There was no doubt Coombs was a great pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. Although he'd been just a win one, lose one pitcher from 1906 to 1909, it all came together for him as the new decade came about. He won 31 games and posted a 1.30 earned run average. This helped Philly make it back to the World Series for the first time since 1905. Poor Jack had missed out (By one year) on all the "fun" Philadelphia had when the New York Giants beat them in just five games. Would this trip to the Fall Classic be any better for the Athletics?
But the opposition was the Chicago Cubs, who had made it a habit of getting to the October Classic. After losing to their crosstown rivals the White Sox in 1906, the Cubs won it all the next two seasons. They had to wait exactly two years to return again, missing out in 1909. So one team was just getting used to the big stage, while the other was making it a yearly habit. Not that Philadelphia was the underdog.
Philadelphia had won just one game in the '05 Fall Classic, and looked to do better five years later. Chief Bender set the tone with a 4-1 win in the opener. So it was Jack Coombs who took the ball, at home, for the second contest. Everyone knew at this point what kind of pitcher Jack was. But could a .220 hitter that year really make a difference with the bat in the World Series?
Well, the second game was a brutal demonstration of the amazing Philly bats. Although Chicago started Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown, Philly just strafed him. Even a run by the Cubs in the top of the first could not stop this game from going the way of the Athletics very quickly.
The always-clutch second basemen Eddie Collins drove home two runs in the bottom of the third. The Athletics were ahead for good. Jack Coombs was unable to help with the offence that inning, as Brown fanned him. The next inning, with the score still 2-1 Philadelphia, Jack came on with two out, two on. Mordecai again fanned him.
It was in the bottom of the sixth, that Jack Coombs came through at the dish. Brown fanned Jack Barry to start, but then walked Ira Thomas. Coombs was back at the plate, and this time came through with a single. However, Amos Strunk became the second Philadelphia batter to fan that inning. Then Bris Lord popped out to first.
But Brown's good luck was running out. Although the Cubs added a run in the top of the seventh, and uprising by the home team put this game out of reach. Jack Coombs didn't really factor into the seven-run inning. All he did was ground out with Ira Thomas on first. Thomas made it to second on the play, but there were two outs. Strunk came through with a run-scoring double. Lord reached on an error by right fielder Frank Schulte.
Coombs didn't exactly have on the mound, however. When the game ended, Jack had given up eight hits, walked nine and surrendered three runs. Even in the field, he struggled, committing two of the four Athletic errors. Still, Philadelphia won, 9-3.
Two days later, as the Fall Classic shifted to the West Side Grounds in Chicago, Jack Coombs was back on the hill what had to seem like an odd move by manager Connie Mack.
Coombs again struggled on the hill. This time Chicago really let him have it. Although Philadelphia scored a run in the top of the first, the home team matched that. Coombs then helped the A's score two more runs in the top of the second by hitting a ground-rule double. Alas, the Cubs scored twice in an inning that they had two hits and two walks. Coombs was up to three walks in two innings.
The Philadelphia Athletics then said, "Let's see you match that!" by scoring five times in the top of the third, turning a 3-3 tie into a 8-3 lead. Oddly enough, Jack Coombs was unable to help, and actually hit into an inning-ending double play.
Coombs appeared to settle down on the hill, but his bat had gone silent. He popped up in the top of the sixth. But he drove in two more runs in a four-run seventh with a single. It was 12-3 for the visitors. Chicago got two runs back when Coombs wildness returned in the bottom of the eighth. He uncorked a wild pitch with runners on second and third while pitching to Heinie Zimmerman. But in the top of the ninth, Jack got hit third hit of the contest. It didn't do much, but with a 12-5 win, Philadelphia was up 3-0 in the World Series.
Chicago took game four to extend the Fall Classic. But guess who was back on the hill in game five? Jack Coombs.
This time, the pitcher did a much better job at holding Chicago in check. However, the game itself stayed close for a while. Mordecai Brown was back for a rematch of the second contest, and gave it his all. A fine two-inning relief outing in game four had not only kept the Cubs alive, but earned Mordecai the win in relief.
So, in the top of the third, Jack Coombs fanned. But in the top of the fifth, Philadelphia settled this affair. Danny Murphy reached on an error. Jack Barry put down a bunt, moving Murphy to second. Jack Lapp's single put the Athletics in front, 2-1. However, any hope for more offence was quickly dashed as Jack Coombs grounded right back to the Brown and Topsy Hartsel fanned.
In the top of the eight, Jack Coombs came back up to the dish. The score was still only 2-1 for the visitors. But, Coombs singled to start the inning. Though he was erased at second when Topsy Hartsel hit into a force, a big inning ensued. Coombs was the next scheduled hitter as Jack Lapp grounded out to end the the big inning for Philly. They'd scored five times in it.
The rest of the game was predictably uneventful, except for Chicago picking up a meaningless run in the bottom of the eight to make the score a little closer (7-2). Jack Coombs led off the top of the ninth and grounded out.
It didn't matter. Philadelphia won the game, and the World Series was theirs, 4-1. As might have been expected, Jack Coombs won three games. However, his pitching was overshadowed hit hot bat. Jack had picked up a hit in all three games he played, knocked home three runs, and batted .385. Though he fanned three times, Coombs had hit .385 (5-13). As if things couldn't get any better for the pitcher, one month latter, Jack married. At this point, I'm sure he'd settle for the title, Jack-Of-All-Trades.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
---------------- The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903-1989. St. Martin's Press, 1990.
Nemec, et al. The Baseball Chronicle: Year-By-Year History of Major League Baseball. Publications International, Ltd., 2008.
Rogers III, C. Paul. “Jack Coombs.” Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, 28 Sept. 2021, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jack-coombs/. 04 Mar. 2022.
Rogers III, C. Paul. “Jack Coombs.” Society for American Baseball Research, SABR, 28 Sept. 2021, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jack-coombs/. 04 Mar. 2022.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. https://www.baseball-reference.com/. 04 Mar. 2022.
Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
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