Ty Cobb failed to get the ball out of the infield in his first Fall Classic game in 1907. Because of that, Ty and his mates had to settle for the first World Series tie. A tie for Ty? I'm sure he wasn't happy. Not winning the game is not winning the game. You gotta win the games in October. A tie doesn't help. Having Ty Cobb on your team, helps, however. His Detroit Tigers were also playing their first Fall Classic game, and the Cubs were coming off a loss in 1906 to their American League counterpart. The Tigers seemed to be even more of a challenge. Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb may have had their differences, but they worked so well together with double steals and hit-and-runs, that Chicago had to worry about them both batting and base running. The Cubs could leave nothing to chance, even though they had the famed, Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance infield. That's what it was going to come down to: Cobb and Crawford vs. The Infield!
No wonder Cobb couldn't get it out against those guys!
Cobb seemed to be out of sorts in this game. And yes, the same could be said about some of his teammates. In the top of the first, Cobb came to bat with two outs and Germany Schaefer in first. Schaefer was a bit of what in baseball terminology is called a "flake." And oddball. His attempt for a steal ended the inning. Batting first in the top of the second, Cobb was out on a grounder to first. Frank Chance made the play himself.
Crawford then singled to lead off the fourth. Cobb came to bat and hit a short grounder in front of the plate. Johnny Kling, the catcher, got it and fired to first. Crawford to second. The score was still 0-0 and a single would put the Tigers up a run. Claude Rossman walked. But then, a liner to second by Bill Coughlin was caught by Johhny Evers. Crawford was a dead duck at second as Evers fired it to Joe Tinker. Inning over. In the bottom of the inning, it was Frank Chance scoring the game's first run after getting to first via a walk.
Cobb came up in what looked like a promising inning in the top of the sixth. Not only was his pal Crawford on again after another single, but Schaefer had led off the inning with a single, too! Cobb, sadly, popped out to Tinker. Rossman grounded out to Tinker, but both baserunners advanced. Schaefer then got picked off and caught in a rundown between third and home.
But Detroit was not about to be denied in this game. In the top of the eighth, they did almost everything right and Chicago did almost everything wrong.
With one out, Davvy Jones got it all going with an infield single. Then, he took a page out of Crawford and Cobb's handbook with a swipe of second. Schaefer was next, and he didn't screw up this time. He reached on an error by Tinker. Crawford single again, the third such time he had in this game, and both runners scored. Crawford made it all the way to third. 2-1, Tigers, and Cobb back to the plate!
But all Ty could do was hit it back to pitcher Orval Overall. Overall tried to get Crawford leading a little off the bag. Cobb made it all the way to second in all the commotion. Third basemen Harry Steinfeldt dropped the throw, and now it was second and third with just one out.
Rossman's fly to centre scored Crawford to make it 3-1, Detroit. The lead held until the bottom of the ninth, as a dropped third strike doomed Detroit. Chicago had already scored a run earlier in the frame as a result of an error by Bill Coughlin. An attempted steal of home by Chicago ended the inning.
Detroit did not take advantage of that mistake. They went down 1-2-3 in the top of the tenth, with Crawford fanning. Cobb, the last batter, grounded out to Chance again.
Chicago almost won it again in the bottom of the inning. A double steal put runners on second and third with two down. But then, Jimmy Slagle, Cobb's counterpart in centre, was out on baserunner interference!
The Tigers got a man on as a result of another error by Steinfeldt in the top of the eleventh, but did not score. Chicago looked like it was ready to win in the bottom of the eleventh. It was the eleventh hour for Detroit.
Bill Donovan got the first out, then proceeded to allow three straight singles. Evers got one of them. But the only one that mattered was on third, and that was catcher Johnny Kling. Donovan had to dig deep.
And he did just that!
Heinie Zimmerman fanned. Two down. When new pitcher Ed Reulbach batted for himself and forced Frank Schulte at second, Detroit had a pulse! On to the twelve. This was 68 years before Carlton Fisk, so there would be no home run to end it.
Reulbach kept his composure and got Detroit 1-2-3. Donovan returned to the hill in the bottom of the frame and got Chicago 1-2-3 to stay equal to the task. Chance was the last batter. The game was called due to darkness.
Cobb and his mates had given it their all, but it was not enough to snatch victory for Chicago. As it turns out, this was as close as they would come to winning any game in the 1907 World Series. Chicago swept through the next four games to take it all.
