1912 Boston Red Sox: Beantown’s Finest

1912 Boston Red Sox: Beantown’s Finest

[paypal_donation_button]1912 Boston Red Sox: Beantown’s Finest

The Boston Red Sox went 105-47 in 1912, winning the American League pennant by 14 games over the Washington Senators and 15 games over the Philadelphia Athletics. The Red Sox went 12-10 against the Senators and 15-7 against the Athletics in head-to-head play. The Red Sox went 57-20 at home and 48-27 on the road.

Center fielder Tris Speaker batted .383 with 10 home runs and 90 RBI’s off 222 hits, 53 doubles, 12 triples and 52 stolen bases. Third baseman Larry Gardner batted .315 with 86 RBI’s off 153 hits, 24 doubles, 18 triples and 25 stolen bases. First baseman Jake Stahl batted .301 with 21 doubles and 13 stolen bases in 95 games. Left fielder George “Duffy” Lewis batted .284 with 109 RBI’s off 165 hits, 36 doubles and 9 triples. Shortstop Charles “Heinie” Wagner batted .274 with 138 hits, 25 doubles and 21 stolen bases. Right fielder Harry Hooper had 143 hits, 20 doubles, 12 triples and 29 stolen bases. Second baseman Steve Yerkes had 132 hits and 22 doubles. First baseman Clyde Engle had 12 stolen bases in 58 games.

“Smoky” Joe Wood went 34-5 with 258 strikeouts and a 1.91 ERA, recording 35 complete games and 10 shutouts. Buck O’Brien went 20-13 with 115 strikeouts and a 2.58 ERA, recording 25 complete games and 2 shutouts. Hugh Bedient went 20-9 with 122 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA, recording 19 complete games. Ray Collins went 13-8 with a 2.53 ERA, recording 17 complete games and 4 shutouts. Charley Hall went 15-8 with 9 complete games and 2 shutouts. The Red Sox pitching staff was one of the best staffs in baseball in 1912.

The Boston Red Sox met the National League Champion New York Giants in the 1912 World Series, and it would take 8 games to determine which team would prevail. In Game 1 on October 8 at Manhattan’s Polo Grounds the Red Sox won 4-3. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Giants right fielder Red Murray had a 2-run single. In the top of the 6th Duffy Lewis had an RBI groundout. In the top of the 7th Harry Hooper had an RBI single, and Steve Yerkes followed with a 2-run single. In the bottom of the 9th catcher John “Chief” Meyers had an RBI single, but the Giants fell short.

Game 2 would end in a 6-6 tie on October 9 after 11 innings at Fenway Park. The game would be called due to darkness. In the bottom of the 1st inning Larry Gardner had an RBI groundout, and Jake Stahl followed with a 2-run single. In the top of the 2nd Meyers had an infield RBI single, and in the top of the 4th third baseman Buck Herzog had a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 5th Yerkes had an RBI triple, and in the top of the 8th Murray had an RBI ground rule double, and Herzog followed with a 2-run ground rule double. In the bottom of the 8th Gardner reached on an error to score Lewis. In the top of the 10th Giants outfielder Harry “Moose” McCormick had a sacrifice fly, and in the bottom of the 10th Tris Speaker had an RBI triple.

In Game 3 on October 10 the Giants beat the Red Sox 2-1. Giants starting pitcher Rube Marguard pitched a complete game, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 run, recording 6 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning Herzog had a sacrifice fly, and shortstop Art Fletcher had an RBI single in the top of the 5th. In the bottom of the 9th Gardner had an RBI double.

Back at the Polo Grounds for Game 4 on October 11, the Red Sox won 3-1. Smoky Joe Wood pitched a complete game, giving up 9 hits and 1 run, but he recorded 8 strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd inning wild pitch scored Gardner, and in the top of the 4th catcher Hick Cady had an RBI single. Art Fletcher got the Giants on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the 7th, but Joe Wood helped himself out in the top of the 9th by getting an RBI single.

Back at Fenway Park for Game 5 on October 12, the Red Sox won 2-1. Hugh Bedient pitched a complete game, giving 3 hits, 3 walks and 1 run, but he recorded 4 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 3rd inning Yerkes had an RBI triple, and then scored after Speaker reached on an error. In the top of the 7th Moose McCormick reached on an error to score first baseman Fred Merkle, but the Giants again fell short.

In Game 6 on October 14 at the Polo Grounds the Giants beat the Red Sox 5-2. In the bottom of the 1st inning second baseman Larry Doyle scored on a balk. Merkle and Herzog soon followed with a pair of RBI singles, and then Herzog stole home plate as part of a double steal with Chief Meyers. Fletcher then had a bunt RBI single. In the top of the 2nd Clyde Engle had a 2-run single but the Red Sox never mounted a comeback.

In Game 7 on October 15 at Fenway Park the Giants beat the Red Sox 11-4 to even the series at 3-3-1. In the top of the 1st inning center fielder Fred Snodgrass had a 2-run double, and then Meyers and pitcher Jeff Tesreau had a pair of RBI singles. Fletcher would steal home plate soon after. In the bottom of the 2nd Gardner hit a solo home run, but in the top of the 6th Larry Doyle clubbed a 2-run home run. In the top of the 7th Tesreau had an infield RBI single. In the bottom of the 7th Gardner had an RBI groundout, and Stahl would reach on an error to score Lewis. In the bottom of the 8th Hooper had a sacrifice fly, and in the top of the 9th catcher Art Wilson had an RBI single.

The tie in Game 2 appeared to come in handy for the Red Sox as they would turn around and win the 1912 World Series by winning 3-2 in Game 8 on October 16. In the top of the 3rd inning Red Murray had an RBI double, but Boston tied the game in the bottom of the 7th with an RBI double by pinch hitting outfielder Olaf Henrikson. Merkle had an RBI single in the top of the 10th, and then in the bottom of the 10th Tris Speaker had an RBI single to tie the game again. Larry Gardner emerged as the hero by getting a sacrifice fly to score Steve Yerkes.

To honor the 1912 World Series Champions, the Burkhardt Brewing Company made Red Sox Beer and Pennant Ale to help Boston baseball fans celebrate.