Spalding's Official Baseball Guide - 1913

Part 3 out of 3




* * * * *

As a whole the St. Louis team did not play as well in 1912 as it did in
the preceding year. There was some bad luck for St. Louis as well as
Philadelphia. The players did not get started as well as they had in the
previous two years. Their spring training was more or less disastrous,
for they were one of the clubs to run into the most contrary of spring
weather.

Perhaps the worst trouble which the St. Louis team had, take the season
through from beginning to finish, was in regard to the pitchers. There
were two or three young men on the team who seemed at the close of the
season of 1911 to be likely to develop into high class pitchers in 1912.
They pitched well in 1912 at intervals. One day it seemed as if they at
last had struck their stride and the next they faltered and their
unsteadiness gave their opponents the advantage which they sought.

Perhaps, if the St. Louis team had been a little stronger to batting it
would have rated higher among the organization of the National League.
Several games were lost which would have been taken into camp by a
better display at bat. In fielding the team was much stronger and the
success of the infield, combined with some excellent outfield work now
and then, frequently held the team up in close battles, but when the
pitchers faltered on the path the fielders were not able to bear the
force of the attack.

* * * * *

For three seasons in succession Brooklyn seems to have been fated to
start the season with bad luck and misfortune. The spring training trip
did not bring to Brooklyn all that had been expected owing to the
inclement weather.

When the team began the season at Washington Park a tremendous crowd
filled the stands. Long before it was time for the game to begin the
spectators became unruly and swarmed over the field. It was impossible
for the ground police to do anything with the excited enthusiasts and at
last the city police were asked to assist. They tried to clear the
field, but only succeeded in driving the crowd from the infield.
Spectators were so thick in the outfield that they crowded upon the
bases and prevented the players from doing their best. For that matter
the outfielders could not do much of anything.

A ground rule of two bases into the crowd was established, and the New
York players, who were the opponents of Brooklyn, took advantage of it
to drive the ball with all their force, trusting that it would sail over
the heads of the fielders and drop into the crowd. They were so
successful that they made a record for two-base hits and Brooklyn was
overwhelmed.

This unfortunate beginning appeared to depress the Brooklyn team. The
players recovered slightly, but had barely got into their stride again
when accidents to the men began to happen. Some of them became ill, and
the manager was put to his wits end to get a team on the field which
should make a good showing.

Fighting against these odds Brooklyn made the best record that it could.
As the season warmed into the hotter months the infield had to be
rearranged. There was disappointment in the playing of some of the
infielders. It was also necessary to reconstruct the outfield. Unable to
get all of the men whom he would have desired the manager continued to
experiment and his experiments brought forth good fruit, for
unquestionably the excellent work of Moran, who played both right field
and center field for Brooklyn, was a great help to the pitchers. By the
time that the Base Ball playing year was almost concluded Brooklyn had
so far recovered that it was able to place a better nine on the diamond
than had been the case all of the year.

Boston never was expected to be a championship organization. The
material was not there for a championship organization, but Boston did
play better ball than in 1911 and that is to the credit of players,
manager and owner. The club had changed hands, but the new owner had not
been able to readjust all of the positions to suit him. He put the best
nine possible in the field with what he had. Never threatening to become
a championship winning team Boston played steadily with what strength it
possessed and always a little better than in 1911, so that the year
could not fairly be considered unsuccessful at its finish.

* * * * *

Going back to the beginning of the year and looking over the contest for
the National League championship of 1912, it is not uninteresting,
indeed it is of much interest to call attention to the remarkably odd
record which was made by New York to win the pennant. In that record
stands the story of the fight, with striking shifts from week to week.

The first game played by the Giants was against Brooklyn, as has been
related, and it was won by New York and that, by the way, was the game
in which Marquard began his admirable record as a pitcher for the
season.

The Giants lost the next three games. Two of them were to Brooklyn and
one to Boston, and the players of the New York team began to wonder a
little as to what had happened to them.

Then New York won nine straight games from the eastern clubs, being
stopped finally by Philadelphia on the Polo Grounds. But that defeat did
not check them. They started on another winning spurt and played
throughout the west without a defeat until they arrived in Cincinnati.
This total of victories was nine. All of the games on the schedule were
not played because of inclement weather.

Cincinnati won twice from New York and then the Giants turned the tables
on the Reds, who had been leading the league. They threw them out of the
lead, which they never regained, and won another succession of nine
victories. That made three times consecutively that they had won a total
of twenty-seven games in groups of nine, assuredly an unusual result.

Losing one game they again entered the winning class. This time they won
six games in succession. Then they lost a game. After this single defeat
they won but three games. Their charm of games in blocks of nine had
deserted them. They were beaten twice after winning three, and
Pittsburgh was the team.

Then they won another single game and immediately after that victory
lost to Brooklyn. But that was the last defeat for a long time. Well
into the race, with their condition excellent, and playing better ball
than they had played since their wonderful spurt of the month of
September in 1911, they won sixteen games in succession.

The morning of the Fourth of July dawned hot and sultry. The air was
thick and muggy and without life. The Giants were scheduled to play two
games that day with Brooklyn, the first in the morning and the second in
the afternoon. If they won both of them they would tie a former record,
which had been made by the New York team, for consecutive victories.

