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

1929 World Series: 10-spot

The Teams
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (104-46) - Sixth World Series (Won in 1910, 1911, 1913) 
National League: Chicago Cubs (98-54) - Sixth World Series (Won in 1907, 1908)

What Happened
The best strategic move in the 1929 World Series actually happened several weeks before the series started. In early September, PhBiiladelphia manager Connie Mack told veteran pitcher Howard Ehmke that he was going to release him. Ehmke wanted a chance to pitch in a World Series, so he convinced Mack to let him stay, promising the old skipper that he had one good start left in him. Mack agreed and sent Ehmke to scout the Chicago Cubs, who were running away with the National League pennant.

When the World Series rolled around, Mack stunned all of baseball by picking Ehmke to start Game 1 instead of one of his 20-game winners in Lefty Grove or George Earnshaw. But Ehmke had been paying attention during all those weeks he spent following Chicago around, and he used his sidearm delivery and soft breaking pitches to completely baffle the Cubs. It took the A's until the 7th inning to finally break through against the Cubs, but they gave Ehmke a 3-0 lead entering the ninth. Though he gave up an unearned run in the ninth, Ehmke held on for an unlikely Game 1 victory.

The other interesting decision Mack made before the series was to put the great Grove in the bullpen. Grove was almost unquestionably the best pitcher in baseball at the time, but he was left-handed - as most people named "Lefty" tend to be - and the Cubs were stacked full of powerful right-handed batters. Mack wanted to avoid the mismatch, so he put the best pitcher in the game in the bullpen. He brought him out of the bullpen in the fifth inning of Game 2, though, after the Cubs got five straight singles off Earnshaw. Grove got out of that threat, then barely broke a sweat in shutting down the Cubs the rest of the way to give the A's a 2-0 series lead.

Earnshaw got the starting nod again in Game 3 for some reason, and a three-run sixth inning was all the Cubs needed to cut the series deficit. After getting on the board, the Cubs lit up a bunch of A's pitchers who weren't Lefty Grove to take an 8-0 lead in Game 4. But then the A's put together the greatest inning in World Series history, lighting up the Cubs for 10 runs to turn certain defeat into a series-turning victory.

With a big inning like that pushing them along, it seems like the A's should have been fired up for Game 5, but instead their hitters sleep walked through the first eight innings. Trailing 2-0 entering the ninth, Mule Haas hit a one-out, two-run home run over the short Shibe Park right field wall to tie the game. After a second out, Al Simmons doubled, and after an intentional walk to Jimmie Foxx, Bing Miller became just the second player to end a World Series with a hit, giving Philadelphia the championship with a double.

Defining Game
When the Philadelphia fans stood for the seventh-inning stretch for Game 4, things were looking bleak. The Cubs were leading 8-0, and Charlie Root had only given up three hits. By all appearances, it was a Cubs win, and it had the potential to be so much more than that. Simmons lead off with a home run, but that just meant that it was no longer a shutout. The Cubs were still going to tie the series, and they had guaranteed the series would be heading back to Wrigley Field. This was the kind of loss that would turn the entire series around. Even the consecutive singles by Foxx and Miller weren't going to change that, nor the singles by Jimmy Dykes and Joe Boley that scored a pair and made it 8-3. All that meant was that the Philadelphia bats were finally waking up. They needed some kind of positive vibe heading into Game 5.

After an out, another run-scoring single, this one by Max Bishop. Interesting, too, because they're taking out Root. Haas then got to bat against Art Nehf, and he hit a deep fly ball to center field. It should have been the second out, but Hack Wilson broke in when he should have drifted back, and by the time he recovered, Haas was sliding into home. It was 8-7. Panic time for the Cubs.

The A's weren't done. After Mickey Cochrane walked, the Cubs tried Sheriff Blake on the mound, but he gave up consecutive singles by Simmons and Foxx. Tie game. Pat Malone then came in to pitch, and he hit Miller to load the bases, and then Dykes finished things with a two-run double. An 8-0 deficit had turned into a 10-8 lead. Two innings later, what should have been a series-turning win for the Cubs had turned into a devastating, virtually series-clinching loss.

MVP
The A's had a lot of hitting stars in the series, but Foxx shined the brightest. He opened the scoring with home runs in both Games 1 and 2, and he got two singles in the series-defining 7th inning of Game 4. 

