The fans are flocking to see the mighty Babe Ruth hit home runs (12 in June). A twin bill with the Browns draws a Polo Grounds record of 38,823, the third record-breaker of the year.
6/30/1920 – The Dodgers were playing a doubleheader against the Giants at the Polo Grounds. In the bottom of the seventh inning of game 1, Lew McCarty pinch hit for Jesse Winters in the ninth place in the batting order and singled. Al Lefevre ran for McCarty and stayed in the game playing second base. The new pitcher, Bill Hubbell, entered the game in the seventh spot in the lineup. In the ninth inning, Lefevre, actually in the ninth spot, batted in the seventh spot out of order but struck out. Frank Snyder, the eighth-place hitter, then came to the plate out of order and grounded out. The next hitter should be Lefevre in the ninth-hole in the order. Benny Kauff was sent up to pinch hit for Hubbell even though it was not his turn to bat. Kauff cannot be considered as batting out of order since he is a pinch hitter. Officially, he is hitting for Lefevre not Hubbell. Kauff singled in a run but none of this matters as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 7-3.
1920 – Edd Roush of the Cincinnati Reds falls asleep in center field during a long argument in the infield. Heinie Groh goes out to wake him, but the chief umpire ejects Roush for delaying the game.
Babe Ruth, an accomplished hurler acquired from Boston in the offseason for his hitting prowess, bats cleanup in the Yankees’ lineup, and also gets the win when he tosses four innings as the starter in the team’s 14-7 victory over Washington at the Polo Grounds. During his 15 seasons with New York, the ‘Sultan of Swat’ will take the mound just five times for the club, including a complete-game victory in 1933.
In the first game of a twin bill on the last day of the season, the Giants need only 51 minutes to defeat the Phillies, 6-1. The Polo Grounds contest is the shortest nine-inning game ever played in the major leagues.
With a blast that clears the roof of the Polo Grounds, Red Sox outfielder Babe Ruth ties the game in the top of the ninth in an eventual 2-1 loss to the Yankees that takes 13 innings to complete. The Bambino’s round-tripper, his 28th of the season, breaks the 19th century home run record established in 1894 by Ned Williamson of the NL’s Chicago White Stockings.
Cleveland’s right-hander Ray Caldwell no-hits the Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader sweep in New York, 3-0. The right-handed spitballer, released by the Red Sox in July, finishes the season winning five of six starts for the Tribe with an ERA of 1.71.
Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitches 12 scoreless innings in a duel with Jack Quinn of the New York Yankees at the Polo Grounds. Johnson allows only two hits and retires 28 batters in a row. Future football star George Halas, batting leadoff for the Yankees, goes 0 for 5, striking out twice.
At the Polo Grounds, Slim Sallee tops the Cards, 2 – 1, and clinches the National League pennant for the Giants, their 6th under John McGraw. The New Yorkers manage just four hits (and six walks) off Bill Doak, but they come when needed.
The Giants defeat the Dodgers 4-1 to start their major league record 26-game winning streak. The ‘Jints’ start the span two games under .500 and make up nine games in the standings, but remain in fourth place during the entire streak.
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