-of-nine Series is tied two games apiece. The Indians lead 7-0 in the top of the fifth before 26,884 fans at League Park in Cleveland. 2B Pete Kilduff leads off with a single off Jim Bagby, and C Otto Miller follows suit to put runners on first and second. P Clarence Mitchell, who took over in the fourth for starter Burleigh Grimes, smacks a line drive up the middle that is snared by Indian second baseman Bill Wambsganss, who steps on second to retire Kilduff and tags Miller running from first. Wambsganss thereby records what still stands as the only unassisted triple play in World Series history.

Unassisted triple plays are more rare than perfect games and hitting four HRs in a game. From June 1927 to September 1992, there was only one unassisted triple play in the major leagues (in 1968).

The Indians won the pivotal fifth game 8-1. They then took the sixth game 1-0 and closed the Series with another shutout victory, 3-0, in Game 7. To reduce travel, the first three games had been played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The next four were in Cleveland. If games eight or nine had been necessary, they would have been in Brooklyn.

After the Series, "Wamby" was presented a medal by the Indians to commemorate his triple play. However, in April 1921, while traveling northward with his team after spring training, he lost the medal on the train.