1909 – Before an Opening Day crowd of 30,000 at the Polo Grounds, Red Ames of the New York Giants pitches a no-hitter for nine innings against the Brooklyn Superbas, but surrenders a hit with one out in the 10th, then loses the game, 3 – 0, in the 13th. The Giants’ outfield has no putouts.
1909 – With Christy Mathewson sidelined with diphtheria, Red Ames pitches the opener for the New York Giants, a 3 – 2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at the Baker Bowl.
On March 2, 1909, future Hall of Famer, Mel Ott is born in Gretna, Louisiana. Known as “Master Melvin,” Ott will make his major league debut with the New York Giants as a 17 year-old boy wonder 1926. He will quickly become a fan favorite. Using an unorthodox batting style in which he lifted his…
New York Giants release “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity
1908 – The Cardinals are busy. First they get C Admiral Schlei from the Reds for pitchers Ed Karger and Art Fromme. Then they pack off Schlei, along with P Bugs Raymond and OF Red Murray, to the Giants for veteran catcher Roger Bresnahan. Bresnahan, a future Hall of Famer, will be the player-manager of the Cardinals for the next four years. Raymond lost 25 games in 1908, but a record 11 of them were by shutout.
On October 8, 1908 A special replay of a game infamously known as The “Merkle Boner” was replayed. On Sept 23, 1908, The New York Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs were battling for first place and a spot in the 5th World Series. The stage for the Merkle boner was set, on September…
Harry Pulliam upholds Hank O’Day’s delayed decision and declares the previous day’s controversial game between the Giants and Cubs a tie, a decision nobody likes. The Cubs demand the game be forfeited to them as the crowd prevented play from continuing, although darkness would have soon ended it. Both teams appeal. Pulliam sees no inconsistency with the September 4th incident that was similar to Merkle’s Boner and claims he has merely upheld his umpire on a question of fact in each case. Meanwhile, the Giants beat the Cubs, 5 – 4, after almost blowing a 5 – 0 lead. Hooks Wiltse is relieved by Christy Mathewson, and the official scorer awards the win to Matty. The loss goes to Three Finger Brown, his first loss to Mathewson since June 13, 1905.
test On September 23, 1908, Fred Merkle of the New York Giants commits one of the most famous gaffes in baseball history. In a crucial game against the Chicago Cubs, Merkle’s failure to touch second after an apparent game-winning hit by Bridwell scoring McCormick from third costs the Giants a 2-1 win over the Cubs….
1908 – At the Palace of the Fans, veteran Joe McGinnity, in relief of Red Ames who walks the first two batters, stops the Reds, 5 – 1, beating Bob Ewing. Earlier in the day, the Reds turned down John McGraw’s offer for McGinnity.
In another classic match-up, Three-Finger Brown and Christy Mathewson pair off with Brown winning, 1 – 0. The Cubs pitcher allows 6 hits, with Matty giving up 7. The only run comes on a 5th-inning inside-the-park home run by Matty’s nemesis, Joe Tinker, who runs through the arms of third base coach Heinie Zimmerman to score. In the 12 match-ups between the two pitchers, Brown has won eight. A tragic occurrence happens during Tinker’s home run dash when a boy, standing on the roof of a nearby building to view the game, falls 50 feet to his death.
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