Home Run Baker not only lived up to his nickname in the 1911 Fall Classic, he cleaned up all the important statistical categories for good measure!
It was Baker's Philadelphia Athletics vs. the New York Giants that year. And it wasn't as if Baker and co. would be feasting off some easy pitching prior to Thanksgiving. No, the Giants had Red Ames, Christy Mathewson (Hall of Famer), Doc Crandall, Rube Marquard (Another Hall of Famer. He had a knack for strikeouts in '11, fanning a league-leading 237 that year), and Hooks Wiltse.
Baker failed to get a home run or an RBI in opening contest at the old Polo Grounds. But he did collect two hits and crossed home. Hey, he was up against Mathewson, let's cut him some slack. The A's lost the game despite Chief Bender's 11 strikeouts, allowing just one earned run over 8 innings.
But in game two, Baker got into the home run trot. He blasted a home run over the right field wall at Shibe in the bottom of the sixth. It was a two-run shot, breaking a 1-1 tie. Philly won, 3-1. Series tied, 1-1. Back to New York.
And there, a dramatic home run!
By Baker, of course. Mathewson was back on the hill for the Giants, and pitching amazing. Two outs away from a shutout, nail-biting 1-0 win. But then Baker came up in the top of the ninth to quiet those thoughts. Mathewson, pitching carefully, got two strikes on him. But when he threw a hanging curve to Baker's liking, the ball found the seats in right. But this time, it was on the road. The crowd no doubt was stunned and silent. The Giants then had to hold the fort as the A's got a runner on via an error by Buck Herzog. The inning only ended after the go-ahead run was on third.
New York went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame as Jack Coombs tried to stay with the great Mathewson. Christy, continuing his great pitching, did likewise to Philadelphia in the top of the tenth.
Fred Snodgrass walked to start the bottom of the 10th. A sac moved him to second. A Coombs' pitch to Fred Merkle got past catcher Jack Lapp. Snodgrass darted to third, when Baker played. Baker was spiked Lapp fired to him to get the putout. This caused a delay as Baker needed some repairs. Debate ensued as to whether the spiking was deliberate. Was Ty Cobb asked?
The inning continued as Merkle drew a walk. However, Lapp nailed him, too, on an attempted steal.
The Athletics won the game in the top of the 11th as they scored twice, Baker crossing the plate for some insurance. However, the A's sort of shot themselves in the foot on a potentially bigger inning. Danny Murphy tried for third on a single by Harry Davis and was thrown out. That made it, two away. Davis them tried his luck at swiping a base. He was thrown out.
The Giants looked to take advantage of a two-run deficit rather than a four-run deficit. Buck Herzog led off the bottom of the inning with a double and eventually scored on an error by Eddie Collins. Beals Becker, who reached because of that, then ended the game by getting caught stealing. The 3-2 Philadelphia win put them up 2-1 in the 1911 World Series.
Behind 2-0 in game four back at Shibe, Baker got 'em back on track. He doubled and scored in the fourth, igniting a three run rally. New York did not score again in the game. Philly did as Baker hit another double later that scored Collins. The 4-2 win moved the A's to within a game.
And they looked like they'd get it all in game five. Up 3-1 after 8 1/2 in New York, the road to the champagne was yellow bricked! They A's got two outs, but then the Giants got two runs to send it to extras. In the bottom of the tenth, New York took it walk-off style as Fred Merkle drove in Larry Doyle with a sac fly. Baker was 0-4 against Marquard, Ames, and winner Crandall. Rub fanned him in the top of the second.
Baker was back with a vengence at Shibe in game six. Two hits, two runs scored and an RBI for good measure. No home runs, but the A's didn't need any they crossed the dish whopping thirteen times to the Giants' two. Bender wrapped it up with a masterful 4-hitter!
Baker's numbers are awesome. He led both teams in batting average, .375. His on-base percentage was .400. He hit two home runs, scored seven times and knocked in five. Only one man, teammate Harry Davis, managed to tie him (With five RBIs) in any of those stats. Long before Babe Ruth came along, there was Baker, who like Ruth after him, had no shortage of long balls and some World Series heroics that went a long way in helping the greater cause!
