Notes #465 — Second Time Around

                             NOTES FROM THE SHADOWS OF COOPERSTOWN
                                           Observations from Outside the Lines
                                     By Two Finger Carney (carneya6@adelphia.net)
 

                                        SECOND TIME AROUND  

            It’s a Sinatra title, but it’s also a phrase that comes up in baseball. Rookie pheenoms sometimes do not make it, the second time around. Pitchers who blaze through the lineup the first three innings, sometimes stumble — the second time. Then there’s the sophomore jinx.
 

            But the Sinatra song says things are better , the second time around, and that’s the meaning I want for this issue. Up top, a story about someone I missed, the first time(s) I watched an ESPN program. Then I start the second time around — or, the second round, of the Sweet Sixteen APBA tournament, pitting the All-Timers from the original MLB franchises against each other.
 

            I am not just reporting here on an old tournament, I am posting the results soon after the games are played. True, I’m working a little bit ahead — for example, I know which two teams will be playing each other in the American League bracket of the Final Four. But I have no idea at all about the NL. The second round has just started over there. What I can report, however, is that without exception, the games have all been more fun — the second time around.
 

            One reason for that is that the (imaginary) stakes are higher. All the teams now have success under their belts. With each game, the players build a history. Now they come to bat as the hero of that first round victory over … or maybe something spectacular they did then — three homers in a game, a steal of home, a web-gem catch — gets recalled: can they do it again?
 

            Nothing new, nothing deep here. Fans have always followed teams, and the joy of being a fan has always been a cumulative thing. Many got hooked, their first time at a ballpark … but oh, that second time around. Do it again! or Make up for last night, you bum! and Well, it’s about TIME he got a hit .
 

            It never fails — my returns to APBA over the years have always brought me closer to aspects of baseball that I had forgotten, or given me a new appreciation of the subtleties of the game. Made me a brand new fan.
 

 

WHAT ABOUT ROLAND GEHRE?  
 

            A couple years ago, the National Hockey League strike caused ESPN producers to come up with filler, and among the programs in their series Five Reasons Why We Can’t Blame was one on the Black Sox. ESPN came up with Five Reasons We Can’t Blame them for “tossing” the 1919 World Series. As it happened, I was interviewed for the program, and have the DVD and video, so I can play it again, Sam, whenever I want.
 

            Recently, I did just that, and sure enough, I picked up on something that I passed over in all my previous viewings. It was  inserted among the Five Reasons, in a little vignette, on the “Say it ain’t so, Joe” story. “SIASJ,” as we all know, has taken on a life of its own, so that today many people who have never heard of the Black Sox or Joe Jackson, or who do not follow baseball, know what SIASJ means. John Sayles had to insert the story in the film of Eight Men Out , not because the encounter between Shoeless Joe and the “urchin” is part of history, but because everyone expected it to be part of the B-Sox tale.
 

            Its historicity no longer matters, any more than that of the story of young George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. Or Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 Series. Or Santa — I better stop there, I’m already ruffling feathers, methinx.
 

            Anyway , ESPN did not merely insert the film clip from 8MO , it included some comments from baseball historians (not me) that suggested “no one believed it happened.”  Mike Nola provided the response from Jackson himself, not just denying the encounter, but fingering Chicago reporter Charley Owens for making it up. (For more on SIASJ than you want to know, see Burying the Black Sox , pages 128-130, and footnotes 6-18 for Chapter Six.)
 

            But then ESPN added the testimony from the family of Roland Gehre.
 

            Who?  Roland Gehre , who claimed to be the urchin who asked Jackson that question which became the stuff of myth. I recalled reading something in the Chicago Tribune , long ago, about someone who claimed to be that famous urchin, but could not recall the name. So I googled Roland Gehre and was soon linked to an article by John Christgau in NINE . Christgau was ESPN’s source, too.
 

            Roly and the Alderman is the title of Christgau’s article, A Small Boy and the Black Sox the subtitle. You can look it up, in the Spring 2005 issue of NINE , Vol 13 #2, pp 94-102. But you will not find much evidence. Roland Gehre himself passed away in 1989. The Chicago alderman who had accompanied Gehre to the courthouse, Eugene Nusser — Roly’s uncle — “rarely discussed” the episode before his death in 1948. But Gehre’s relatives kept the story alive, and may still be telling it.
 