Perhaps it may have been reaction after the long strain of winning or it
may have been an uncommonly good streak of batting on the part of
Brooklyn. Surely Brooklyn batted well enough, as the morning game went
to the latter team by the score of 10 to 4. In the afternoon Brooklyn
again beat the Giants by the score of 5 to 2. Wiltse pitched for New
York and Stack for Brooklyn.

The New York team went to Chicago and won twice. Then it lost. The
fourth game was won from Chicago and then the Giants lost two in
succession.

They won one game and immediately after that lost four in succession.
Chicago began to have visions of winning the pennant.

From Chicago the Giants went to Pittsburgh, stood firm in a series of
three games, winning two and losing one. Their next call was at
Cincinnati and beginning with that series they got back to form a trifle
and won five games in succession.

Returning home they were beaten on the Polo Grounds three games in
succession by Chicago. After that New York settled into a winning stride
again and won six games in succession. Pittsburgh came to the Polo
Grounds and stopped the winning streak of the champions by defeating
them three times in succession. That was a hard jolt for any team to
stand. Yet the Giants rallied and won the test game of the Pittsburgh
series.

It was but a momentary pause, for after another victory St. Louis beat
New York. The Giants won another game and the next day lost to St.
Louis. That finished the home games for New York and the team started
west, facing a desperate fight. They lost the first game to Chicago, won
the next and lost the third. Going from Chicago to St. Louis they won
three games in succession, returning to Chicago, lost a postponed game
with the Cubs.

From Chicago their path led them to Pittsburgh where they lost the first
contest. Then they made the stand of the season when they beat the
Pittsburghs four games in succession.

Cincinnati turned the tables on the Giants to the consternation of the
New York fans and won twice, when it seemed as if the Giants were about
to start on a career which would safely land the championship. The
Giants returned home and beat Brooklyn in the first game and lost the
second. They won the next two and then lost again. The championship was
still in abeyance. Again they won and then lost to Philadelphia.

Here came another test in a Philadelphia series at Philadelphia which
contained postponed games, and once more rallying with all their might,
won four games and lost the last of this series of five.

Following that they won three games and then lost to St. Louis. They won
three times in succession and then lost four games to Chicago and
Cincinnati, but all of this time Chicago was gradually falling away
because it was necessary that the Cubs should continue to win successive
victories if they were to beat New York for the championship.

The Giants atoned for the four defeats at the hands of Chicago and
Cincinnati by winning the next four games in succession, and while this
did not actually settle the championship, that is, the definite
championship game had not been played, the race was practically over and
all that was left to fight for in the National League was second place,
in which Chicago and Pittsburgh were most interested. The pitching staff
of the Chicagos had worn out under the strain and the Cubs were beaten
out by Pittsburgh.

The semi-monthly standing of the race by percentages follows:

STANDING OF CLUBS ON APRIL 30.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
Cincinnati 10 3 .769 Pittsburgh 5 7 .417
New York 8 3 .727 Philadelphia 4 6 .400
Boston 6 6 .500 St. Louis 5 8 .385
Chicago 5 7 .417 Brooklyn 4 7 .364


STANDING OF CLUBS ON MAY 15.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 18 4 .810 St. Louis 10 16 .385
Cincinnati 19 5 .792 Boston 9 15 .375
Chicago 12 12 .500 Philadelphia 7 13 .350
Pittsburgh 9 12 .429 Brooklyn 7 14 .333

STANDING OF CLUBS ON MAY 31.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 28 7 .800 St. Louis 20 22 .455
Cincinnati 23 17 .675 Philadelphia .14 19 .426
Chicago 19 17 .628 Brooklyn 12 22 .353
Pittsburgh 18 17 .514 Boston 13 26 .333

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JUNE 15.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 37 10 .787 Philadelphia 20 24 .455
Pittsburgh 27 20 .574 St. Louis 23 31 .426
Chicago 26 21 .563 Brooklyn 16 30 .348
Cincinnati 25 23 .553 Boston 16 35 .314

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JUNE 30.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 50 11 .820 Philadelphia 24 33 .421
Pittsburgh 37 25 .597 Brooklyn 24 36 .400
Chicago 34 26 .567 St. Louis 27 42 .391
Cincinnati 35 32 .522 Boston 20 46 .303

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JULY 15.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 58 19 .753 Philadelphia 34 38 .472
Chicago 47 28 .627 St. Louis 34 49 .410
Pittsburgh 45 31 .592 Brooklyn 30 48 .385
Cincinnati 41 39 .513 Boston 22 59 .272

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JULY 31.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 67 24 .736 Cincinnati 45 49 .479
Chicago 57 34 .626 St. Louis 41 55 .427
Pittsburgh 52 37 .684 Brooklyn 35 59 .372
Philadelphia 45 43 .511 Boston 25 66 .275

STANDING OF CLUBS ON AUGUST 15.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 73 30 .709 Cincinnati 50 58 .463
Chicago 69 36 .657 St. Louis 47 60 .439
Pittsburgh 65 40 .619 Brooklyn 39 69 .361
Philadelphia 50 54 .481 Boston 28 76 .269

