October 2, 1908: Ed Walsh vs. Addie Joss

Addie Joss (left) and Ed Walsh

October 2, 1908:  In a wild 3-team American League race, every bit as tight as the 3-team race going on in the National League at the same time, the AL has perhaps its greatest pitching duel ever, between 2 future Hall-of-Famers, at League Park in Cleveland.

Big Ed Walsh of the White Sox strikes on 15 batters, setting a new AL record that stood for 30 years. It was his 40th win of the season. But it's not enough, as Addie Joss, a.k.a. the Human Hairpin for his slender build and his tight pitching motion, pitches a perfect game for the Cleveland Naps, who win, 1-0. Joss advanced to 24-11. Walsh "fell" to 39-15.

Napoleon Lajoie, one of the greatest all-around players of the era, a member of the 3,000 Hits Club and a great fielder, too, was the Cleveland team's 2nd baseman and manager. They were renamed the Naps in his honor in 1903, after being named the Blues. He left after the 1914 season, and they were renamed the Indians, which they would remain until becoming the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

So the ChiSox and the Naps had played the greatest game in the American League's 8-year history, with both really needing it to win the Pennant. And yet, neither team does. The Detroit Tigers do, the Naps finishing half a game behind, the White Sox 1 1/2 behind: Detroit 90-63, Cleveland 90-64, Chicago 88-64.

Why wasn't the Tigers' missing 154th game made up? I don't know: Neither The Unforgettable Season by G.H. Fleming nor Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy explains why.

It's the 2nd of 3 straight Pennants for the Tigers. The ChiSox had won in 1901 and 1906. The Naps/Indians will not get this close to a Pennant again until they win it all in 1920.

Joss died of meningitis on April 14, 1911, the eve of what would have been his 10th in the major leagues. He was only 31. In 1978, the Baseball Hall of Fame gave him a special waiver on the rule that says players must have played at least 1 game in at least 10 different seasons to qualify for election, since he would have pitched in 1 such game had he been stricken just 1 week later. He was soon elected. It was deserved: He was 160-97, his WHIP of 0.968 is the lowest ever, and his ERA of 1.89 is the 2nd-lowest.

The lowest? Walsh, at 1.82. And his WHIP, exactly 1.000, is 2nd all-time to Joss. He would pitch a no-hitter of his own in 1911. He went 192-126 for his career. And, unlike Joss, he played on a Pennant winner, as the White Sox won the 1906 World Series. He died on May 26, 1959, the day Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but lost the game to the Milwaukee Braves in the 13th inning.

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October 2, 1908 was a Friday, the start of the last weekend of one of baseball's greatest regular seasons. Both Leagues had 3-way races.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-6 at Bennett Park in Detroit. Ty Cobb went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs.

* The New York Highlanders lost to the Washington Senators, 12-2 at Hilltop Park in Manhattan. The proto-Yankees went 51-103 that season, and it remains the most games they've ever lost in a season.

* The Boston Red Sox lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-1 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia.

* In the National League, the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-0 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals at Robison Field in St. Louis, 7-4 and 2-1. Over the 2 games, Honus Wagner went 3-for-8 with an RBI.

* And the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers) beat the Boston Doves (Braves), 3-2 at Washington Park in Brooklyn.