            The problem is that in the version passed down by the Gehre clan, while little Roly clearly shouts the famous words, there is no indication at all that Jackson ever heard them. SIASJ is fired off, like a shot in the dark, then Jackson is engulfed in a crowd and then he rides away. If Jackson was half-drunk, it is even less likely that the words ever made it past his ears to his brain.
           
            When you think about it, what is really remarkable that more people have not stepped forward, claiming to be the urchin. If Roland Gehre indeed was the only one, that helps his case. That so many folks doubt that the encounter with Jackson ever actually happened, might be a factor here. Another factor, the nation may have been a bit less anxious to raise ordinary folks to celebrity status in 1920 and the years that followed, than we are today. I’m not saying there were no “Joe the Plumbers” in 1920, but the national media was limited to newspapers, so it was a lot harder to become a household name.
 

            But Say it ain’t so, Joe , did make it big, without TV, radio and the internet. That’s because, I’m sure, its symbolism was right on the mark, it hit home hard.
 

            Once upon a time, I thought a good project for some enterprising young urchin — I mean, researcher — would be to sift thru the microfilm of all the newspapers that were alive and well in and around Chicago in 1920. See how many versions of SIASJ appeared, and when. As far as I know, no newspaper account, not even Hugh Fullerton’s most vivid and famous one, has those exact words, Say it ain’t so, Joe . A few come close, though.
 

            Maybe — just maybe — one of those Chicago area papers took the story so seriously, that they followed up right away by asking Joe Jackson about it. Or maybe they went out looking for the kid who tugged on the superstar’s sleeve, and asked the question. If they did, maybe someone directed them to Eugene Nusser and little Roland Gehre. If his name appears in a 1920 account, then I’m a believer.
 

 

SWEET SIXTEEN PLAYOFFS:   
 

ROUND TWO, AMERICAN LEAGUE:  SENATORS VS TIGERS
 

            This is the seventh in a series of reports on a simulated playoff of the sixteen “original franchise” teams. The results of the first-round American League “brackets” are in NOTES 459-461. The first results of the NL brackets are in #462-464. See NOTES #459 for the background and “ground rules.”
 

            The Senators upset the top-seeded Yankees in six games in the first bracket of the AL competition (see Notes #459 for details, and for a scouting report on the Washington/Minnesota all-timers). The Tigers knocked off the White Sox in five games to advance (see Notes #460 ). The Senators’ victory was sweet, but they lost a couple starters to injuries: Pepper Bassett, a catcher drafted from the Negro Leagues, would miss the next series; Gary Gaetti would miss the next two games. Both teams could make roster changes before the next round; both pitching staffs would be well-rested.
 

GAME ONE, AT TIGER STADIUM
 

            The Senators sent Walter Johnson up against Denny McLain. Walter often pitched with terrible teams supporting him, so I imagine pitching with a crew of All-Timers gives him a thrill.
 

            McLain is on, he mows down the first nine Nats he faces. But Walter is equally tough, giving up just a walk and a single while fanning four in his first three frames. Then the Senators break through: with two outs and none on, Rod Carew singles, and Griffey, Jr, takes McLain deep. Turkey Stearnes singles, then steals second, then walks home on Alex Rodriguez’ double, and the Nats are up 3-0.
 

            McLain settles back into his groove, and Johnson continues to throw goose eggs. In the Tiger 5th, a leadoff single is erased on a steal attempt. Kell gets aboard on an error by Carew with two out, and Cobb singles Kell to third, then steals second, but Johnson bears down to get Gehringer on a fly to center. But in the 6th, Detroit erupts. Hank Greenberg doubles, and Johnson walks Norm Cash and Al Kaline. Harry Heilmann then connects for a triple, to tie the game, and Lou Santop follows with a HR, 5-3. That’s it for Walter, enter Al Crowder, and the General restores order.
            Into the 8th, McLain has had only that brief lapse in the 4th. Then Kirby Puckett homers, 5-4, and Carew follows with a single to right. John Hiller comes on and ends the inning.
 

            The Nats have one more shot, in their 9th. Hiller retires A-Rod, then fans pinch-hitter Goose Goslin. But Tony Oliva, also pinch-hitting, lofts one into the stands and it’s tied at 5. Earl Battey, the Nats’ catcher, was hit by a pitch in the 5th and removed, so sub Brian Harper is up next, and he doubles. Leadoff man Sam Rice draws a walk. Jeff Montgomery comes in and gets Puckett to ground out.
 

