Author: Bill Grimes

I'm from Chicago. I worked in broadcast journalism for much of the 1970's and 80's. In 1990 I became a litigation consultant, retiring in 2017. Around 2005 I recall flipping through the sports section of the newspaper coming across "On this day in baseball history Willie Mays hit his 600th home run." I enjoyed the one-liners, but I wanted more. I wanted a story. I took my news reporting skills and started researching and telling baseball stories, one for every day of the year. TodayinBaseball.com is the result.

Oct 1: Did Ruth call his shot?

OCTOBER 1, 1932 | CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – What did or didn’t happen in Wrigley Field on this date is debated to this day. Some believe Babe Ruth called his shot while batting in game-3 of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees – that is, pointed toward the bleachers, indicating he was going to hit a home run there, and then hitting one there. So did Ruth call his shot? I say no.

Ruth definitely gestured, as film from that day shows, but was he calling his shot? [I don’t have the rights to show a still frame from that film, but you can see it by Google-ing “called shot copyright Kirk Kandle”.]

The Yankees were up 2 games to none against the Cubs in the ’32 series. New York took an early lead in game three on a home run by Ruth, only to be tied by the Cubs.

It was the 5th inning and Ruth came to bat again. He and the Cubs were jawing back and forth at each other. It’s obvious from the film that Ruth was gesturing with the count 2-balls and 2-strikes. On the next pitch, he hit a mammoth home run about 450 feet.

Did Ruth call his shot? Sportswriter Joe Williams of Scripps-Howard newspapers started it with this headline in the next day’s paper:

“Ruth calls shot as he puts home run no. 2 in side pocket”

Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, who gave up the home run, insisted Ruth did not call his shot. “If he had made a gesture like that I’d have put one in his ear and knocked him on his (backside).” Ruth did not initially acknowledge that he called his shot, but embraced the story more and more as time went on.

What may be most definitive is the typed play-by-play from Retrosheet, data gathered by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) for virtually every MLB game ever played.

Below is how Ruth’s 5th inning at-bat appears, including the bold type:

YANKEES 5TH: Sewell grounded out (shortstop to first); the Cubs bench players were riding Babe Ruth mercilessly and Ruth yelled and gestured back; Ruth homered;

Whoever wrote that does not believe he called his shot. And if you look at Ruth’s gesture it appears to be straight ahead. When a left-handed batter stands in the box straight ahead is toward the 3rd base dugout, which is the Cubs dugout. My belief is Ruth was gesturing toward the Cubs, not center-field. Did Ruth call his shot? I say no.

Contributing sources:
October 1, 1932 Box score/play-by-play
Charlie Root quote, USATODAY, September 27, 2007
Sports Illustrated Greatest Teams, by Tim Crothers, 1998

Sept 2: DOMINANCE

SEPTEMBER 2, 1990 | CLEVELAND, OHIO • Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb had not allowed a hit for 8 and 2/3 innings when Indians 2nd baseman Julio Franco came to bat. With a 2-2 count, Franco got a base hit to centerfield. Stieb retired the next batter for a 1-0, one-hit shutout. On September 30, Steib’s very next start at home in Toronto, he had not allowed the Baltimore Orioles a hit going into the 9th. He induced two groundouts, bringing pinch hitter Jim Traber to the plate. Again, on a 2-2 count, Traber got a base hit. The next batter grounded out and Dave Stieb had his second consecutive one-hitter after not allowing a hit for 8 and 2/3rds innings.

He came amazingly close to tying Johnny Vander Meer’s streak of two consecutive no-hitters, but still had none. The following spring, April 10, 1989, in New York, Dave Stieb threw his third one-hitter in two seasons. It wasn’t quite as dramatic this time as Stieb gave up the one hit in the 5th inning when Yankee catcher Jamie Quirk singled.

Dave Stieb finally got that no-no on this date in 1990. Again, he made it interesting in the 9th. He got the first two batters out before walking the third. The last out came on a line drive out to right field. Stieb’s day was no runs, no hits, four walks and nine strike outs.

Considering Steib’s September 24th and 30th starts of 1988 were the last two of the season and April 10, 1989 was his second start of the next season, for three of four starts he threw one-hitters. The other start, April 5, 1989 he gave up 4 hits in a 2-1 loss in which he was not the pitcher of record. Has there ever been a more dominating stretch by a pitcher in major league history?

