Tag: 1911

At the West Side Grounds, Red Ames gives the Giants a needed 3 – 1 victory over the 2nd-place Cubs.

In a field day at Chicago, Ed Walsh hits a fungo 419′ ½”, beating a 413′ 8½” drive by Cincinnati’s Mike Mitchell on September 11, 1907.

John C. Bender, brother of Philadelphia great Chief Bender, dies the same month he played his final minor league game; it is frequently mistakenly reported as taking place on the baseball diamond for nearly a century.

Washington’s Wid Conroy, in his final season, sets an American League record for total chances by a third baseman with 13 in a 3 – 2 loss to Cleveland.

1911 – After 41 straight shutout innings, Grover Alexander is scored on by the Cards in the 6th inning.

Christy Mathewson pitches the Giants to a 6 – 2 win over the Reds. New York now leads Chicago by eight games.

Walter Johnson gives up a two-run homer in the 6th inning to Joe Jackson, the 8th four-bagger the Big Train has allowed this year. Johnson had given up just two in the previous four seasons. Cleveland whips the Senators, 6 – 1.

In St. Louis, Hooks Wiltse wins the opener to extend the Giants’ win streak to 12 games. The Cards stop the skein in game two with an 8 – 7 win.

In Chicago, the Phils’ Grover Alexander fires his 4th straight shutout, beating the Cubs’ Ed Reulbach, 4 – 0. Alex also had shutouts on the 7th, 13th, and 17th.

Bill Bergen ends his major league career with the lowest lifetime batting average for a position player in major league history by hitting an anemic .170 during his 11-year tenure with the Reds and Superbas. The 33 year-old backstop, who had only one year of batting above .200, also holds the records for lowest season batting average for a regular season (.139 in 1909) and the longest streak of at-bats without a hit (46 in 1909).

The Giants beat Pittsburgh, 7 – 2, as the Giants steal eight bases with Larry Doyle swiping home twice. New York ties a major league mark with the three steals. Christy Mathewson is the winner on a four-hitter over Howie Camnitz, increasing the Giants’ lead to five games.

With a triple steal on, the Highlanders’ Cozy Dolan singles in three runs in a 9 – 4 loss at Detroit. The 3 RBIs are half of Cozy’s season total.

At Forbes Field, Rube Marquard, with relief from Christy Mathewson, beats the Pirates, 6 – 2. Before the game the Giants’ mascot, Victory Faust, strikes out Honus Wagner on three pitches, to the delight of the 20,000 fans.

Boston’s Smoky Joe Wood and rookie Buck O’Brien toss back-to-back shutouts to beat Cleveland. Wood wins, 6 – 0, and O’Brien follows with a 3 – 0 win. O’Brien, who relieved in his last appearance, will finish all five of his starts, going 5-1.

For the second time in a week, an American League rookie debuts with a shutout; the Browns’ Elmer Brown stops the Senators, 6 – 0.

1911 – Washington manager Jimmy McAleer announces his resignation. Ban Johnson then arranges for McAleer and Robert R. McRoy to buy a half-interest in the Red Sox for $150,000. Clark Griffith will take over as manager and, by purchasing 10% of the team, its largest single stock holder.

1911 – At Boston, the Giants pound the Rustlers 13 – 9, scoring six runs in the 9th inning for a 13 – 4 lead. The winner is Hooks Wiltse with little relief from Doc Crandall in the 9th: Doc allows seven hits and five runs.

1911 – In the nightcap of a game billed as a pitchers’ duel, Boston’s Cy Young and the Giants’ Christy Mathewson face each other before 10,000, Boston’s largest crowd of the year. Young gives up three homers and nine runs in less than three innings. After the Giants build a 9 – 0 lead, John McGraw lifts Mathewson, who pitched just two innings, preferring to save his ace for the pennant race against Chicago and Philadelphia. This is the only time the two pitchers ever face each other. Mathewson adds to New York’s scoring in the 3rd by swiping home. The Giants coast, 11 – 2. In the field, Matty also helps when, with Doc Miller on first base in the 2nd inning, a line drive to center by Hank Gowdy results in a double play (8-4-1-3). New York wins the first game, 9 – 3, and now lead the Cubs by two games.