Scores(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Philadelphia	3	9	1	10	3
Chicago	1	3	3	8	2

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

46. 1929 - Philadelphia (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-1
47. 1982 - St. Louis (N) def. Milwaukee (A) 4-3
48. 1923 - New York (A) def. New York (N) 4-2
49. 1944 - St. Louis (N) def. St. Louis (A) 4-2
Numbers 50-59
Numbers 60-69
Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

1931 World Series: Connie's Last Chance

The Teams:
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (101-53) - Fourth World Series (won in 1926)
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (107-45) - Eighth World Series (won in 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930)

What Happened
Connie Mack famously managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 seasons, but he had a built-in advantage to his longevity: since he also owned the team, who was going to fire him? One thing that helped him stick around was his ability to build great teams around him. By the time the 1931 season rolled around, ten future Hall of Famers had spent significant time playing for the A's, and Philadelphia had won five championships and seven pennants.

The A's were likely never better than they were in 1931. Coming off two straight championships, Philadelphia rolled to a franchise-record 107 wins, cruising past the American League and into their second straight World Series matchup with St. Louis.

But here is where Mack's managerial philosophy may have cost the A's. His theory was to sign powerful, young players, settle on a batting lineup he liked, then let his players play. That was all well and good when his stars were going good, like they were in Game 1, when Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Al Simmons, and Jimmie Foxx combined for five hits, five runs batted in, and three runs in a 6-2 Philadelphia victory. But in the tighter games, when things weren't going quite right, that could backfire. Exhibit A is Game 2. While St. Louis used small ball to generate its two runs - scoring on a sacrifice fly and a squeeze bunt - Philadelphia relied on the clutch hit. When that didn't work, the games looked like in Game 2, when the A's drew 7 walks against Bill Hallahan, but didn't score in part because of an 0-for-5 day with runners in scoring position. To make matters more frustrating, Mack never pinch hit for pitcher George Earnshaw, despite Earnshaw twice coming up with multiple runners on base after the fifth inning.

Game 2's lack of strategy was confusing, and Mack's decision to use Lefty Grove on two days' rest for Game 3 was equally puzzling. It's true that Grove was the best pitcher of his era, but he had uncharacteristically struggled in Game 1, giving up 12 hits to eke out a win. Despite his struggles, he went back out there on short rest; not surprisingly, he struggled again, giving up 11 hits and striking out only 2 in 8 innings. Meanwhile, Burleigh Grimes didn't give up a hit until the 8th and the Cardinals took the series lead.

Mack made the same mistake in Game 4, sending out Earnshaw on short rest, but this time it worked, as Earnshaw pitched a complete-game shutout to tie the series. St. Louis responded with a complete game from Hallahan and a 3-for-4 day from Pepper Martin to take a 3-2 series lead back home to St. Louis. Game 6 was all Philadelphia as Grove - pitching on a more standard three days rest - struck out 7 in a complete game to send the series to a seventh game.

Defining Game
With Grove unavailable after a complete game the day before - yes, unavailable even by Mack's standards - Earnshaw was the pick for Philadelphia to pitch Game 7. Against 7 of the 9 St. Louis hitters, he was unhittable. Too bad the two hitters who could hit him in Game 7 - Andy High and George Watkins - batted back-to-back in the order where they could do some damage. First came the first inning, when High and Watkins opened the game with back-to-back singles. After they were bunted over a base - the number 3 hitter dropping a sacrifice bunt? It was a different time, for sure - High came in to score the game's first run on a wild pitch. After a walk, Earnshaw struck out Ernie Orsatti; with the ball in the dirt, Cochrane had to throw to first for the out, and when he did, Watkins broke for home, scoring when Foxx committed an error on the return throw.

Leading 2-0, St. Louis waited around for High and Watkins to bat again. In the third, High again began the inning with a single, which was immediately followed by a Watkins home run. Leading 4-0, the Cardinals turned to Grimes, the future Hall of Famer, to finish things off. Grimes pitched masterfully until the 8th, when he started to tire. With two on in the eighth, Grimes got a break when Cochrane's two-out line drive deflected off Grimes right to the first baseman for the final out.

With two out in the ninth, Grimes had trouble getting the last out. With a runner already on, Jimmy Dykes walked and Dib Williams singled to load the bases. Doc Cramer drove in two on a single, bringing up Max Bishop representing the go-ahead run. Bishop got a hold of one, flying to deep center field, but Sportsman's Park was deep enough to hold it. Martin closed his glove on it, and the Cardinals had won their second championship. The Athletics slunk back to Philadelphia, never to return to the World Series - at least not until 1972, when they had moved twice and were playing in Oakland.