STANDING OF CLUBS ON AUGUST 31.
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 82 36 .695 Cincinnati 57 65 .467
Chicago 79 42 .653 St. Louis 53 59 .434
Pittsburgh 71 50 .587 Brooklyn 44 76 .367
Philadelphia 59 60 .496 Boston 37 84 .306

STANDING OF CLUBS ON SEPTEMBER 15
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 95 40 .704 Philadelphia 63 70 .474
Chicago 83 61 .619 St. Louis 57 80 .416
Pittsburgh 82 53 .607 Brooklyn 50 85 .370
Cincinnati 68 68 .500 Boston 42 93 .311

STANDING OF CLUBS ON SEPTEMBER 30
Club. Won. Lost. PC. Club. Won. Lost. PC.
New York 101 45 .692 Philadelphia 70 77 .476
Pittsburgh 91 57 .615 St. Louis 62 88 .413
Chicago 89 68 .605 Brooklyn 57 91 .385
Cincinnati 74 76 .493 Boston 42 100 .324

STANDING OF CLUBS AT CLOSE OF SEASON.

Club. N.Y. Pitts. Chi. Cin. Phil. St.L. Bkln. Bos. Won. PC.
New York -- 12 9 16 17 15 16 18 103 .682
Pittsburgh 8 -- 13 11 14 15 14 18 92 .616
Chicago 13 8 -- 11 10 15 17 17 91 .607
Cincinnati 6 11 10 -- 8 13 16 11 75 .490
Philadelphia 5 8 10 14 -- 11 13 12 73 .480
St. Louis 7 7 7 9 11 -- 10 12 63 .412
Brooklyn 6 8 5 6 9 11 -- 13 58 .379
Boston 3 4 6 11 10 10 9 -- 52 .340
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lost 48 58 59 78 79 90 95 101

The Chicago-Pittsburgh game at Chicago, October 2, was protested by the
Pittsburgh club and thrown out of the records, taking a victory from the
Chicago club and a defeat from the Pittsburgh club.




AMERICAN LEAGUE SEASON OF 1912

BY IRVING E. SANBORN, CHICAGO.


Pre-season predictions in Base Ball do not carry much weight
individually, but when many minds, looking at the game from different
angles, agree on the main points there usually is good reason behind
such near unanimity. Outside of Boston it is doubtful if any experienced
critic of Base Ball in the country expected the Red Sox to be converted
from a second division team into pennant winners in one short season. If
such expectancy existed in Boston it was partially a case of the wish
fathering the thought. The majority of men believed the machine with
which Connie Mack had achieved two league and two world's championships
was good for at least one more American League pennant. That expectation
was based on the comparative youth of the important cogs in the Athletic
machine. Yet this dope went all wrong. The Athletics were beaten out by
two teams which were in the second division in 1911, one of them as low
as seventh place.

The reason for these form reversals were several. The Boston and
Washington teams improved magically in new hands, while the Athletics
went back a bit, partly because of too much prosperity and partly
because of adversity. Having come from behind in 1911 and made a winning
from a wretched start, the Mackmen apparently thought they could do it
again and delayed starting their fight until it was too late. The loss
of the services of Dan Murphy for more than half of the season also was
a prime factor.

The White Sox were the season's sensations both ways and for a time kept
everybody guessing by their whirlwind start under new management. They
walked over every opponent they tackled for the first few weeks, then
began to slip and it required herculean efforts to keep them in the
first division at the finish. The Chicago team always was a puzzle to
all parties to the race, including itself.

From the outset there was almost no hope for the other four teams in the
league. Cleveland and Detroit occasionally broke into the upper circles
for a day or two in the early weeks of the season, but not far enough to
rouse any false anticipations among their supporters. St. Louis and New
York quickly gravitated to the lower strata and remained there, the
Yankees finally losing out in their battle with the Browns to keep out
of last place.

Five American League teams started the season under new managers. One of
the three which began the race under leaders retained from the previous
year changed horses in mid-stream. Jake Stahl, Harry Wolverton, Clark
Griffith, Harry Davis and James Callahan were the new faces in the
managerial gallery. Some of them were not exactly new to the job but
were in new jobs. Of these Stahl, Griffith and Callahan proved
successful leaders and the first named became the hero of a world's
championship team when the last ball of the series was caught. Davis
resigned during the season and was succeeded by Joe Birmingham, who
almost duplicated the feat of George Stovall in 1911, putting new life
into the Cleveland team and starting a spurt which made the race for
position interesting. Wolverton stuck the season out in spite of
handicaps that would have discouraged anybody, then handed in his
resignation. Wallace, who started the year at the helm again in St.
Louis, cheerfully handed over the management to Stovall, who had been
transplanted into the Mound City in the hope of making Davis' task
easier in Cleveland. Stovall made the Browns a hard team to beat and had
the mild satisfaction of hoisting them out of the cellar which they had
occupied for the better part of three seasons.

An unpleasant feature of the season, but one which had beneficial
results, was the strike of the Detroit players, entailing the staging of
a farcical game in Philadelphia between the Athletics and a team of
semi-professionals. This incident grew out of an attack on a New York
spectator by Ty Cobb while in uniform and the immediate suspension of
the player for an indefinite period.

