The 1912 World Series: Part One

“No individual, whether player, manager, owner, critic or spectator, who went through the world’s series of 1912 ever will forget it. There never was another like it. Years may elapse before there shall be a similar series and it may be that the next to come will be equally sensational, perhaps more so.” — John B. Forster

The 1912 World Series commenced on October 8 ^th , as the visitors, the American League champion Boston Red Sox (105-47) traveled to Polo Grounds to face the New York Giants (103-48), winners of the National League pennant. The Red Sox were the clear favorites to win the series, but had struggled down the stretch hitting the ball, a problem that worried manager Jake Stahl. Still, the powerful Boston club, led by centerfielder Tris Speaker and pitcher Joe Wood, strolled into New York on the evening of the 7 ^th , confident of a Series’ win. 

Game 1 

Wood, a 34-game winner during the season, would start Game 1 for the Red Sox. Giants’ manager John McGraw was expected to match Stahl’s ace with his own, Christy Mathewson. Instead, McGraw elected to start Jeff Tesreau, essentially his third starter. Tesreau had a good season, winning 17 games with a staff-best 1.96 ERA. He would have to equal that performance in a showdown with Wood, one of the best in the game.  

With over 36,000 watching at Polo Grounds, the Giants delivered the first punch. With one out, leadoff man Josh Devore drew a walk. Larry Doyle then singled to leftfield, advancing to second after Sox leftfielder Duffy Lewis attempted and failed to throw out Devore going to third. Wood struck out the next batter and the clean-up hitter Red Murray to hit a shallow fly ball into leftfield. However, Duffy Lewis lost the ball in the sun and the ball hit the playing surface. Two scored and the Giants took an early 2-0 lead. 

Despite the early blemish, Wood was pitching effectively. However, he was the second best pitcher in Polo Grounds so far on that night, as Tesreau was wild but very effective. At times, he seemed to be overthrowing his fastball, leading to walks but got through the first five innings unscathed. But in the sixth, Speaker got a hold of Tesreau fastball and spanked into the gap in left center for a triple. The next batter, Lewis, grounded out to second, bringing Speaker in from third, cutting the Giants’ lead in half. 

The Speaker hit seemed to rattle Tesreau and brought some much-needed energy back into the Red Sox’ dugout. Tesreau stopped mixing his pitches effectively and instead resorted to overthrowing his fastball. After getting the first batter out in the seventh, he surrendered back to back singles. McGraw panicked and sent three Giant relievers down to the bullpen to start and warm-up. While the pitchers loosened, Harry Hooper smashed a double down the first base line to tie the game at twos.  

With two outs and runners at second and third, Tesreau remained in the game. His stubbornness took over again, as he tried to overpower Sox second baseman Steve Yerkes, but left one up in the strike zone. Yerkes nailed a blistering line-drive up the middle to score two runs and Boston entered the seventh inning stretch up 4-2. 

The game seemed all but over the way Wood was pitching. In the bottom of the ninth, with the score still 4-2, the Giants mounted a rally. Wood got the first batter to fly out but fatigue was becoming an issue for the Boston ace. A Fred Merkle single was followed by another, this one off the bat of Buck Herzog, who went way out of the zone to poke one into right. On the very next pitch, Chief Mayers ripped a ball off the wall in right field for a double, scoring Merkle and sending the tying run, Herzog, to third. 

McGraw lifted Mayers and put in the speedy Beals Becker to represent the winning run at second. A clearly rattled Wood got a visit from his battery mate, Hick Cady, and responded by blowing three consecutive fastballs by Art Fletcher to retire him. The Giants’ last chance came down to Doc Crandall, the man who replaced Tesreau. Crandall, a fair hitter, put up a fierce battle with Wood, fouling various two strike pitches off. However, on a 2-2 count, Wood paralyzed Crandall’s bat with a fastball down and in to end the ballgame.  

Game 2  

The team retreated back to Boston the next day for a matinee at the brand new Fenway Park. The Giants’ sent out Christy Mathewson to face Boston’s Ray Collins in what would later be described by New York Times writer Hugh Fullerton as the “greatest world’s series game to-date.” 

Game 2 did not start well for Mathewson and the Giants. In the first, Hooper led off with a single. Yerkes followed with a sure double play ball to short. However, the shortstop Fletcher couldn’t find the handle and everyone was safe. The next batter, Speaker, bunted a ball back to Mathewson. He too though, could not field it properly and the throw to first was late. Boston had loaded the bases with none retired in the first. 

Mathewson got the next batter, Lewis, to hit into a fielder choice, 5-2, to force Hooper at home. Larry Gardner, the next man up, hit a sharp two-hopper to Mathewson. Christy tried to turn the double play but his throw to second was late. The second baseman Doyle, managed to relay it and get the out at first but Boston struck first and made it 1-0. Mathewson then made a critical mistake pitch to Stahl, who singled into left to drive home two more. The Giants got out of it but the damage was done, 3-0 Red Sox. 

The team exchanged runs through the middle of the ballgame and in the seventh, with the score now 4-2; the Giants’ bats came alive. With one out and runners on the corners,Murray doubled to left, scoring Fred Snodgrass. Stahl then made a move, replacing Collins with Charley Hall. Hall managed to retire the first batter he saw but then an innocent pop-up would turn the tables. 

Buck Herzog hit a ball high in the swirling winds towards the bleachers between first and home. The Boston catcher, Bill Carrigan settled under it but the wind blew it behind him. Carrigan leaped and tried to one-hand it and the ball rolled around in his mitt before finally hitting the grass in foul territory. Herzog capitalized on his second chance, driving the next pitch into left, scoring two runs. Carrigan’s miscue cost Boston two runs and the lead, as the Giants left their half of the seventh, fortunate to be up 5-4. 

The Red Sox tied the game back up in the bottom of the seventh, with Lewis scoring on another error charged to Fletcher. The game remained that way through nine, forcing extra-innings. Merkle lead off of the Giants’ tenth with a long triple into centerfield. Three batters later, Moose McCormack, hitting for Fletcher, brought in Merkle on a long sacrifice fly to left field. Once again, the Red Sox found themselves behind in a game they shouldn’t have been losing in the first place. 

Mathewson got the first out before hanging a breaking pitch to Speaker, who promptly made him pay. He hit one into the same spot in center that Merkle previously had. As Speaker rounded the bases, he was interfered with three times by Giants infielders, although no interference was called by the base umps. The Giants were slow to get the ball into the infield and Speaker rounded third base. 

The crowd at Fenway Park was holding their breath. Tillie Shafer, the new Giants’ shortstop, took a relay throw and threw a bull’s-eye to Art Wilson at the plate. Speaker was out by about five feet but…Wilson dropped the ball. Speaker was safe at the plate to tie the game up at six. Stahl, who already had left the dugout to protest the non-interference calls, retreated back to celebrate with his team.  

After he scored, Speaker began shouting at Herzog, the Giants’ third baseman. Herzog apparently tried to trip Speaker as he rounded third and the two were separated by the umpires and other players. The next batter, Duffy Lewis hit another drive to centerfield. The ball hit the wall, two feet short of a game-winning home run, and Lewis strolled into second base with a double. Mathewson, who definatly did not bring his A-game, managed to retire the next two batsmen to get out of trouble. 

The teams played a non-excitable 11 ^th before home plate umpire Silk O’Loughlin called the game due to darkness. With the tie, the best-of-nine now became a best-of-seven series, with Boston up 1-0. With tempers flaring and the competitiveness of the two teams at an all-time high, the series instantly was transformed into a classic.