1911 World Series - Home Run: Baker

The Teams
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (101-50) - Third World Series (Won in 1910)
National League: New York Giants (99-54) - Second World Series (Won in 1905)

What Happened
Twice during the 1911 World Series, the box score after a game featured the entry "Home Run: Baker." If anybody was going to hit a home run in that World Series, it was going to be Frank Baker, the Philadelphia third baseman who led the American League with 11. While 11 home runs doesn't sound too impressive, it was indicative of the times. Baker was much more than just a home run hitter, too, finishing in the top 10 in virtually every offensive stat.

Baker was already seen as a star after his dominating performance in the previous year's World Series, but he proved in 1911 that he was only getting started. After Christy Mathewson won Game 1 for the Giants - the fourth straight time he had beaten the Athletics in a World Series game - Baker took over.

Game 2 was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Baker struck for the first time, hitting a two-out, two-run home run to provide the winning margin and let the A's tie the series. He struck again in Game 3, this time victimizing the great Mathewson himself. With the A's trailing 1-0 in the ninth - and after having two runners thrown out at home in the eighth inning - Baker hit his biggest home run yet, tying the game with a one-out home run down the right field line. Having gotten to Mathewson, the A's piled on in the 11th, scoring twice - with a single by Baker right in the center of the rally - then held on to win the game.

They had beaten Mathewson for the first time in a World Series game, their leader was having a great World Series, and they were cruising. And then it started to rain, and as the A's and Giants waited out the storm front that wouldn't end, all of Philadelphia's momentum seemed to wash away. When the World Series started up again a week later, Mathewson was waiting for them again; making things worse, the Giants scored twice in the top of the first, giving Mathewson a lead before he even took the mound.

But the A's came back, scoring three times in the fourth to take the lead, then getting an insurance run when Baker ripped an RBI double in the fifth. Chief Bender made the lead hold up, and Philadelphia had beaten Mathewson for a second straight game. The A's took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning of Game 5 before Del Crandall and Josh Devore got back-to-back two out hits to help the Giants avoid elimination. After the Giants won the game in 10 innings, the series went back to Philadelphia, but it was over quickly after that. A four-run fourth put the Athletics in full control, and a seven-run seventh turned the clinching game into a farce. The Athletics won 13-2 - almost doubling their run total for the series - and celebrated their second straight world championship.

MVP

While Philadelphia was praising their title winners, their fans took notice of who played the biggest role in their last two championships. In honor of the line that showed up in two different box scores that series - and in honor of the blasts that seemed to come at exactly the right time - Frank Baker got a new nickname. Forever after, he was known as Home Run Baker.

Scores (Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Philadelphia	1	3	3 (11)	4	3	13
New York	2	1	2	2	4 (10)	2

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

23. 1911 - Philadelphia (A) def. New York (N) 4-2
24. 1915 - Boston (A) def. Philadelphia (N) 4-1
25. 1971 - Pittsburgh (N) def. Baltimore (A) 4-3
26. 1918 - Boston (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-2
27. 1988 - Los Angeles (N) def. Oakland (A) 4-1
28. 1946 - St. Louis (N) def. Boston (A) 4-3
29. 1925 - Pittsburgh (N) def. Washington (A) 4-3
Numbers 30-39
Numbers 40-49
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

1913 World Series: Unlucky Christy

The Teams
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (96-57) - Fourth World Series (won in 1910, 1911)
National League: New York Giants (101-51) - Fourth World Series (won in 1905)

What Happened
It wasn't Christy Mathewson's fault the Giants kept losing the World Series. After all, he was brilliant every time he took the mound in the World Series. It's just that his teammates rarely seemed interested in matching his talent. Maybe they were spoiled after 1905, when Mathewson basically won the World Series by himself with three straight shutouts.

Since then, though, it had been years of disappointment for the Giants, first in their inability to get past the Cubs, then in their failures in the World Series. In 1911, they lost to Philadelphia in a rematch of 1905. Then they lost to Smoky Joe Wood and the Red Sox in 1912. 1913 was their third straight National League pennant, and they would get a matchup against Philadelphia again, a rubber match between the two rivals.

While the Giants had Mathewson's expected brilliance against the A's, they didn't have much else. Philadelphia, meanwhile, were deep and strong, in the heart of a stretch where they would win four pennants in five years. They had Eddie Plank, who was nearly as good a pitcher as Mathewson, and the $100,000 infield, led by Eddie Collins and Frank "Home Run" Baker.

Collins and Baker were brilliant early in the series; they combined for six hits in Game 1 and were responsible for 7 of Philadelphia's 8 runs in Game 3. In between, Mathewson outdueled Plank in a 3-0, 10-inning win in Game 2, a game in which Mathewson himself got the game-winning RBI. Collins and Baker slowed down the rest of the series, but the A's didn't, taking a 6-0 lead in Game 4 before holding on for a win. Plank then held the Giants to 2 hits in Game 5 - one of them by Mathewson - to close out the series.