            Crowder shuts down the Tigers in their ninth — he’s now faced 13 and given up a single. In the Nat 10th, Carew starts it off with a double, and Griffey, Jr, called on to sacrifice, bunts it perfectly, no play, first and third. But Stearnes and A-Rod fly out, too shallow for Carew to score, and so does Cecil Travis.
            In the Tiger 10th, with one out, Norm Cash walks, for the 4th time in the game. Paul Molitor pinch-runs, and a moment later he scores when Al Kaline hits the gap in left center. The Nats out-hit the Tigers 10-8, but the final score is 6-5 Detroit.
 

GAME TWO, TIGER STADIUM
 

            The Nats have another Johnson in their arsenal, Randy, and the Big Unit goes up against Prince Hal Newhouser in Game Two. Detroit draws first blood in the 2nd, Cash walks (again), and Harry Heilmann tags a long HR to left. Hrbek’s solo clout in the Nat 3rd makes it 2-1. Then both pitchers settle down. The Nats threaten when they start the fifth with two singles, but A-Rod is picked off third and they don’t score. The Tigers add a run in their 7th when Trammel’s fly is dropped by Rice, and George Kell doubles Tram home. Into the 9th, it remains 3-1.
 

            But the Senators refuse to go quietly — again. Carew singles and is forced when Griffey grounds to second. But Kirby Puckett beats out an infield hit, and then Turkey Stearnes connects off Newhouser for a two-run double. Tie game, extra innings — again. Joe Cronin, who walked as a pinch-hitter in the 8th, starts the tenth with another walk. Brian Harper, forced into the starting catcher’s role, follows with a perfect bunt to third, and when no one covers, Cronin takes the extra base. Sam Rice makes the Tigers pay, driving a long fly to center, allowing Cronin to score easily. Randy Johnson takes the hill for the 10th and pitches a 1-2-3 inning, and the series is even at one game each. Both teams had nine hits in Game Two, a 4-3 Senator win.
 

GAME THREE, GRIFFITH STADIUM
 

            I don’t remember Griffith Stadium much. I must have seen it on TV a few times. All I remember about it is that it was a pitcher’s park, a longer distance to the LF wall than Forbes Field, and a high wall in right. I believe that some “master version” of APBA factors in the ball park, or maybe just their computer version. I don’t use ballpark factors in my simulations, but I do allow for a wind factor, making HRs more or less likely. In any case, Griffith Stadium proved a stingy park indeed for the next game.
 

            Frank Tanana for the Tigers, Bert Blyleven for the Senators. Blyleven gives up a triple to Heilmann in the second, but that’s all. But in the 3rd, Alan Trammell homers, and the Tigers go up 1-0. Tanana gives up three singles and no runs for the first five innings, then Rod Carew homers to tie it at 1-1. But the Tigers get to Blyleven in the 7th. With one out, Trammel singles and steals second, and Kell walks. Ty Cobb, who had two singles in Games One and Two, follows with a sharp single to left to put the Tigers ahead. After Cobb steals second, Charley Gehringer — who had been retired 13 straight times in the series — singles up the middle, scoring two and KO’ing Blyleven. And that’s the way it ended — no Senator comeback this time, Tanana goes nine and gives up just six hits; the Tigers get 8 hits in the 4-1 win.
 

GAME FOUR, AT GRIFFITH STADIUM
 

            Fat Mickey Lolich on the hill for Detroit, Bret Saberhagen for the Nats. This time, the Senators get on the board first, Sam Rice a lead-off triple, and he scores when Trammell can’t handle Carew’s grounder, E-6, 1-0. In the second, after Lolich fans A-Rod and Harmon Killebrew, Gary Gaetti — he came off the DL for Game Three — doubles, and Brian Harper knocks him in, 2-0.
 

            Then the roof fell in for Saberhagen and the Senators. Cobb started the 3rd with a one-out double, and Gehringer homered. Greenberg singled and came around on Cash’s double. Kaline’s hit made it 4-2, and after Mr Tiger stole second, Heilmann singled him in, 5-2. In the 4th, against Jim Kaat, more of the same. Kell singled and Cobb walked. They moved up a base on a groundout by Gehringer, and Greenberg grounded out, too. But successive RBI singles by Cash, Kaline and Heilmann made it 8-2. Trammell hit a solo HR in the 5th, and Heilmann and Bill Freehan connected back-to-back in the 6th, and the final was 11-3.
 