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. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1992. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Retrosheet. www.retrosheet.org. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>
It was Baker's Philadelphia Athletics vs. the New York Giants that year. And it wasn't as if Baker and co. would be feasting off some easy pitching prior to Thanksgiving. No, the Giants had Red Ames, Christy Mathewson (Hall of Famer), Doc Crandall, Rube Marquard (Another Hall of Famer. He had a knack for strikeouts in '11, fanning a league-leading 237 that year), and Hooks Wiltse.
Baker failed to get a home run or an RBI in opening contest at the old Polo Grounds. But he did collect two hits and crossed home. Hey, he was up against Mathewson, let's cut him some slack. The A's lost the game despite Chief Bender's 11 strikeouts, allowing just one earned run over 8 innings.
But in game two, Baker got into the home run trot. He blasted a home run over the right field wall at Shibe in the bottom of the sixth. It was a two-run shot, breaking a 1-1 tie. Philly won, 3-1. Series tied, 1-1. Back to New York.
And there, a dramatic home run!
By Baker, of course. Mathewson was back on the hill for the Giants, and pitching amazing. Two outs away from a shutout, nail-biting 1-0 win. But then Baker came up in the top of the ninth to quiet those thoughts. Mathewson, pitching carefully, got two strikes on him. But when he threw a hanging curve to Baker's liking, the ball found the seats in right. But this time, it was on the road. The crowd no doubt was stunned and silent. The Giants then had to hold the fort as the A's got a runner on via an error by Buck Herzog. The inning only ended after the go-ahead run was on third.
New York went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame as Jack Coombs tried to stay with the great Mathewson. Christy, continuing his great pitching, did likewise to Philadelphia in the top of the tenth.
Fred Snodgrass walked to start the bottom of the 10th. A sac moved him to second. A Coombs' pitch to Fred Merkle got past catcher Jack Lapp. Snodgrass darted to third, when Baker played. Baker was spiked Lapp fired to him to get the putout. This caused a delay as Baker needed some repairs. Debate ensued as to whether the spiking was deliberate. Was Ty Cobb asked?
The inning continued as Merkle drew a walk. However, Lapp nailed him, too, on an attempted steal.
The Athletics won the game in the top of the 11th as they scored twice, Baker crossing the plate for some insurance. However, the A's sort of shot themselves in the foot on a potentially bigger inning. Danny Murphy tried for third on a single by Harry Davis and was thrown out. That made it, two away. Davis them tried his luck at swiping a base. He was thrown out.
The Giants looked to take advantage of a two-run deficit rather than a four-run deficit. Buck Herzog led off the bottom of the inning with a double and eventually scored on an error by Eddie Collins. Beals Becker, who reached because of that, then ended the game by getting caught stealing. The 3-2 Philadelphia win put them up 2-1 in the 1911 World Series.
Behind 2-0 in game four back at Shibe, Baker got 'em back on track. He doubled and scored in the fourth, igniting a three run rally. New York did not score again in the game. Philly did as Baker hit another double later that scored Collins. The 4-2 win moved the A's to within a game.
And they looked like they'd get it all in game five. Up 3-1 after 8 1/2 in New York, the road to the champagne was yellow bricked! They A's got two outs, but then the Giants got two runs to send it to extras. In the bottom of the tenth, New York took it walk-off style as Fred Merkle drove in Larry Doyle with a sac fly. Baker was 0-4 against Marquard, Ames, and winner Crandall. Rub fanned him in the top of the second.
Baker was back with a vengence at Shibe in game six. Two hits, two runs scored and an RBI for good measure. No home runs, but the A's didn't need any they crossed the dish whopping thirteen times to the Giants' two. Bender wrapped it up with a masterful 4-hitter!
Baker's numbers are awesome. He led both teams in batting average, .375. His on-base percentage was .400. He hit two home runs, scored seven times and knocked in five. Only one man, teammate Harry Davis, managed to tie him (With five RBIs) in any of those stats. Long before Babe Ruth came along, there was Baker, who like Ruth after him, had no shortage of long balls and some World Series heroics that went a long way in helping the greater cause!
References
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. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1992. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.
Retrosheet. www.retrosheet.org. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. <www.retrosheet.org>
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