The Yankees reached base five times in one inning via bases on balls in game four of the 1926 Fall Classic. It turned what had been a 4-3 St. Louis lead into a 7-4 New York lead. The Cards couldn't hold the Bronx Bombers at bay.
It all began in the top of the fifth inning, with the Cards at home. Art Reinhart was the pitcher, and he was struggling to find the plate. Earle Combs walked to start things. Then Mark Koenig tied the game with a double. First base was open in the 4-4 game, so Reinhart had to be careful. Babe Ruth was up. And he walked. Bob Meusel did, too. Lou Gehrig followed by taking ball four. Koenig trotted home to make it 5-4, New York. That was it for Reinhart.
0.0 IP, 1 H, O K, 4 BB.
Enter Hi Bell. Hi!
Tony Lazzeri flied out, but Ruth tagged and scored to give the Yankees some insurance. Meusel took third, Gehrig stayed at first. Joe Dugan grounded out to score another run to make it a 7-4 ballgame. The Iron Horse was now in scoring position. This was actually the last run the Bronx Bombers would score that inning, but the fireworks were not done. With Hank Severeid up, Bell committed a balk that moved Gehrig to third. Severeid walked to put runners on the corners. Waite Hoyt, who would end up as the winning pitcher in this game despite allowing fourteen Cardinal hits, finally ended this charade by forcing Severeid.
The Yankees, however, were now full of confidence. The Cards? Well, they were a tad shaken. The next inning saw The Bambino hit his third home run of the game, a two-run job, to make it 9-4, New York. That put it out of reach. St. Louis had some more troubles, though. The Yankees weren't going to let up, of course.
Severeid singled with one down in the top of the top of the seventh off Wild Bill Hallahan. Hoyt sacrificed him to second. There were now two outs, but New York was not done. Earl Combs doubled Sev home to make it 10-4. Wild Bill then lived up to his nickname in the next frame.
Gotta be careful with Ruth, of course. But he was the leadoff hitter. Hallahan walked him. Years later, The Babe would take him out of the ballpark in the first ever All-Star Game. Meusel followed by taking ball four. Gehrig moved 'em both into scoring position with a fine bunt. More offence seemed on the way.
But Lazzeri, who'd be the famous strikeout victim of Grover Cleveland Alexander in game seven later on, hit it to third. Ruth was a tad of the bag. Les Bell very alertly tagged him for the second out. There were still two on, but now there was a force play. And there was now two outs. Things were looking up for the Cards.
But Joe Dugan walked to load the bases, and this was gonna be tough. Severied was up, and the Cards had to get him. Hallahan got him to pop to Bell.
St. Louis scored one last (Meaningless) run in the bottom of the ninth as Bell drove home Rogers Hornsby with a two-out single. However, it was New York with the 10-5 win.
The Bombers had put some fear into the Cards no doubt. The win tied the 1926 World Series at two games each. And in game five, the Yankees won again by the score of 3-2 in ten innings. Their effort here was due in large part to Ruth, but eight walks hadn't helped the Card cause. The Bronx Bombers bombed away at you if you made the tiniest of mistakes. You couldn't help the cause by walking too many of them, for along would come Ruth and Gehrig, and then what?
However, St. Louis ended up winning the Fall Classic in seven games, as Babe Ruth was caught stealing second for the very last out. But New York would win the next two years without losing a game, beating the Cardinals in 1928. They may have lost in '26, but if you wanted proof of how feared (And respected) the Ruth and Gehrig tandem was, you need look no further than this game.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Montville, Leigh. The Big Bam: The Life Andd Times Of Babe Ruth. Broadway, 2007. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. 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. "October 6, 1926 World Series Game 4, Yankees at Cardinals" Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192610060.shtml. Web. (25 Dec. 2015)
The Bombers had put some fear into the Cards no doubt. The win tied the 1926 World Series at two games each. And in game five, the Yankees won again by the score of 3-2 in ten innings. Their effort here was due in large part to Ruth, but eight walks hadn't helped the Card cause. The Bronx Bombers bombed away at you if you made the tiniest of mistakes. You couldn't help the cause by walking too many of them, for along would come Ruth and Gehrig, and then what?
However, St. Louis ended up winning the Fall Classic in seven games, as Babe Ruth was caught stealing second for the very last out. But New York would win the next two years without losing a game, beating the Cardinals in 1928. They may have lost in '26, but if you wanted proof of how feared (And respected) the Ruth and Gehrig tandem was, you need look no further than this game.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Montville, Leigh. The Big Bam: The Life Andd Times Of Babe Ruth. Broadway, 2007. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. 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. "October 6, 1926 World Series Game 4, Yankees at Cardinals" Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192610060.shtml. Web. (25 Dec. 2015)
New York Yankees 10, St. Louis Cardinals 5. (n.d.). Retrieved December 25, 2015, from http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1926/B10060SLN1926.htm.
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