            Lolich didn’t need all those runs, after giving up those runs in the first and second, he gave up exactly one single the rest of the way. That was by Rice, after Gaetti walked, and Gary scored on a grounder. More remarkable, Lolich fanned fourteen Senators. Even for a Grade A pitcher with an X (in APBA, the X pitchers get the most strikeouts, Y’s get more than average, and XY’s get more than anyone — there are not many XY’s), 14 is a lot. But this Senator team is a free-swinging bunch. But now they are down, 3 games to 1.
 

GAME FIVE, AT GRIFFITH STADIUM
 

            It’s McLain against Walter Johnson again, just like Game One, but this time Walter is at home. The Tigers come out swinging, though, and it looks like it might be another rout. Cobb leads off with a double, Gehringer singles him home. Hank Greenberg tops a ball but the infield is deep and he beats out the hit. Cash follows with a two-run double and it’s 3-0.
 

            Walter settles down, fanning Kaline and Freehan, and getting out of the inning. In the 2nd, Cobb singles and steals but is stranded. Johnson fans Greenberg and Cash in the 3rd, gives up a double to Kaline, but gets Heilmann to ground out. More trouble in the 4th: Freehan walks, Trammell singles him to third, then Tram steals second with Kell trying to bunt. Kell misses on a squeeze and Freehan is out at home. But then Kell walks, with Cobb coming up. Johnson gets Cobb to ground it to short and the Nats just nip him on the 6-4-3 DP, no further scoring. In the top of the fifth, Hank Greenberg connects to make it 4-0.
 

            McLain is starting strong again. Over the first four innings, he gives up no hits and two walks. Hrbek starts the 5th by drawing the third walk, and A-Rod follows with a homer. After Gaetti singles, Earl Battey — fresh off the DL — clouts a long HR to right, to tie the game. That wind is blowing out today, and in the 6th, a long fly by Turkey Stearnes leaves the park. 5-4. A walk and Carew’s double in the 7th makes it 6-4 and chases McLain. Junior Griffey ends the scoring with an 8th-inning HR that needed no help from the wind. Walter Johnson scatters ten hits, gets the complete game, fans six, 7-4, and it’s back to Tiger Stadium with Detroit still needing a win.
 

GAME SIX, AT TIGER STADIUM
 

            I like this Tiger team a lot, I managed them to a pennant over the Damn Yankees and everyone else in a simulated 154-game season. But I confess that the Senators play in this series has made them, well, an easy team to root for. They came back in their last ups in the first two games, and in Game Five, backs to the wall, came back again. Walter will be in the pen, and I’m hoping he might get a save today and send it to Game Seven.
 

            But it’s Randy Johnson, winner in that 10-inning Game Two, on the hill against Hal Newhouser. And both pitchers start off well, Prince Hal yields just two singles in the first six innings, both runners erased, so he’s faced just 18 batters. The Big Unit retires the first seven, but the 8-9 batters strike for distance: Trammell a double, Kell a triple, and a 1-0 Tiger lead. In the fifth, the Senator defense leaks. With one out, Trammell’s grounder is muffed by Carew. Kell follows with an RBI double and after Johnson gets Cobb, Gehringer doubles to make it 3-0.
 

            Griffey doubles for the Senators in the 7th, but is stranded. The Tigers almost broke it open in their 6th, loading the bases on a Cash double, a walk to Kaline, and an intentional pass, but Trammell’s DP grounder ended the threat. With two out and none on in the 7th, however, the dam bursts. Gehringer walks, and Greenberg smashes a long HR, 5-0. Cash singles, Kaline is hit with a pitch, and Johnson is gone. Crowder is greeted by Sam Crawford’s 2-run double, 7-0.
 

            It ain’t over yet, but it’s close. In the top of the 8th, Hrbek walks, and A-Rod hits a two-run shot, ruining Newhouser’s shutout. Trammell’s HR in the home 8th ends the scoring, 8-2. Newhouser gets the CG, 7-K win. And the Tigers move on to the final bracket in the American League section of the Sweet Sixteen playoffs.