August 12, 1948: The St. Louis Browns win the opener of a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians, 8-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Indians make them pay dearly for that in the nightcap, winning 26-3. It is one of the biggest blowouts in the history of what is now called Major League Baseball.
In a 1932 game, the Indians had set the major league record for hits in a game, with 32. This time, they get 29, and set a different record with hits by 14 different players:
* Gene Bearden, the starting pitcher, not only allowed just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings, he went 4-for-6, with a home run and 4 RBIs.
* Hal Peck, who started the game in right field, and moved over to left field, went 4-for-6 with a walk, a stolen base, and 3 RBIs.
* Lou Boudreau, the Indians' 31-year-old shortstop and manager, went 3-for-5 with 2 walks and 4 RBIs. He had hit a home run in the opener, and went on to be named the American League's Most Valuable Player.
* 2nd baseman Joe Gordon went 3-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.
* Left fielder Dale Mitchell went 3-for-6 with a stolen base and 2 RBIs.
* Catcher Jim Hegan went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base and an RBI.
* 1st baseman Eddie Robinson went 2-for-7 with 2 RBIs.
* Center fielder Larry Doby went 1-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.
* 3rd baseman Ken Keltner went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* Wally Judnich, who went to right field and replaced Mitchell in the batting order when Peck moved to left field, hit a solo home run in his only at-bat.
* Bob Kennedy, who pinch-ran for Gordon and then replaced him at 2nd base, went 1-for-2.
* Joe Tipton substituted behind the plate for Hegan, and had an RBI single in his only at-bat.
* Thurman Tucker replaced Doby in right field, and went 1-for-2.
* Allie Clark replaced Keltner at 3rd base, and went 1-for-2 with an RBI. He had hit a home run in the 1st game.
* Bob Feller pitched the last 2 innings, and did not come to bat.
A rare lefthanded knuckleballer, Bearden was batting .294 at the end of this game. He finished the season batting .256 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs. He had a 20-7 record, winning his 20th in the one-game Playoff the Indians had to win away to the Boston Red Sox to win the American League Pennant. He led the League with a 2.43 ERA. For his career, he batted .236 with 4 homers and 32 RBIs. But he would never be so good again, finishing with a 45-38 record and a 3.96 ERA.
The losing pitcher for the Browns was named Fred Sanford. Thinking of the later TV sitcom character of the same name, I wonder if he was a junkball pitcher.
*
August 12, 1948 was a Saturday. There were 2 other baseball games played. The Boston Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston. Warren Spahn outpitched Joe Hatten. Ralph Branca was brought in to relieve Hatten in the bottom of the 9th. But with Bob Elliott at bat, Branca threw a wild pitch that allowed Sebastian "Sibby" Sisti to score the winning run. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3.
And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Vic Lombardi outpitched Murry Dickson. Ralph Kiner went 0-for-4. Stan Musial went 0-for-3 with a walk.
No comments:
Post a Comment