Cobb had to have been disappointed. He managed four hits in the remaining four games, but ended the Fall Classic with a puny average of .200. He would return to the World Series the next two years, but Detroit lost both times. Ty had no way of knowing it, but these were the only years he'd actually appear in the Fall Classic. His failing to get the ball out of the infield would be a fitting intro for him in the World Series. It always seems to be a little bit harder in October then it is in April. Even for the best of hitters.
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.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
No wonder Cobb couldn't get it out against those guys!
Cobb seemed to be out of sorts in this game. And yes, the same could be said about some of his teammates. In the top of the first, Cobb came to bat with two outs and Germany Schaefer in first. Schaefer was a bit of what in baseball terminology is called a "flake." And oddball. His attempt for a steal ended the inning. Batting first in the top of the second, Cobb was out on a grounder to first. Frank Chance made the play himself.
Crawford then singled to lead off the fourth. Cobb came to bat and hit a short grounder in front of the plate. Johnny Kling, the catcher, got it and fired to first. Crawford to second. The score was still 0-0 and a single would put the Tigers up a run. Claude Rossman walked. But then, a liner to second by Bill Coughlin was caught by Johhny Evers. Crawford was a dead duck at second as Evers fired it to Joe Tinker. Inning over. In the bottom of the inning, it was Frank Chance scoring the game's first run after getting to first via a walk.
Cobb came up in what looked like a promising inning in the top of the sixth. Not only was his pal Crawford on again after another single, but Schaefer had led off the inning with a single, too! Cobb, sadly, popped out to Tinker. Rossman grounded out to Tinker, but both baserunners advanced. Schaefer then got picked off and caught in a rundown between third and home.
But Detroit was not about to be denied in this game. In the top of the eighth, they did almost everything right and Chicago did almost everything wrong.
With one out, Davvy Jones got it all going with an infield single. Then, he took a page out of Crawford and Cobb's handbook with a swipe of second. Schaefer was next, and he didn't screw up this time. He reached on an error by Tinker. Crawford single again, the third such time he had in this game, and both runners scored. Crawford made it all the way to third. 2-1, Tigers, and Cobb back to the plate!
But all Ty could do was hit it back to pitcher Orval Overall. Overall tried to get Crawford leading a little off the bag. Cobb made it all the way to second in all the commotion. Third basemen Harry Steinfeldt dropped the throw, and now it was second and third with just one out.
Rossman's fly to centre scored Crawford to make it 3-1, Detroit. The lead held until the bottom of the ninth, as a dropped third strike doomed Detroit. Chicago had already scored a run earlier in the frame as a result of an error by Bill Coughlin. An attempted steal of home by Chicago ended the inning.
Detroit did not take advantage of that mistake. They went down 1-2-3 in the top of the tenth, with Crawford fanning. Cobb, the last batter, grounded out to Chance again.
Chicago almost won it again in the bottom of the inning. A double steal put runners on second and third with two down. But then, Jimmy Slagle, Cobb's counterpart in centre, was out on baserunner interference!
The Tigers got a man on as a result of another error by Steinfeldt in the top of the eleventh, but did not score. Chicago looked like it was ready to win in the bottom of the eleventh. It was the eleventh hour for Detroit.
Bill Donovan got the first out, then proceeded to allow three straight singles. Evers got one of them. But the only one that mattered was on third, and that was catcher Johnny Kling. Donovan had to dig deep.
And he did just that!
Heinie Zimmerman fanned. Two down. When new pitcher Ed Reulbach batted for himself and forced Frank Schulte at second, Detroit had a pulse! On to the twelve. This was 68 years before Carlton Fisk, so there would be no home run to end it.
Reulbach kept his composure and got Detroit 1-2-3. Donovan returned to the hill in the bottom of the frame and got Chicago 1-2-3 to stay equal to the task. Chance was the last batter. The game was called due to darkness.
Cobb and his mates had given it their all, but it was not enough to snatch victory for Chicago. As it turns out, this was as close as they would come to winning any game in the 1907 World Series. Chicago swept through the next four games to take it all.
Cobb had to have been disappointed. He managed four hits in the remaining four games, but ended the Fall Classic with a puny average of .200. He would return to the World Series the next two years, but Detroit lost both times. Ty had no way of knowing it, but these were the only years he'd actually appear in the Fall Classic. His failing to get the ball out of the infield would be a fitting intro for him in the World Series. It always seems to be a little bit harder in October then it is in April. Even for the best of hitters.
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.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
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