The prompt and unyielding stand taken by President Johnson against the
action of the Detroit players and the diplomatic efforts of President
Navin of that club averted serious or extended trouble and undoubtedly
furnished a warning against any similar act in the near future. Another,
excellent result was the effort made by club owners to prevent the abuse
of the right of free speech by that small element of the game's
patronage which finds its greatest joy in abusing the players, secure in
the knowledge that it is practically protected from personal injury in
retaliation.

In the development of new players of note the league enjoyed an average
season, and a considerable amount of new blood was injected into the
game in the persons of players who made good without attracting freakish
attention. The rise of the Washington team from seventh to second place
brought its youngsters into the limelight prominently, and of these
Foster and Moeller were commended highly. Gandil, who had his second
tryout in fast company, plugged the hole at first base which had worried
Washington managers for some time. Shanks also made a reputation for
himself as a fielder. These men were helped somewhat by the showing of
their team, but the case of Gandil would have been notable In any
company. His first advent into the majors with the White Sox showed him
to be an exceedingly promising player, but for some reason his work fell
off until he was discarded into the International League. There he
quickly recovered his stride and, when he did come back shortly after
the season opened last spring, he demonstrated that he had the ability
to hit consistently and proved a tower of strength to Griffith's team.

Baumgardner of the St. Louis Browns was an example of a youngster making
good in spite of comparatively poor company. His pitching record with a
team which finished in seventh place stamps him as one of the best, if
not the best, of the slab finds of the year. Jean Dubuc of Detroit was
another find of rare value and still another was Buck O'Brien of Boston,
but these had the advantage over Baumgardner of getting better support
both in the field and at bat. O'Brien in particular was fortunate to
break in with a championship team.

The White Sox introduced three youngsters who made good and promise to
keep on doing so. Two of them, George Weaver and Morris Rath, started
the season with Chicago and the third, Baker Borton, joined the team
late in the summer. Still later Kay Schalk started in to make what looks
like a name for himself as a catcher.

* * * * *

No better illustration of the slight difference between a pennant
winning machine and a losing team in the American League has occurred
recently than the Boston Red Sox furnished last year. It did not differ
materially from the team of 1910 which compelled the use of the nickname
"Speed Boys." Jake Stahl was a member of that team, and except for the
absence of Stahl in 1911, the champions of 1912 were composed of
practically the same men who finished in the second division only the
year before. But for the showing of 1910 the whole credit for last
season's transformation might be attributed to Manager Stahl. Much of it
unquestionably is his by right, and there is no intent here to deprive
him of any of the high honors he achieved.

To Stahl's arrangement of his infield probably is due much of the
improvement in the team. The outfield trio of wonderful performers did
not perform any more wonders last year than in the previous season, but
what had been holes on the infield were plugged tightly. Many looked
askance when Larry Gardner, supposedly a second baseman, was assigned to
third, but the results more than justified the move, and it made room at
second for Yerkes, a player who had proved only mediocre on the other
side of the diamond. This switch and the return of Stahl, who is a grand
mark to throw at on first base, gave the infield the same dash and
confidence as the outfield possessed, and the addition of some pitching
strength in Bedient and O'Brien did the rest. It is the ability to
discover just the right combination that differentiates the real manager
from the semi-failure.

The Red Sox were in the race from the start, but they were eclipsed for
a time by the White Sox. In spite of that the Bostonians never faltered
but kept up a mighty consistent gait all the way and wore down all
competitors before the finish. Stahl's men never were lower than second
place in the race with the exception of three days early in May. when
Washington poked its nose in front of the Red Sox and started after the
White Sox, only to be driven back into third place by the men of
Callahan themselves. For more than a week in April Boston was in the
lead. Then Chicago went out and established a lead so long that it
lasted until near the middle of June. Boston attended strictly to its
knitting, however. Without stopping in their steady stride, the Red Sox
hung on, waiting for the Callahans to slump. When their chance came in
June the Bostonians jumped into the lead--June 10 was the exact
date--and never thereafter did they take any team's dust.

By the Fourth of July Boston had a lead of seven games over the
Athletics. The Red Sox kept right along at their even gait and a month
later were leading by the same margin over Washington, which had
displaced the former champions. On September 1 Boston's lead was
thirteen games, but it was not until September 18 that the American
League pennant was actually cinched beyond the possibility of losing it.

All season Stahl's men were known as a lucky ball team. Delving into the
files for the dope, revealed the fact that the newspaper reports of
about every third game they played on the average contained some
reference to "Boston's luck." This does not detract anything from their
glory. No team ever won a major league pennant unless it was lucky. No
team ever had as steady a run of luck as Boston enjoyed in 1912, unless
that team made a lot of its own luck by persistently hammering away when
luck was against it and keeping ever on the alert to take advantage of
an opening.

