gyb13
03-08-2002, 02:24 PM
Seems like some 'pop' picks...what would you guys like to go back and see, if you could?
Going back in time ...
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By Rob Neyer
ESPN.com
As an adolescent, my fantasies often involved invisibility, because if I were invisible I could walk around in the girls' locker room. Eventually, though -- sometime after my 18th birthday, if I recall correctly -- the concrete joys of adulthood allowed me to focus on a different kind of magic: time travel. Like a lot of history buffs, I considered (and still consider) the past more interesting than the present, which of course leads to fantasies about traveling back and seeing things for myself.
The problem is, where in the past does one start? I'd love to see a game in every old ballpark, love to see every great pitcher work, love to see the players toss their gloves to the ground after each half-inning, love to see every World Series Game 7 (starting with 1960). But today I'll limit myself to three games on the wish list, all of them from at least 50 years ago and all of them in living color.
1. September 23, 1908: The Polo Grounds, New York
It's been described as "the most celebrated, most widely discussed, most controversial contest in the history of American sports," and it just might be.
As September 23 dawned in New York, the hometown Giants and the Chicago Cubs -- two teams who had won the previous four National League pennants -- were locked in a virtual tie for first place; both of them stood 37 games over the .500 mark, with the Giants technically leading by .006. The Cubs had swept a doubleheader the day before, leaving the clubs with critical games on the 23rd and 24th.
This game was a pitcher's duel, as both New York's Christy Mathewson and Chicago's Jack "The Giant Killer" Pfiester performed brilliantly. The Cubs scored first, on Joe Tinker's solo home run. The Giants tied the game in the sixth when Turkey Mike Donlin singled home Buck Herzog. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, it was still 1-1. But after the Giants' leadoff man made out, Art Devlin singled. He was forced at second base on Moose McCormick's grounder, but rookie first baseman Fred Merkle followed with a base hit that sent McCormick all the way to third. And then Al Bridwell rapped a clean single to center, chasing McCormick home with the winning run and giving the Giants undisputed possession of first place.
Or so everyone thought. Merkle, rather than touch second base, headed directly to the clubhouse beyond center field. Cubs second Johnny Evers had kept his eye on Merkle, and after Merkle peeled away from the baseline, Evers frantically called for the baseball. Eventually he touched second base while in the possession of a baseball -- which baseball, nobody knows -- then appealed to base umpire Bob Emslie. Emslie hadn't seen the play and asked his partner, Hank O'Day, and O'Day granted the appeal, thus declaring Merkle out and negating McCormick's run.
That should have forced the contest into extra innings. But the fans had overrun the field and the Giants had left the premises, so O'Day ruled the game a tie, a decision that would be upheld by National League president Harry Pulliam. And of course, it mattered because the Giants and Cubs finished the season in a tie, necessitating a replay of the "Merkle game" that's often (incorrectly) remembered as a one-game playoff. The Cubs won the make-up game, and went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series for the second straight year.
So why go back? To answer two questions.
Did Merkle actually touch second base at some point before making his way to the clubhouse? The New York Herald reported that he did, probably because Christy Mathewson said that he did. (Mathewson, by the way, supposedly promised to quit professional baseball if the Giants lost the pennant as a result of Chicago's "trick of argument." They did, but he didn't.)
Did the Cubs ever record the force at second base? There are half a dozen stories about what happened to the game ball. And though it'd be difficult to get a clear picture of the postgame events, what with fans and players milling about the field, I'd sure like to give it a shot.
And as an added bonus, I'd get to see Christy Mathewson pitch against the world's greatest baseball team.
2. October 1, 1932: Wrigley Field, Chicago
Did Babe Ruth call his shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, or didn't he? Nearly everybody who has studied the issue has concluded that Ruth did not, in fact, point to a distant spot beyond the center-field fence at Wrigley Field. Still, he did make a gesture of some sort, and accounts differ as to what that gesture actually was.
So I'd like to be deposited at the corner of Clark and Addison the morning of the game, where I'd hope to pay a scalper the going rate for a box seat between home plate and the third-base dugout. From there, I'd be well situated to contribute the most accurate eyewitness account of the famous events.
Aside from the obvious curiosity value, this game also featured another home run from Ruth and two from Lou Gehrig. Still, I had a tough time deciding between this one and a game in Pittsburgh on May 25, 1935, when Ruth, playing for the Boston Braves, hit three home runs in a single game. Those were the final three home runs of his career, and No. 714 was reportedly the longest blast ever hit at Forbes Field.
3. October 3, 1951: Polo Grounds, New York
The name is the same, but these Polo Grounds aren't the same Polo Grounds the Giants called home in 1908. These Polo Grounds sit below Coogan's Bluff, atop which I stood during the 2000 World Series, and looked across the East River toward Yankee Stadium in the distance. But the Polo Grounds are just a memory, a name given to the public-housing towers that now occupy the site.
So I want to see the real Polo Grounds, the Polo Grounds so vividly brought to life by Don DeLillo in his novel, Underworld. But I also want to know if Bobby Thomson knew that Ralph Branca was going to throw him that fastball that turned into The Shot Heard 'Round the World. Thomson claims that the Giants' sign-stealing system didn't help him on that particular pitch, but I'd like to see for myself. Did someone out in the bullpen give him the signal that a fastball was on the way? Or did Thomson simply see the pitch and hit it, fair and square?