MVP
Hallahan was very good - 18 innings pitched, 12 hits allowed, only 1 run - but Martin was otherworldly.  A .500 average, four doubles and a home run, five stolen bases, five runs batted in, five runs scored - he dominated the series. Even though he did all his damage in the first five games, he's the easy choice for this series.
 
Scores:
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Philadelphia	6	0	2	3	1	8	2
St. Louis	2	2	5	0	5	1	4

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

72. 1931 - St. Louis (N) def. Philadelphia (A) 4-3
73. 1967 - St. Louis (N) def. Boston (A) 4-3
74. 1968 - Detroit (A) def. St. Louis (N) 4-3
75. 1920 - Cleveland (A) def. Brooklyn (N) 5-2
76. 1945 - Detroit (A) def. Chicago (N) 4-3
77. 1940 - Cincinnati (N) def. Detroit (A) 4-3
78. 2009 - New York (A) def. Philadelphia (N) 4-2
79. 1984 - Detroit (A) def. San Diego (N) 4-1
Numbers 80-89
Numbers 90-99
Numbers 100-107

Game 7s
Simultaneously, I'll rank all the Game 7s. The ones that have appeared in my countdown so far:

16. 1940: Cincinnati 2, Detroit 1
21. 1968: Detroit 4, St. Louis 1
22. 1931: St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 2
29. 1965: Los Angeles 2, Minnesota 0 
31. 1967: St. Louis 7, Boston 2
32. 1945: Detroit 9, Chicago 3

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

1930 World Series: Philly flies high

The Teams
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (102-52) - Sixth World Series (Won in  1910, 1911, 1913, 1929)
National League: St. Louis Cardinals (92-62) - Third World Series (Won in 1926)


What Happened
One reason Connie Mack stuck around to manage the Philadelphia Athletics for more than 50 years was because he owned the team. Who was gonna fire him? Another reason was that he knew how to build a dynasty. From 1910-1914, the A's had the best infield in baseball, and those four players gave them four American League pennants in a five-year span. Starting in 1929, the A's had the game's best catcher (Mickey Cochrane), left fielder (Al Simmons), and pitcher (Lefty Grove), and had the second-best first baseman in Jimmie Foxx. All four of those players would end up in the Hall of Fame, and while the rest of their teammates around them were average to above-average at best, the four stars were enough to keep the A's at the top of the American League for three years.

1930 was the middle of a three-year stretch of dominance for Philadelphia, and after easily beating the Cubs to win the title in 1929, they faced St. Louis in the Series in 1930. St. Louis looked good, too; every regular, and their top two bench players, all hit above .300 for the season. But this was 1930, one of the biggest offensive years in baseball history, and the Cardinals' .314 team batting average was only good for third-best in the National League. They had good players, future Hall-of-Famers in their lineup like Philadelphia, but their stars weren't at the height of their careers like Philadelphia's were.

Case in point was Game 1. Burleigh Grimes held Philadelphia to just five hits in the opening game, but all five hits were extra-base hits, leading to five Athletic runs. St. Louis could have batted for 18 innings and not gotten 5 runs off Grove. In Game 2, Cochrane, Simmons, and Foxx combined for four runs, four hits, and three runs batted in - all in the first four innings - to pace another Philadelphia win.

When the series returned to St. Louis, the Cardinals bounced back. Bill Hallahan threw a shutout at Philadelphia in Game 3, and two unearned runs helped Jesse Haines top Grove in a matchup of Hall of Famers in Game 4.

The series turned in Game 5, as Grimes and Game 2 winner George Earnshaw matched zeroes through seven innings. Philadelphia then turned to Grove - did I mention that he was both the game's best starter and the best reliever? - as a fresh arm in the final innings, then got a two-run home run from Foxx in the ninth inning to take a 3-2 lead back to Philadelphia. From there it was easy: the A's scored in the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings in their deciding Game 6 victory.

Defining Game
The string of zeroes Grimes and Earnshaw traded in Game 5 were especially impressive considering the lineups that were shut down and the era in which they were playing. Earnshaw only gave up two hits in his seven innings of work, and Grimes mostly kept out of trouble until the eighth. That inning, the A's loaded the bases with one out before going down on consecutive force plays at home and at second base. Perhaps, though, that was just a sign that Grimes was tiring, which wasn't a good sign with Cochrane, Simmons, and Foxx due up the next inning. Foxx made him pay in the top of the ninth with the blast that essentially clinched the series.