That is the explanation of the unusual consistency that marked the work
of the Red Sox all season and the fact they did not experience a serious
slump. In the first month of the season they won twelve games and lost
eight. The second month of the race was their poorest one--the nearest
they came to a slump. In that month they won eight and lost ten games.
In the third month Boston won twenty-three and lost seven games. The
fourth month saw them win twenty games and lose eight and in the fifth
month their record was twenty victories and five defeats. In the final
stages of the race the Red Sox were not under as strong pressure from
behind and naturally did not travel as fast after sighting the wire, but
the figures produced explain why Boston won the pennant. It started well
and kept going faster until there was no longer need for speed. The
annexation of the world's championship in a record breaking world's
series with the New York Giants was a fitting climax to their season's
achievement.

* * * * *

When Clark Griffith stalked through the west on his first invasion of
the season with a team of youngsters, some of them practically unknown,
and declared he was going after the pennant, everybody laughed or wanted
to. A few weeks later everybody who had laughed was sorry, and those who
only wanted to laugh were glad they didn't. For Griffith kept his men
keyed up to the fighting pitch during the greater part of the season,
and when they did start slumping in September, he made a slight switch
on his infield, applied the brakes and started them going up again. The
result was that Washington finished second for the first time in its
major league history, winning that position in the closing days of the
race after a bitter tussle with the passing world's champions.

The acquisition of Gandil from Montreal plugged a hole at first base
which had defied the efforts of several predecessors to stop and it
helped make a brilliant infield, for it gave the youngsters something
they were not afraid to throw at. In giving credit for the work of
Griffith's infield, the inclination is to overestimate the worth of the
new stars. But there was a tower of strength at short in George McBride,
who has been playing steadily and consistently at that position for
several seasons without being given one-tenth the credit his work has
merited.

The Washington team at one time or another occupied every position in
the race except the first and last. The Senators were in seventh place
for a few days in the opening weeks of the season, but not anywhere
nearly as long as they were in second place later on. They climbed out
of the second division by rapid stages and after May 1 they were driven
back into it only once during the rest of the year. That was for three
days in the beginning of June. In the meantime they had knocked Boston
out of second place for a short while in May and, most of the way, had
enjoyed a close fight with Philadelphia for third and fourth spots. Near
the middle of June, after the Red Sox had ousted their White namesakes
from first place, the Senators also passed Chicago and started after
Boston. But the youngsters were not yet hardened to the strain and soon
fell back to third and fourth. On July 5 Washington went into second
place and held onto it, with the exception of three days, for a period
of two months. September brought a slump and Griffith's men surrendered
the runner-up position to the Athletics for about two weeks, then came
back and took it away from the Mackmen at the end.

* * * * *

What happened to the world's champion Athletics the public did not
really know until after the middle of the season. Then the suspensions
of Chief Bender and Rube Oldring blazoned the fact that Manager Mack's
splendid system of handling a Base Ball team by moral suasion had fallen
down in the face of overconfidence and too much prosperity. Few people
saw any reason for changing their belief in the prowess of the Athletics
during the first half of the season, because they were in as good
position most of the time as they had been the year previous at the same
stage of the race. They were expected to make the same strong finish
that swept everything before it in 1911. Not until the second half of
the season was well under way did the adherents of the Mackmen give up
the battle.

Philadelphia's sterling young infield seemed to stand up all right all
the year, but the outfield and the slab staff gave Connie Mack sleepless
nights. When Dan Murphy was injured in Chicago in June it was discovered
what he had meant to the team. Dan was what the final punch is to a
boxing star. His timely batting was missed in knocking out opponents,
and the injury kept him out all the rest of the season. The strain which
Jack Coombs gave his side in the world's series of 1911 proved more
serious and lasting than was expected, and if Eddie Plank had not come
back into grand form it would have been a tougher season than it was for
the Athletics.

The Mackmen made a bad beginning for champions, and on May 1 were in the
second division. During all of May and part of June they climbed into
the first division and fell out of it with great regularity. Not until
near the middle of June did the Athletics gain a strangle hold on the
upper half of the league standing, from that time on they kept above the
.500 mark, and toward the end of June they met the White Sox coming
back. There was a short scuffle during the early part of July among the
Athletics, Senators and White Sox for the possession of the position
next to Boston. Then Chicago was pushed back, leaving Philadelphia and
Washington to fight it out the rest of the way. Trimming the Phillies
four out of five games in their city series did not lessen the gloom of
the Athletics.

* * * * *

The White Sox by their meteoric career demonstrated the value of good
condition at the start. Although the Chicagoans experienced tough
weather in Texas last spring they fared better than any of the other
teams in their league, and that fact, combined with the readiness with
which youth gets into playing trim, enabled the White Sox to walk
through the early weeks of their schedule with an ease that astonished
everybody. Even prophets who were friendly to them had expected no such
showing. So fast did the Callahans travel that on May 3 they had lost
only four games, having won thirteen in that time. But Boston was
hanging on persistently. Chicago's margin over the Red Sox varied from
four to five and a half games; during May, on the fourteenth of that
month the White Sox had won twenty-one games and lost only five, giving
them the percentage of .808. During part of this time they were on their
first invasion of the east. May 18 saw the Chicago men five and a half
games in the lead and their constituents were dreaming of another
world's pennant almost every night.

Even the doubters were beginning to believe Manager Callahan had found
the right combination. Just then came the awakening. The luck which had
been coming their way began breaking against them with remarkable
persistency. Plays that had won game after game went wrong and youth was
not resourceful enough to offset the breaks. The White Sox began to fall
away fast in percentage, but managed to cling to the lead until June 10.
Boston passed them right there and the Chicagoans kept on going.