Defining Game
The offenses had little hope in Game 2 with Mathewson and Plank on the mound, with neither offense mounting any kind of challenge in the first eight innings. Finally in the ninth, the pitchers started to tire. First, the Giants got two runners on in the top of the 9th before Plank got out of it. Then, the Athletics got runners on second and third with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, only to see Mathewson get out of it, including two outs at the plate. Finally in the top of the 10th, Mathewson started the game-winning rally himself, driving in the first run of the game. The Giants added two more, then held on for their only win of the series.


Random Fact:
When Doc Crandall pinch-hit for Mathewson to lead off the bottom of the ninth of Game 5, the greatest postseason pitching career came to an end. Game 5 was Mathewson's 11 career World Series start, 10 of which ended up as complete games and 6 of which came with three days of rest or fewer. Over those 101 innings, batters hit only .197 off him, and his ERA was 0.97, or less than a run per game. Yet Mathewson's postseason record was only 5-5, and the Giants only won one of the series he pitched in. Aside from one three-game stretch of immortality, he had nothing to show for his brilliance.


Scores:
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Philadelphia	6	0	8	6	3
New York	4	3 (10)	2	5	1

The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

81. 1913 - Philadelphia (A) def. New York (N) 4-1
82. 1930 - Philadelphia (A) def. St. Louis (N) 4-2
83. 1914 - Boston (N) def. Philadelphia (A) 4-0
84. 1951 - New York (A) def. New York (N) 4-2
85. 1939 - New York (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-0
86. 1910 - Philadelphia (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-1
87. 1905 - New York (N) def. Philadelphia (A) 4-1
88. 1965 - Los Angeles (N) def. Minnesota (A) 4-3
89. 1961 - New York (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-1
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

1910 World Series: Transitions

The Teams
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (102-48) - Second World Series
National League: Chicago Cubs (104-50) - Fourth World Series (won in 1907, 1908)

What Happened
The 1910 World Series was a series of transition, featuring one team on the way up and another on the way out. On the way out was the Chicago Cubs, looking for one more championship to cap their their run of four National League championships in five years. Like always, the Cubs had a great pitching staff, leading the league in virtually every pitching staff. For once, they added a strong offense, leading the league in home runs and triples. But with most of their stars getting into their 30s (which was old for ballplayers in that era), they were running out of opportunities to win.

On the way up was the Philadelphia Athletics. Though they had played in the World Series in 1905, much of their team had turned over by 1910. In their place was talented youngsters, including three-fourths of what would become the $100,000 Infield. Third baseman Frank Baker, shortstop Jack Berry, and second baseman Eddie Collins were in the starting lineup, and first baseman Stuffy McInnis was in his final year as a bench player. Those four would come to be known as the $100,000 Infield because of their eventual combined salaries. Yes, combined. The point is, they were stars, and their careers were just getting started.

But reach the top, they had to get through the Cubs. They were dealt a blow when ace Eddie Plank, one of their few holdovers from 1905, had to sit out the series with a sore arm. Taking his place in Game 1 was Charles Bender, who was given the clever nickname of "Chief" because of his Native American heritage. Bender only gave up three hits - two coming in the ninth while the Cubs tried to rally in vain - while Baker got three hits himself for the A's. The Cubs pounded Three-Finger Brown in Game 2, while 30-game winner Jack Coombs got the win for Philadelphia.

In Game 3, with Coombs pitching on only one day of rest for some reason, the A's offense exploded for 12 runs on 16 hits. They were a win away from the title, which became one inning away as Bender took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth. But for the second straight start, Bender tired in the ninth, and the Cubs tied it on Frank Chance's triple before winning the game in the 10th.

Game 5 was between Brown and Coombs, who was pitching on two days of rest this time. It was a 2-1 Philadelphia lead entering the eighth when Coombs himself started a rally with a single. Five runs later, and the A's started celebrating. It was the birth of their dynasty, and the end of Chicago's.

Defining Game
Chicago's offense showed some spark throughout the series, but Game 4 was the only one where they got any payoff for it. Chance's triple scored the tying run, and the Jimmy Sheckard hit the game-winning single to center in the bottom of the 10th. Sheckard's single was more than the hit that helped the Cubs stave off elimination - it was also the first walk-off hit in World Series history.

MVP
The A's only used two pitchers all series, so it would have been easy to pick either Bender of Coombs, but their offense was the real show. Collins, Baker, and Danny Murphy all batted above .400. Baker had three doubles and a triple, Collins had four doubles and four stolen bases, and Murphy had a series-high 9 rbi and the series' only home run. In other words, take your pick of any of the three.

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Chicago	1	3	5	4 (10)	2
Philadelphia	4	9	12	3	7

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The List
I'm ranking all the World Series, from worst to best. Here are the ones I've done so far:

86. 1910 - Philadelphia (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-1
87. 1905 - New York (N) def. Philadelphia (A) 4-1
88. 1965 - Los Angeles (N) def. Minnesota (A) 4-3
89. 1961 - New York (A) def. Cincinnati (N) 4-1
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107