Comparison between tonight’s Cubs-Red Sox game and the 1918 World Series
Posted by Andy on May 20, 2011
Tonight, the Cubs lost to the Red Sox in their first game at Fenway Park since the 1918 World Series.
The final score was 15-5, for total of 20 runs. In the six games of the 1918 World Series, the teams combined for a total of 19 runs--in all six games.
Tonight, the teams combined for 9 doubles. In the 1918 Series, they had 7 combined.
Tonight, the Red Sox hit 2 homers, but in the 1918 Series, neither team homered even once.
Tonight, there were no triples, but in 1918 they combined for 4 over the six games.
In the 1918 Series, Hippo Vaughn went 1-2 by giving up 3 earned runs in 27 innings. Tonight, four different pitchers gave up at least 3 earned runs in the single game. (They were Doug Davis, Scott Maine, Jeff Samardzija, and Jon Lester.)
May 21st, 2011 at 12:33 am
In a fit of poetic justice this weekend, the Cubs will be swept by the Sox.
Bartman will smile in front of his HDTV in his house in the witness protection program and Chicago's post-season quest for validation as a franchise will continue.... next year! 🙂
May 21st, 2011 at 8:51 am
Fred Merkle played for the Cubs in that series and Bill Buckner was the analyst on the broadcast last night.....
May 21st, 2011 at 9:16 am
Nice one, Tony!
May 21st, 2011 at 10:37 am
Speaking of a Fred Merkle connection....
I just noticed that Merkle played on 3 different teams that lost the World Series to the Red Sox: the 1912 Giants, the 1916 Robins (Brooklyn) and the 1918 Cubs.
In the deciding 8th game of the 1912 Series, Merkle might have been the hero. He singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning off Smoky Joe Wood. But in the bottom half came the other famous misplay of that era -- CF Fred Snodgrass dropped an easy fly ball from the leadoff hitter -- and the Red Sox went on to score twice off Mathewson to win the Series.
Poor Fred Merkle! It wasn't enough to be saddled for the rest of his life with the name "Bonehead" for a fairly innocent mistake he made as a 19-year-old; the baseball fates had to further taunt him with 5 World Series losses in as many tries.
May 21st, 2011 at 11:25 am
And speaking of rookie miscues ... During last night's Mets-Yankees broadcast, Keith Hernandez told a story I hadn't heard about Nick Swisher's father, Steve, who had a 9-year career as a big-league catcher.
On the final day of the 1974 season, Steve Swisher's last-place Cubs were playing the first-place Pirates, who led the Cardinals by 1 game. (Hernandez had been a late-season call-up for the Cards.) Pittsburgh trailed the Cubs by a run with 2 out in the 9th inning; a loss would have created a chance for the Cards, who had been rained out in Montreal, to force a playoff if they could win their makeup game. Rick Reuschel got Bob Robertson to swing and miss for strike 3 -- but the ball got away from Swisher, the tying run scored from 3rd, and the Pirates won in the 10th to clinch the division.
As Keith Hernandez told the story, Swisher would always be remembered for that misplay. But that probably reflects Keith's own rooting interest; I had never heard of the game.
It's also worth noting that, as usual, Swisher's passed ball was hardly the only factor in the Cards missing the playoffs:
-- Reuschel, with a 2-run lead, opened the 9th by walking Richie Zisk and -- believe it or not -- Manny Sanguillen, the latter collecting just his 21st walk of the year in over 600 PAs. Both walks came around to score. ("O,TBOB!")
-- The Cards had a chance to forge a 1st-place tie the day before, holding a 2-1 lead with 2 out and none on in the 8th in Parc Jarry. But Willie Davis singled, and Mike Jorgensen homered -- both off starter Bob Gibson -- and Les Expos went on to win.
-- St. Louis held a 2.5-game lead with 14 to play, but they dropped 4 out of 5 to Pittsburgh and went 6-7 overall.
-- Even if the Pirates had lost, the Cardinals still would have had to (a) win a makeup game in Montreal and (b) beat the Pirates in a playoff. Pittsburgh had already won the coin toss for home-field advantage, and to most observers, they were the better team.
May 21st, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Cubs > Red Sox ! 🙂
May 21st, 2011 at 6:04 pm
@6
Trinca, dig the "greater than" symbol. Better than any emoticon in here. Statnerds love math.
We'll see tonight who's greater. I give the Cubs a good chance.
May 21st, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Isn't this the day that the world is supposed to end? The Cubs winning may bring that on by itself, without any divine intervention.
May 22nd, 2011 at 3:15 am
The very fact that Bartman is still alive is a shame on baseball and a mockery in Cubs.
If he were a man, he would have blown his brains off on 2003.
May 22nd, 2011 at 7:05 am
8 runs in the 8th for the cubs last night?
wasn't that the exact tally in the same inning for the bartman game?
May 22nd, 2011 at 5:19 pm
@9
Cabriel, don't wish anyone the loss of their life, not even even Steve Bartman.
My original post was tongue-in-cheek. I'm not even a Cubs' fan.
What about the 1996 Yankees' post-season with the 12-year old kid becoming a NY celebrity?
He became a hero, was feted on the New York talk show circuit and generally regarded positively. He influenced a game as much as Bartman but with impunity. I realize the outcome was different for the home team
Was it the baggage of Cubs' fans that lead them to react so strongly to Bartman?
May 22nd, 2011 at 7:44 pm
I don't even care about the Cubs. I am just saying that spoilers like Bartman and Jim Joyce should receive their eternal rewards.
May 22nd, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Yeah, we remember your posts from last year that Jim Joyce and other umpires should be murdered.