By mid-season Manager Callahan was fighting to keep his men in the first
division and their slump did not end until they landed in fifth place
for a couple of days in August. Then in desperation Callahan began
switching his line-up and by herculean effort--and the help of Ed
Walsh--climbed back into the upper quartet and stuck there to the
finish. It was a desperate remedy to take Harry Lord off third base,
where he had played during most of his professional career, and try to
convert him into an outfielder, a position in which he had had no
experience at all. But Lord was too good an offensive player to take out
of the game, in spite of his slump at third base, and he was willing to
try the outfield. Results justified the move. Lord learned outfielding
rapidly, and Zeider proved that third base was his natural position. The
acquisition of Borton for first base enabled Callahan to put Collins in
the outfield, and the White Sox in reality were a stronger team when
they finished than when they started their runaway race in April. With
one more reliable pitcher to take his turn regularly on the slab all
season the White Sox would have kept in the race. Callahan's men made up
for some of the disappointment they produced by beating the Cubs in a
nine-game post-season series, after the Cubs had won three victories.
Two of the nine games were drawn and one other went into extra innings,
making a more extended combat than the world's series.

* * * * *

Cleveland's 1912 experience was almost identical with that of 1911, even
to swapping managers in mid-season. Harry Davis, for years first
lieutenant to Connie Mack, took the management or the Naps under a
severe handicap. He succeeded a temporary manager, George Stovall, who
had made good in the latter half of the previous season, but who could
not be retained without abrogating a previous agreement with Davis. The
public did not take kindly to the situation when the Naps failed to get
into the fight, and the new management had a pitching staff of
youngsters with out much of a catching staff to help them out when in
trouble.

The Cleveland team never was prominent in the race after the first
fortnight, although it retained a respectable position at the top of the
second division, with an occasional journey into the first division
during the first month or six weeks. In the middle of June the Naps
dropped back into sixth place, below Detroit, for a while, then took a
brace and reclaimed the leadership of the second squad for part of July.
Midway in August found Cleveland apparently anchored in sixth spot and,
with the consent of the Cleveland club owners, Manager Davis resigned
his position.

The management was given to Joe Birmingham, who took hold of it with
enthusiasm but without experience, just as Stovall did the previous
year. He infused new life into the team, shook it up a bit, and improved
its playing so much that Cleveland passed Detroit before the end of the
race, and was threatening to knock Chicago out of fourth place at one
time. This would have happened but for the brace of the White Sox.
Profiting by previous experience the club owners did not look around for
a permanent manager until they saw what Birmingham could do, and in
consequence were in position to offer him the leadership of the Naps for
the season of 1913.

* * * * *

What was left to Manager Jennings from the great Detroit team that had
won three straight pennants was slowing up, with the exception of Tyrus
Cobb, who has yet to reach the meridian of his career, and the Georgian
got into trouble fairly early in the season, with the result that he was
suspended for a considerable period. That and the strike of the Tigers
in Philadelphia threw a monkey-wrench into the machinery, resulting in a
tangle which Jennings was unable to straighten out all the season. There
was a problem at first base which he had a hard time solving. The break
in Del Gainor's wrist the season before had not mended as it should have
done, and he was unable to play the position regularly. Moriarty was
pressed into service there and did good work in an unfamiliar position;
then the infield was shifted several times without marked benefit.
Donovan, who had always been of great help on the slab in hot weather,
was not equal to the task of another year and was made manager of the
Providence team. Jean Dubuc was the only one of the young pitchers who
proved a star, but his work kept the Tigers from being a lot more
disappointing proposition than they were.

* * * * *

St. Louis and New York were outclassed from the start. Two weeks after
the season opened it was apparent they were doomed to fight it out for
the last round on the ladder. That the Browns finally escaped the cellar
in the closing days of the race was due largely to the efforts of
Stovall, who was made manager to succeed Wallace near the middle of the
season.

As early as the first of May it was seen the Browns and Yankees were
destined to trail. The New York team quickly gravitated to the bottom.
It started without the services of Catcher Eddie Sweeney, who held out
for a larger salary, and it had a manager at the helm who was
inexperienced in major league leadership. Not until April 24 did New
York win a game and in that time it had lost seven straight,
postponements accounting for the rest of the time.

St. Louis got a little better start and for a while was inclined to
dispute sixth place with Detroit, but on May 1 the Browns found only New
York between them and the basement. In the middle of May the Yankees
passed St. Louis and ran seventh in the race until July. 4. But accident
and injury, and the loss of Cree, shot the Yankees to pieces. For nearly
six weeks, however, it was a battle royal between New York and St. Louis
to escape the last hole, but in the middle of August the Yankees again
established their superiority, retaining seventh place until after the
middle of September. In the homestretch the new blood given Stovall
enabled him to pull his men out of the last notch just before the
schedule ran out. This feat was soon forgotten in the defeat of the
Browns by the Cardinals in their post-prandial series for the
championship of the Mound City.