MVP
Despite all the stars Philadelphia had, it was Earnshaw who shined the brightest. While Grove only started two games and lost one of them, Earnshaw got the start in three games, including back-to-back starts in Games 5 and 6. He only gave up two runs in 25 innings, striking out 19 batters against only 13 hits allowed.


Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

St. Louis	2	1	5	3	0	1
Philadelphia	5	6	0	1	2	7

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

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

1914 World Series: The Miracle Braves

The Teams
National League: Boston Braves (94-59) - First World Series
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (99-53) - Fifth World Series (Won in 1910, 1911, 1913)

What Happened
On July 4, 1914, the Boston Braves were where many people expected them to be: in last place in the National League. After getting swept in a Fourth of July doubleheader and falling to 26-40, the Braves went on a run unlike any ever seen in baseball. Boston went 68-19 over the rest of the season, storming from last place to first. The Braves took the lead for the first time on September 8, then extended their advantage to 10 games by the end of the season. Not only was it their first National League pennant, but they were the first team other than the Cubs, Giants, or Pirates to represent the NL in the World Series.


The Braves needed all that momentum facing the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. The A's had won the World Series three of the previous four seasons, establishing themselves as the American League's first dynasty. The A's were good, but the Braves were better, or at least had been since July 4. Boston pounded future Hall-of-Famer Chief Bender for a 7-1 win in Game 1.

After the Game 1 blowout, the series got tight. Bill James held the Athletics to just two hits in Game 2, but the Braves needed all nine innings to get on the scoreboard off Eddie Plank, scoring the game's only run with two outs in the ninth. James walked two in the bottom of the ninth, and Philadelphia's Eddie Murphy (most definitely NOT the comedian) hit a grounder up the middle that seemed destined to tie the game, but shortstop Rabbit Maranville got to the ball, stepped on second for the force, then fired to first for the game-ending double play.

They won the first two games in Philadelphia, the Braves came home in great shape. They first won Game 3 in 12 innings, overcoming a two-run deficit in the 10th, to take a commanding series lead. In Game 4, former Cub Johnny Evers hit a go-ahead two-run single in the bottom of the fifth and the score held up, giving Boston the shocking series sweep.

Supposedly, A's manager Connie Mack was so disgusted at his team's performance in the 1914 World Series that he sold all his stars rather than risk giving them raises. While it's a convenient excuse - it was the first time, but certainly wouldn't be the last, that Mack tore apart a championship team - he may have had a point. While nothing has ever been proven definitively, rumors started circulating almost immediately that the A's threw the series. There was never any good overwhelming evidence aside from the A's composite .172 average in the series, but the main reason behind the Braves' turnaround was their great pitching. They did it to the National League the entire second half, so there's no reason they couldn't have done it to the A's, too. Still, though, the Braves' sweep was so unexpected that the whispers remained.

Defining Game
Game 3 was the pivotal game of the series, with the A's desperately needing it to stay alive in the series and the Braves looking to provide the killer blow. The teams were tied at 2 entering extra innings. In the top of the 10th, the Athletics loaded the bases for Home Run Baker, who continued to live up to his clutch reputation with a two-run single. The Braves responded in the bottom of the 10th. Catcher Hank Gowdy led off the inning with a home run to center - his second extra-base hit of the game. The Braves then tied the game on a sacrifice fly. The teams played on to the 12th. After Philadelphia left two runners on base in the top of the inning, Gowdy again led off the inning in style for Boston, hitting a ground-rule double to left (the series was played at Fenway Park, where the Green Monster normally makes it impossible to hit a ground rule double to left, but an overflow crowd forced fans onto the field in front of the wall, and any ball hit into the crowd was automatically a double). After an intentional walk, the Braves tried a sacrifice bunt. A's pitcher Bullet Joe Bush - who had pitched the entire game - fielded the bunt and tried to get the lead runner at third, but he threw the ball away, allowing the winning run to score.

MVP
Any of the Braves' three pitchers could have been MVP, but the vote here goes to Gowdy. He led all series regulars with a .545 average and five extra-base hits, most of them of the clutch variety.

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

Boston	7	1	5 (12)	3
Philadelphia	1	0	4	1

---

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

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

1905 World Series: A String of Zeros

The Teams
National League: New York Giants (105-48) - First World Series
American League: Philadelphia Athletics (92-56) - First World Series

What Happened
The Giants almost killed the World Series before it could establish itself. After a successful inaugural  series in 1903 left many baseball fans wanting it to become a new annual tradition, the Giants, runaway winners of the 1904 National League pennant, announced that they would not participate in the World Series in 1904. The stated reason was that manager John McGraw didn't want to legitimize the American League, which he still considered a minor league.

