IN THE NEWS: Jack Bentley makes his major league debut for Washington. shutting out the A's, 10 in eight innings. The good-hitting Bentley will win five games next year for the Nats, but will not win another in the majors until he resurfaces with the Giants in 1923 after going 413 for Baltimore (IL) in three seasons.
IN THE NEWS: The Giants and Phils wrap up the season with seven games in three days. The August 30th game, called in the 9th, is completed for an 86 Phillie victory. The following doubleheader is split. Tomorrow the Giants will win one and tie one. The day after they will win both.
IN THE NEWS: Despite the Dodgers' 6th-place finish, 1B Jake Daubert earns a new Chalmers automobile as the NL MVP. Daubert led the NL at .350 and will repeat his batting title in 1914.
Washington manager Clark Griffith uses an unheard-of eight pitchers in an end-of-season farce game with Boston, including five in the 9th inning. At age 43, he pitches one inning himself, and coach John Ryan, also 43, catches. Griffith also plays RF, where he plays one off his head and misplays Hal Janvrin's liner into an inside-the-park homer. On the other end of the scale, 17-year-old Merito Acosta plays outfield alongside Walter Johnson in CF. Johnson then comes in the 8th inning to lob pitches to two hitters. Both batters, Clyde Milan and Steve Yerkes lace hits to send Johnson back to CF, and then, in relief, Nats catcher Eddie Ainsmith, in his only ML pitching appearance, gives up two triples to allow the base runners to score. The Sox score in the 9th on Janvrin's 2nd inside-the-park homer. Joe Gedeon, in his only pitching appearance, retires the last two batters as Washington wins, 109, beating Fred Anderson who goes the distance. The two runs "allowed" by Johnson will have historical repercussions: his ERA goes from 1.09 to 1.14, and Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA in 1968 will put Johnson's ERA in 2nd place on the all-time list. The eight pitchers sets a major-league record that won't be matched until the Dodgers, September 25, 1946.
IN THE NEWS: Rube Marquard gets the call for the Giants against Philadelphia's Chief Bender in game one of the World Series. Bender yields 11 hits, but Frank Baker's home run and three RBI pace a 64 win over the New Yorkers.
IN THE NEWS: Christy Mathewson ties the Series, shutting the Athletics out for 10 innings to beat Eddie Plank 30. Mathewson also brings in the winning run with a double in the 10th. In the 9th, Matty is saved twice by pitcher Hooks Wiltse, playing 1B. Wiltse entered the game in the 3rd as a pinch runner for Fred Snodgrass, pressed in to action at 1B. The A's put runners on 2B and 3B with no outs in the final inning, and the next two batters hit shots to 1B. Both times Wiltse guns out a runner at home and Matty gets the last out to send the game into extra innings. Before the game, Walter Johnson (367, 243 strikeouts, 11 shutouts) is presented the Chalmers Award, and an automobile, as the AL's MVP. Joe Jackson is 2nd in the voting.
IN THE NEWS: In game 3, the A's have no trouble solving Jeff Tesreau. Rookie P Bullet Joe Bush throws a 5-hit 82 win before 36,896 at the Polo Grounds, the largest crowd of the Series. Again, the Giants use Wiltse at 1B when Snodgrass pulls up lame.
IN THE NEWS: John McGraw hosts a reunion for Hugh Jennings and the old Orioles. After a night of heavy drinking, he blames his longtime friend, business partner, and teammate Wilbert Robinson for too many coaching mistakes in the Series. Robby replies that McGraw made more mistakes than anybody and McGraw fires him. Eyewitnesses say Robby douses McGraw with a glass of beer and leaves. They won't speak to each other for 17 years. Six days later Robby will begin a legendary 18 years as manager, replacing Bill Dahlen. The team will carry the nickname Robins, as well as Dodgers, during his tenure.
IN THE NEWS: In St. Louis, the City Series between the Browns and the Cardinals ends in a fight. In today's doubleheader, the Cardinals had taken the first game 52, and the 2nd game, and the 2nd game is tied 11 after four innings when a brawl broke out. Since there had been several other fights in the series, and because the series was played outside the auspices of the National Commission, the umps announce they have had it, and retire to the clubhouse. The series ends abruptly at three wins apiece, with one tie. Each Brownie player received $77.22.
IN THE NEWS: The Giants and White Sox, fortified with other players, start their world tour in Cincinnati. After a 31-game tour to Seattle, they will head for the Philippines, Australia, China, and Japan.
IN THE NEWS: In the only time the two future immortals face each other, Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson square off in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Johnson, backed by the White Sox, wins the battle, 60, pitching the distance, while Matty exits after four innings. The game is delayed for nearly two hours when the stands collapse, injuring 52 people and killing one fan. The governor of Oklahoma narrowly escapes injury in the tragedy.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