* * * * *

The year was not prolific of freak or record-breaking performances in
the American League. Walter Johnson of Washington, and Joe Wood of
Boston were credited with sixteen straight victories, which raised the
American League record in that respect from fourteen straight, formerly
held by Jack Chesbro of the Yankees. Mullin of Detroit and Hamilton of
St. Louis added their names to the list of hurlers who have held
opponents without a safe hit in nine innings. Mullin performed his
hitless feat against St. Louis and Hamilton retaliated by holding
Detroit without a safety. The number of games in which pitchers escaped
with less than four hits against them was smaller than usual, however.
There were only seventy-eight shut-out games recorded last season by
comparison with the American League's record of 145.

The longest game of the younger league's season lasted nineteen innings,
Washington defeating Philadelphia in that combat 5 to 4, and it was
played late in September when the two teams were scrapping for second
place. The American League record for overtime is twenty-four innings,
held by Philadelphia and Boston. There were a lot of slugging games in
1912, but not as many as during the season of 1911. Philadelphia piled
up the highest total, 25, in eight innings, but it was made against the
semi-professional team which wore Detroit uniforms on the day the Tigers
struck. The highest genuine total of hits was twenty-three, made by the
Athletics against New York pitchers. The Athletics also run up the
highest score of the league's season when they compounded twenty-four
runs against Detroit In May.

The semi-monthly standing of the race by percentages follows:

STANDING OF CLUBS ON MAY 1.
Club. Won. Lost. PC.
Chicago 11 4 .733
Boston 9 5 .643
Washington 8 6 .615
Cleveland 7 6 .538
Athletics 7 7 .600
Detroit 6 10 .375
St. Louis 5 9 .357
New York 3 10 .231

STANDING OF CLUBS ON MAY 15.

Chicago 21 6 .778
Boston 16 8 .667
Washington 12 12 .500
Cleveland 11 11 .500
Detroit 13 14 .481
Athletics 10 12 .466
New York 6 15 .286
St. Louis 6 17 .261

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JUNE 1.

Chicago 29 12 .707
Boston 25 14 .641
Detroit 21 20 .512
Athletics 17 17 .500
Cleveland 18 19 .486
Washington 19 21 .476
New York 12 23 .343
St. Louis 12 27 .308

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JUNE 15.

Boston 33 19 .635
Chicago 33 21 .611
Washington 33 21 .611
Athletics 27 21 .563
Detroit 26 29 .473
Cleveland 23 28 .451
New York 17 31 .364
St. Louis 15 37 .288

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JULY 1.

Boston 47 21 .691
Athletics 39 25 .609
Chicago 38 28 .576
Washington 37 31 .551
Cleveland 33 38 .492
Detroit 33 36 .478
New York 18 44 .290
St. Louis 18 45 .288

STANDING OF CLUBS ON JULY 15.

Boston 56 26 .683
Washington 60 33 .602
Athletics 46 36 .668
Chicago 44 35 .567
Cleveland 42 42 .500
Detroit 40 43 .488
New York 22 53 .298
St. Louis 22 56 .282

STANDING OF CLUBS ON AUGUST 1.

Boston 67 31 .684
Washington 61 37 .622
Athletics 55 41 .573
Chicago 49 36 .516
Detroit 48 42 .485
Cleveland 45 43 .464
New York 31 53 .333
St. Louis 30 56 .312

STANDING OF CLUBS ON AUGUST 15.

Boston 76 34 .691
Athletics 66 43 .606
Washington 67 44 .604
Chicago 54 55 .495
Detroit 55 58 .487
Cleveland 51 59 .464
New York 36 73 .327
St. Louis 36 74 .321

STANDING OF CLUBS ON SEPTEMBER 1.

Boston 87 37 .702
Washington 77 49 .611
Athletics 73 50 .593
Chicago 62 61 .504
Detroit 57 70 .449
Cleveland 54 71 .432
New York 45 78 .366
St. Louis 43 82 .344

STANDING OF CLUBS ON SEPTEMBER 15.

Boston 97 39 .713
Athletics 81 56 .591
Washington 82 57 .590
Chicago 67 69 .493
Detroit 64 75 .461
Cleveland 62 75 .453
New York 48 88 .353
St. Louis 47 89 .346

STANDING OF CLUBS ON OCTOBER 1.

Boston 103 48 .691
Washington 89 60 .567
Athletics 89 60 .567
Chicago 74 76 .493
Cleveland 72 77 .483
Detroit 69 80 .463
St. Louis 52 98 .347
New York 49 100 .329

STANDING OF CLUBS AT CLOSE OF SEASON

Bos. Wash. Ath. Chic. Clev. Det. S.L. N.Y. Won PC
Boston -- 12 15 16 11 15 17 19 105 .691
Washington 10 -- 7 13 18 14 14 15 91 .599
Athletics 7 18 -- 10 14 13 16 17 99 .592
Chicago 6 9 12 -- 11 14 13 13 78 .506
Cleveland 11 4 8 11 -- 13 15 13 75 .490
Detroit 6 8 9 8 9 -- 13 16 69 .451
St. Louis 5 8 6 9 7 9 -- 9 58 .344
New York 3 7 5 9 8 6 13 -- 50 .329
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Lost 47 61 62 76 78 84 101 102

NATIONAL LEAGUE

STANDING OF CLUBS AT CLOSE OF SEASON.