Another main reason, though, was that it looked like the New York Highlanders (who would eventually be renamed the Yankees) would win the American League pennant. The last thing McGraw wanted was an opportunity for the Highlanders to claim the title of best team in New York, so he refused to play them. When Boston lapped the Highlanders in the final week of the season to claim their second straight AL crown, the Giants took a lot of heat for not playing in the World Series, but McGraw didn't back down. Eventually, though, the fans got their way. Though the move came too late to save the 1904 series, the National League announced that it would make the World Series an annual event starting in 1905.

It was fitting, then, that the Giants won the pennant again in 1905. Whatever their thoughts about playing in the World Series, they had to be happy that their opponents in 1905 were not the two-time champion Boston Americans (Red Sox) nor the cross-town Highlanders but the Philadelphia Athletics. The A's were a fine team, blessed with great pitching and a legendary manager of their own in Connie Mack. But in truth, they didn't have a chance, because the Giants had Christy Mathewson.

In truth, all the pitchers in the 1905 series stood out. All five games ended in shutouts, a World Series record that will almost certainly never be broken. Another virtually unbreakable record was set by Mathewson: he pitched in three games and threw three complete-game shutouts. That's 27 scoreless innings in one World Series.

There are all sorts of numbers that show just how dominant the pitching was in this series. The Athletics only batted .155 as a team, for example, with only five extra base hits. In the entire series, there was only one relief pitcher used, and he only pitched one inning of one game. And in the only game Philadelphia won, Game 2, all three of their runs were unearned, meaning that the Giants had an ERA of 0.00 in 44 innings pitched in the series.

The leader of it all, though, was Mathewson, whose brilliance made the series seem very anticlimactic. Maybe McGraw was right about the American League being an inferior league.

Defining Game
Game 5. One win from the title, McGraw gave the ball to Mathewson for the third time in the series for Game 5. Mathewson, of course, threw a shutout, giving up only five hits and four walks. Befitting the series, though, was how the Giants scored their two runs. They got one in the fifth on two walks, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly that turned into a double play, then got another one in the seventh on a walk (to Mathewson), a ground-rule double, and a ground out. So yah, pitching ruled.

MVP
You really have to ask?

Scores
(Home team shaded; winners in Bold)

New York	3	0	9	1	2
Philadelphia	0	3	0	0	0

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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:

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

August 23, 1931: Grove loses it

ST. LOUIS - The early 1930s became a hitter's era in Major League Baseball. The leaders of the sports decided to cash in on the popularity of Babe Ruth by trying to create multiple versions of him, introducing a tightly wound ball that would fly out of the park with regularity. While nobody could match the personality of the Yankees' star, many players started to match his hitting prowess, leaving pitchers hanging out to dry.

A notable exception was Lefty Grove, the dominating starter for the Philadelphia Athletics who was known just was well for his firey temper as he was for his blazing fastball. Grove had his best season in 1931, going 31-4 with an 2.08 ERA, a number about twice as good as the league average. He also tied the American League record with 17 consecutive victories, a record he was hoping to break on August 23 in a start against the St. Louis Browns.

The Athletics, the two-time defending World Series champions, were on their way to their best regular-season record ever in 1931, while the Browns entered play on the 23rd in fifth place, 35 games behind the A's. Grove, as expected, was brilliant against the Browns, giving up only one run on seven hits. But Dick Coffman, the starter for the Browns who never won more than 9 games in a season in his 15-year Major League career, pitched even better that day, shutting out the A's on three hits. Grove's streak was over, one short of holding the record on his own.

After the game, Grove tore apart the locker room in a frenzy, furious that he had lost after coming so close to breaking the record. Substitute Jimmy Moore of the A's was afraid to go into the clubhouse, fearing that Grove was looking for him. After all, it was Moore's misplay in left field that led to the Browns' only run of the game. But it wasn't Moore that Grove was looking for, but slugger Al Simmons. Normally the starting left fielder, Simmons had sat out that game with an illness, and his absence was drawing Grove's ire.

The loss dropped Grove to 25-3 for the year, and he would lose only one more game in the regular season. He would win two more games in the World Series, but he would also lose one, as the A's were shocked by the Cardinals in seven games. The A's had five future hall-of-famers on their roster and were relatively young, but the 1931 World Series would be their last until 1972, after they had moved twice before settling in Oakland.