Going back in time ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Rob Neyer
ESPN.com
As an adolescent, my fantasies often involved invisibility, because if I were invisible I could walk around in the girls' locker room. Eventually, though -- sometime after my 18th birthday, if I recall correctly -- the concrete joys of adulthood allowed me to focus on a different kind of magic: time travel. Like a lot of history buffs, I considered (and still consider) the past more interesting than the present, which of course leads to fantasies about traveling back and seeing things for myself.
The problem is, where in the past does one start? I'd love to see a game in every old ballpark, love to see every great pitcher work, love to see the players toss their gloves to the ground after each half-inning, love to see every World Series Game 7 (starting with 1960). But today I'll limit myself to three games on the wish list, all of them from at least 50 years ago and all of them in living color.
1. September 23, 1908: The Polo Grounds, New York
It's been described as "the most celebrated, most widely discussed, most controversial contest in the history of American sports," and it just might be.
As September 23 dawned in New York, the hometown Giants and the Chicago Cubs -- two teams who had won the previous four National League pennants -- were locked in a virtual tie for first place; both of them stood 37 games over the .500 mark, with the Giants technically leading by .006. The Cubs had swept a doubleheader the day before, leaving the clubs with critical games on the 23rd and 24th.
This game was a pitcher's duel, as both New York's Christy Mathewson and Chicago's Jack "The Giant Killer" Pfiester performed brilliantly. The Cubs scored first, on Joe Tinker's solo home run. The Giants tied the game in the sixth when Turkey Mike Donlin singled home Buck Herzog. Heading into the bottom of the ninth, it was still 1-1. But after the Giants' leadoff man made out, Art Devlin singled. He was forced at second base on Moose McCormick's grounder, but rookie first baseman Fred Merkle followed with a base hit that sent McCormick all the way to third. And then Al Bridwell rapped a clean single to center, chasing McCormick home with the winning run and giving the Giants undisputed possession of first place.
Or so everyone thought. Merkle, rather than touch second base, headed directly to the clubhouse beyond center field. Cubs second Johnny Evers had kept his eye on Merkle, and after Merkle peeled away from the baseline, Evers frantically called for the baseball. Eventually he touched second base while in the possession of a baseball -- which baseball, nobody knows -- then appealed to base umpire Bob Emslie. Emslie hadn't seen the play and asked his partner, Hank O'Day, and O'Day granted the appeal, thus declaring Merkle out and negating McCormick's run.
That should have forced the contest into extra innings. But the fans had overrun the field and the Giants had left the premises, so O'Day ruled the game a tie, a decision that would be upheld by National League president Harry Pulliam. And of course, it mattered because the Giants and Cubs finished the season in a tie, necessitating a replay of the "Merkle game" that's often (incorrectly) remembered as a one-game playoff. The Cubs won the make-up game, and went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series for the second straight year.
So why go back? To answer two questions.
Did Merkle actually touch second base at some point before making his way to the clubhouse? The New York Herald reported that he did, probably because Christy Mathewson said that he did. (Mathewson, by the way, supposedly promised to quit professional baseball if the Giants lost the pennant as a result of Chicago's "trick of argument." They did, but he didn't.)
Did the Cubs ever record the force at second base? There are half a dozen stories about what happened to the game ball. And though it'd be difficult to get a clear picture of the postgame events, what with fans and players milling about the field, I'd sure like to give it a shot.
And as an added bonus, I'd get to see Christy Mathewson pitch against the world's greatest baseball team.
2. October 1, 1932: Wrigley Field, Chicago
Did Babe Ruth call his shot in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, or didn't he? Nearly everybody who has studied the issue has concluded that Ruth did not, in fact, point to a distant spot beyond the center-field fence at Wrigley Field. Still, he did make a gesture of some sort, and accounts differ as to what that gesture actually was.
So I'd like to be deposited at the corner of Clark and Addison the morning of the game, where I'd hope to pay a scalper the going rate for a box seat between home plate and the third-base dugout. From there, I'd be well situated to contribute the most accurate eyewitness account of the famous events.
Aside from the obvious curiosity value, this game also featured another home run from Ruth and two from Lou Gehrig. Still, I had a tough time deciding between this one and a game in Pittsburgh on May 25, 1935, when Ruth, playing for the Boston Braves, hit three home runs in a single game. Those were the final three home runs of his career, and No. 714 was reportedly the longest blast ever hit at Forbes Field.
3. October 3, 1951: Polo Grounds, New York
The name is the same, but these Polo Grounds aren't the same Polo Grounds the Giants called home in 1908. These Polo Grounds sit below Coogan's Bluff, atop which I stood during the 2000 World Series, and looked across the East River toward Yankee Stadium in the distance. But the Polo Grounds are just a memory, a name given to the public-housing towers that now occupy the site.
So I want to see the real Polo Grounds, the Polo Grounds so vividly brought to life by Don DeLillo in his novel, Underworld. But I also want to know if Bobby Thomson knew that Ralph Branca was going to throw him that fastball that turned into The Shot Heard 'Round the World. Thomson claims that the Giants' sign-stealing system didn't help him on that particular pitch, but I'd like to see for myself. Did someone out in the bullpen give him the signal that a fastball was on the way? Or did Thomson simply see the pitch and hit it, fair and square?