This is my last post of 2014...Oh, yeah, wait! Stick to the Fall Classic! Okay. Game one of the 1907 World Series was the first game to end in a tie. However, Tigers looked like they had this thing in the bag. Alas, a crucial mistake helped the Cubs touch four bags for a tie.
Detroit trailed 1-0 after seven innings in this affair. The game was in Chicago. But sadly, there was no Wrigley field at this point. But I'm sure plenty of gum and chewing tobacco was been chomped on. This was, of course, a close game.
Detroit seemed to take over in the top of the eighth. With one out, Davy Jones singled and then stole second. Seems like a move that Ty Cobb or Sam Crawford would use. But we haven't gotten to them yet, right?
In any even Germany Schaefer reached on an error by Joe Tinker, didn't pull off a Tinker-Evers-Chance double play, sadly. It would have looked nice. And it also might have reversed the final outcome. But it was not to be.
Crawford singled, scoring both Jones and Schaefer, and now it was Chicago with a 2-1 lead. Worse still, there was an error on the play for good measure, meaning Crawford made it all the way to third. Ty Cobb must have liked this. The great speed of the Tigers was making life miserable for the Cubbies!
Cobb hit the ball back to the pitcher. But guess what? Another error, this time by Harry Steinfeldt at third. Cobb, ever so alert, made to second while his pal Crawford was still stationed at third. A flyball by Claude Rossman scored Sammy, and it was 3-1, Detroit with only six outs to go.
And Chicago went down 1-2-3 against Bill Donovan in the bottom of the frame. Detroit failed to score in the top of the ninth, but needed just three more outs to take the opening act of this October classic. But not all classics have a nice and definitive ending, now do they?
Frank Chance got the ball rolling for Chicago with a single. Steinfeldt then took one for the team, reaching first on a hit by pitch. This meant a bunting situation for Chicago. However, it failed when Johnny Kling popped it up. One down. But an error by Bill Coughlin loaded the bases. A run then crossed home, but it was on a groundout, so Chicago was one out away from winning this thing. Two outs, 3-2 Detroit, two runners in scoring position.
And then a strikeout!
But it was on that pitch, that the ball was dropped by Boss Schmidt, the Tigers' catcher. Steinfeldt scored from third to tie it!
The inning ended on a bizzare one. So a play at home tied it. Well, Evers on third, decided to try and win it...By stealing home. That's only for guys like Cobb, eh? Evers was out! 3-3 after nine.
The Cubs continued to try and win this, of course. Their speed got runners (Jimmy Slagle and Frank Chance) to second and third in the bottom of the tenth. That was on a daring double steal. On the play however, interference was called and the runner was out at home.
In the bottom of the 11th, Chicago looked like they'd win this one. Cobb and Crawford watched helplessly as Kling singled. Then, Evers bunted and made it to first. Frank Schulte singled on a bunt of his own. Bases loaded, one out, and Wild Bill Donovan pitching. Can it get any worse?
But Wild Bill was wild no more. He fanned Heinie Zimmerman for one of the biggest K's of his career. Then, he got his mound adversary, Ed Reulbach, to ground out to Charley O'Leary. What clutch pitching!
Reulbach, though, didn't need to pitch in the clutch. Top of the twelfth, Donovan got shown how you should really get your mound adversary out: The way of the K! Then, Jones went out on a fly to left. Schaefer was shown the door on a grounder. As easy as 1-2-3 went the tottering Tigers!
Donovan got Slagle to ground out. But then, he hit Jimmy Sheckard. Frank Chance was the batter. And as it turns out, he was the last batter of the game. And he got one of his favourite weapons used against him: The double play! On a liner to second.
The game was called at this point, probably due to darkness. As it turns out, Detroit's luck ran out. Chicago swept through the next four games, for a sort-of-sweep of the Fall Classic. But, even so, this sweep had one game for the ages. And with it, the first World Series tie!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 31 Dec. 2014.
Detroit trailed 1-0 after seven innings in this affair. The game was in Chicago. But sadly, there was no Wrigley field at this point. But I'm sure plenty of gum and chewing tobacco was been chomped on. This was, of course, a close game.
Detroit seemed to take over in the top of the eighth. With one out, Davy Jones singled and then stole second. Seems like a move that Ty Cobb or Sam Crawford would use. But we haven't gotten to them yet, right?
In any even Germany Schaefer reached on an error by Joe Tinker, didn't pull off a Tinker-Evers-Chance double play, sadly. It would have looked nice. And it also might have reversed the final outcome. But it was not to be.
Crawford singled, scoring both Jones and Schaefer, and now it was Chicago with a 2-1 lead. Worse still, there was an error on the play for good measure, meaning Crawford made it all the way to third. Ty Cobb must have liked this. The great speed of the Tigers was making life miserable for the Cubbies!
Cobb hit the ball back to the pitcher. But guess what? Another error, this time by Harry Steinfeldt at third. Cobb, ever so alert, made to second while his pal Crawford was still stationed at third. A flyball by Claude Rossman scored Sammy, and it was 3-1, Detroit with only six outs to go.
And Chicago went down 1-2-3 against Bill Donovan in the bottom of the frame. Detroit failed to score in the top of the ninth, but needed just three more outs to take the opening act of this October classic. But not all classics have a nice and definitive ending, now do they?
Frank Chance got the ball rolling for Chicago with a single. Steinfeldt then took one for the team, reaching first on a hit by pitch. This meant a bunting situation for Chicago. However, it failed when Johnny Kling popped it up. One down. But an error by Bill Coughlin loaded the bases. A run then crossed home, but it was on a groundout, so Chicago was one out away from winning this thing. Two outs, 3-2 Detroit, two runners in scoring position.
And then a strikeout!
But it was on that pitch, that the ball was dropped by Boss Schmidt, the Tigers' catcher. Steinfeldt scored from third to tie it!
The inning ended on a bizzare one. So a play at home tied it. Well, Evers on third, decided to try and win it...By stealing home. That's only for guys like Cobb, eh? Evers was out! 3-3 after nine.
The Cubs continued to try and win this, of course. Their speed got runners (Jimmy Slagle and Frank Chance) to second and third in the bottom of the tenth. That was on a daring double steal. On the play however, interference was called and the runner was out at home.
In the bottom of the 11th, Chicago looked like they'd win this one. Cobb and Crawford watched helplessly as Kling singled. Then, Evers bunted and made it to first. Frank Schulte singled on a bunt of his own. Bases loaded, one out, and Wild Bill Donovan pitching. Can it get any worse?
But Wild Bill was wild no more. He fanned Heinie Zimmerman for one of the biggest K's of his career. Then, he got his mound adversary, Ed Reulbach, to ground out to Charley O'Leary. What clutch pitching!
Reulbach, though, didn't need to pitch in the clutch. Top of the twelfth, Donovan got shown how you should really get your mound adversary out: The way of the K! Then, Jones went out on a fly to left. Schaefer was shown the door on a grounder. As easy as 1-2-3 went the tottering Tigers!
Donovan got Slagle to ground out. But then, he hit Jimmy Sheckard. Frank Chance was the batter. And as it turns out, he was the last batter of the game. And he got one of his favourite weapons used against him: The double play! On a liner to second.
The game was called at this point, probably due to darkness. As it turns out, Detroit's luck ran out. Chicago swept through the next four games, for a sort-of-sweep of the Fall Classic. But, even so, this sweep had one game for the ages. And with it, the first World Series tie!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 31 Dec. 2014.
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