N.Y. Pitts.Chi. Cin. Phil.St.L. Bkln. Bos. Won. PC.

New York -- 12 9 16 17 15 16 18 103 .682
Pittsburgh 8 -- 13 11 14 15 14 18 93 .616
Chicago 13 8 -- 11 10 15 17 17 91 .607
Cincinnati 6 11 10 -- 8 13 16 11 75 .498
Philadelphia 5 8 10 14 -- 11 13 12 73 .480
St. Louis 7 7 7 9 11 -- 10 12 63 .412
Brooklyn 6 8 5 6 9 11 -- 13 58 .379
Boston 3 4 6 11 10 10 9 -- 52 .340
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----
Lost 48 58 59 78 79 90 95 101

The Chicago-Pittsburgh game at Chicago, October 2, was protested by the
Pittsburgh club and thrown out of the records, taking a victory from the
Chicago club and a defeat from the Pittsburgh club.

CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS IN PREVIOUS YEARS.

1871- Athletics .759 | 1885- Chicago .770 | 1899- Brooklyn .682
1872- Boston .830 | 1886- Chicago .726 | 1900- Brooklyn .603
1873- Boston .729 | 1887- Detroit .637 | 1901- Pittsburgh .647
1874- Boston .717 | 1888- New York .641 | 1902- Pittsburgh .741
1875- Boston .899 | 1889- New York .659 | 1903- Pittsburgh .650
1876- Chicago .788 | 1890- Brooklyn .667 | 1904- New York .693
1877- Boston .646 | 1891- Boston .630 | 1905- New York .668
1878- Boston .683 | 1892- Boston .680 | 1906- Chicago .765
1879- Providence .702 | 1893- Boston .667 | 1907- Chicago .704
1880- Chicago .798 | 1894- Baltimore .695 | 1908- Chicago .643
1881- Chicago .667 | 1895- Baltimore .669 | 1909- Pittsburgh .724
1882- Chicago .655 | 1896- Baltimore .698 | 1910- Chicago .676
1883- Boston .643 | 1897- Boston .795 | 1911- New York .647
1884- Providence .750 | 1898- Boston .685 |

INDIVIDUAL BATTING.

Following are the Official Batting Averages of National League players
who participated in any manner in at least fifteen championship games
during the season of 1912:

Name and Club G. A.B. R. H. T.B. 2B 3B HR SH SB PC
Zimmerman, Chicago 145 557 95 207 318 41 14 14 18 23 .372
Meyers, New York 126 371 60 133 177 16 5 6 9 8 .358
Sweeney, Boston 153 593 84 204 264 81 13 1 33 27 .344
Evers, Chicago 143 478 73 163 211 23 11 1 14 16 .341
Bresnaban, St. Louis 48 108 8 36 50 7 2 1 -- 4 .333
McCormick, New York 42 39 4 13 19 4 1 -- -- 1 .333
Doyle, New York 143 558 98 184 263 33 8 10 13 36 .330
Kuisely, Cincinnati 21 67 10 22 35 7 8 -- 1 3 .328
Lobert, Philadelphia 65 257 37 84 112 12 5 2 10 13 .327
Wiltse, New York 28 46 5 15 17 2 -- -- 1 1 .326
Wagner, Pittsburgh 145 558 91 181 277 36 20 7 11 26 .324
Hendrix, Pittsburgh 46 121 25 39 64 10 6 1 2 1 .322
Kirke, Boston 103 359 53 115 146 11 4 4 9 7 .320
Kelly, Pittsburgh 48 132 20 42 52 3 2 1 7 8 .318
Marsans, Cincinnati 110 416 59 132 168 19 7 1 9 35 .317
Kling, Boston 81 252 26 80 102 10 3 2 7 8 .317
Donlin, Pittsburgh 77 244 27 77 108 9 8 2 10 8 .316
Stengel, Brooklyn 17 57 9 38 22 1 -- 1 1 5 .316
Paskert, Philadelphia 145 540 102 170 221 38 5 1 11 35 .315
Konetchy, St. Louis 143 538 81 169 245 26 13 8 17 35 .314
Crandall, New York 50 80 9 25 25 6 2 -- 3 -- .313
Titus,
Philadelphia-Boston 141 502 99 155 224 32 11 5 15 11 .309
Merkle, New York 129 479 82 148 215 22 6 11 8 37 .309
Daubert, Brooklyn 145 559 81 173 232 19 16 3 14 39 .308

W. Miller, Chicago 86 241 45 74 93 11 4 -- 8 11 .307
S. Magee, Phila 132 464 79 142 203 25 9 6 29 30 .306
Wheat, Brooklyn 123 453 70 138 204 28 7 8 7 16 .305
Huggins, St. Louis 120 431 82 131 154 15 4 -- 11 35 .304
Carey, Pittsburgh 150 587 114 177 231 23 8 5 37 45 .302
Edington, Pittsburgh 15 53 4 16 20 -- 2 -- 3 -- .302
Simon, Pittsburgh 42 113 10 34 38 2 1 -- -- 1 .301





 


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