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
September 24, 1988 box score & play-by-play
September 30, 1988 box score & play-by-play
April 5, 1989 box score & play-by-play
April 10, 1989 box score & play-by-play

 

 

 

Sept 1: First triple-header

SEPTEMBER 1, 1890 | BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – The first tripleheader in major league baseball history was played on this date in 1890. Yes, you read it right – TRIPLEHEADER, with a “T”. You have to practically be a senior citizen to recall regularly scheduled doubleheaders. But on this date in 1890 the Brooklyn Bridegrooms played the Pittsburgh Alleghenys three games and won all three – 10-9, 3-2 and 8-4. (More on the team names later)

It’s a wonder the players had anything left for two more games after the frenzied finish to game one. Here’s what happened; Brooklyn had little trouble with Pittsburgh for the first nine innings. The Bridegrooms were up 10-0 with only three outs to go. Finally, Pittsburgh came alive. They scored 6 quick runs in the top of the ninth. Brooklyn remained in the control with a 10-6 lead and two outs, but Pittsburgh loaded the bases. Third baseman Doggie Miller blasted one to deep left field clearing the bases, making it 10-9. As Brooklyn left fielder Darby O’Brien chased the ball down Miller kept running. O’Brien hit the relay man shortstop Germany Smith as Miller rounded third. Smith fired a strike to catcher. Miller was tagged out inches before he would have tied the game. Brooklyn squeaked by. One game down, two to go.

As for the names, The Brooklyn Bridegrooms eventually became the Brooklyn Dodgers, who later moved to Los Angeles, but the franchise went through several other nicknames early on, including the Robins and Superbas. The Alleghenys are the current Pittsburgh Pirates.

Contributing Sources:
The New York Times, September 2, 1890
Baseball team names
September 1, 1890

AUG 10-Pitcher of Efficiency

AUGUST 10, 1944  CINCINNATI, OHIO – Boston Braves (today’s Atlanta Braves) starting pitcher Red Barrett set two significant records on this date in 1944. According to Baseball-Almanac, Barrett shutout the Cincinnati Reds in just one hour and fifteen minutes. Not surprisingly, he needed just 58 pitches to do it. It remains the shortest night game ever played and the fewest pitches in a complete game win day or night.

Barrett gave up just two hits and walked none in the 2-0 win. He also didn’t strike out anyone, which kept his pitch count low. The pitches would have added up had hitters gone far enough in the count to strike out.

Red Barrett had a remarkable year in 1945, but his 11-year career was otherwise undistinguished as far as major league standards go. He finished with 69 wins and 69 losses for three different teams (two stints with the Boston Braves). He went 23-12 for the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE: 
August 10, 1944 – BASEBALL-ALMANAC
The Associated Press (AP), Cincinnati, Ohio, August 11, 1944

Aug 9 in baseball history: The Fall and Rise of Rick Ankiel

AUGUST 9, 2007 | ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI – Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals hit a dramatic 3-run home run on this date in 2007. It was the culmination of the fall and rise of Rick Ankiel. He had gone through an agonizing public collapse as a pitcher seven years earlier. It got so bad he gave up pitching, but he didn’t give up baseball.

Rick Ankiel was drafted out of high school by the Cardinals in 1997. He received a big signing bonus and progressed through the minor leagues fairly quickly. There was no hint of the trouble ahead. He was Minor League Player of the Year in 1999. Ankiel went 11-7 in 2000, his first full season with the Cardinals, striking out an average of 10 hitters every 9 innings.

The problems surfaced in the playoffs. Though only 20-years old when the season started Ankiel got the start in game one of the National League Division Series. That’s where the trouble started. He gave up a hit and two walks in the first, but got through unscathed, no problems in the second, but mysterious wildness that would eventually drive him from the mound started in the third.

Here’s how it went:

• Greg Maddux walks
• Rafael Furcal pops out
• Wild pitch
• Wild pitch
• Walks Andruw Jones
• Wild pitch
• Strikes out Chipper Jones
• Walks Andres Galarraga
• Brian Jordan singles
• Wild pitch
• Walks Reggie Sanders
• Walt Weiss singles
• (Ankiel relieved)

The Cardinals won the game, swept the series and Ankiel shrugged off his wildness, but he didn’t make it through the first inning of game two of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets. Five of the first 20 pitches he threw went back to the screen, but only two were counted as wild pitches because no one was on base… yet. He was lifted after three walks and a double to drive in two.

Ankiel’s pitching troubles continued. He was sent down to the minors in 2001 and his wildness got worse. He finally gave up pitching in 2005. He became an outfielder, eventually making it back to the Cardinals and a tremendous reception on August 9, 2007. He drew a prolonged standing ovation in his first at-bat on this date. He popped out in his first at bat, struck out in his second and hit the 3-run homer in his 3rd plate appearance.

Rick Ankiel ended up playing 11 years in the majors, 7 of those were after the fall and rise of Rick Ankiel.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Cardinals-Padres, August 9, 2007
2000 NLDS Cardinals-Braves, Game 1, October 3, 2000
2000 NLCS Cardinals-Mets, Game 2, October 12, 2000