Major League Baseball at West Point`s Doubleday Field: Part One

Volume 7 Number 2 FALL ISSUE September 2006
Major League Baseball at
West Point’s Doubleday Field:
Part One - Jints and Yanks
Inside This Issue
Major League Baseball at West Point’s Doubleday
Field: Part 1 (of 2 Parts) – Jints and Yanks
by Michael Huber ………………… p. 1
The Iron Horse and The Kid
by Paul Tarr ……………………….. p.2
Searching Sites: Little Leagues, Hall of Famers’
Resting Places
by Mike Frank …………….………. p.5
Dexter Park Memories
by Everett Parker …………………. p.6
Invisible Men: Umpires (excerpted)
by David Nemec and Scott Flatow .. p.8
©By Michael Huber
This research by Lieutenant Colonel Huber was
presented at the January 28, 2006 chapter meeting
held at the NY Public Library in Manhattan; most
attendees acclaimed this as the best (that day) of
several excellent presentations.
The baseball diamond at the United States
Military Academy is named Doubleday Field,
after the same Major General Abner Doubleday
from baseball folklore, who was an 1842
graduate of the Military Academy.
From 1914 until 1986, West Point’s
Doubleday Field was home to a few Major
League teams once a year, as they journeyed up
the Hudson River from New York City to
contend in the national pastime against the
Cadets of the Military Academy.
During that 70-plus year span, the New York
Giants, the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn
Dodgers, the New York Mets, the San Francisco
Giants, the Detroit Tigers, and the Houston
Astros played exhibition baseball with the cadets
of Army on West Point’s Field of Dreams.
The West Point – Major League connection
started the winter before the first Army – Navy
baseball match-up in 1901. First Lieutenant
Leon Kromer, the Academy’s Officer
Representative for Baseball in 1901, recounted
how the baseball team used professional
assistance to strengthen the skills of its players:
engaged to come up on Saturdays during February and
March to coach the candidates in batting. He came
and his work was most successful; … we were on the
right road.1
Future Hall of Famer George Davis had
agreed to “coach our baseball nine for a
consideration of $25.00 and expenses.”2 Army
met Navy for the first time on Saturday, May
18th, 1901, at Annapolis and the Army Nine
triumphed by a close score of 4 to 3.
Interestingly, the Army squad was the “home
team” (batting second) although the game was
played at Annapolis. The umpire for the contest
was Charles “Pop” Snyder of the National
League.
The Major League connection with the
Military Academy continued during the winter of
1907-1908. In order to train the cadets during
continued on page 3
A game with the Naval Cadets being ahead of
us it was resolved by all to leave no stone unturned to
develop the best team possible.
Accordingly, Mr. George Davis, Manager and
Captain of the New York National League Team, was
1
Annual Report of Army Officers Athletic Association for
the Year 1901.
2
Proceedings of the Army Athletic Council, dated January
22, 1901.
1
his best years, 2001-2004 have been challenged as
being PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) influenced.
In Memoriam
Background
Paul Tarr has contributed mightily to our
chapter’s newsletter, including this issue,
and has always been gracious in editorial
discussions regarding his research articles.
Sadly, Paul passed away suddenly on
Tuesday, October 4th, 2006.
On this page begins his latest article with
an unusual perspective about two of
baseball’s greatest sluggers, and despite the
expected controversy we realized this piece
could engender, we do agree it should run as
Paul had hoped and intended.
We appreciate his strengths as a writer
and curiosity as a researcher. He will be
deeply missed by more people in SABR
than he could ever have known.
Generally, the three have been ranked in the same
order as their lifetime OPS (On-Base Percentage +
Slugging Averages). The OPS averages are as
follows: (See TABLE I).
TABLE 1
Player
Babe Ruth
Ted Williams
Lou Gehrig
OPS3
1.164
1.116
1.080
In their book “The Hidden Game of Baseball”
John Thorn and Pete Palmer describe their
accomplishments as follows:
“Their totals are so awesome that no matter what
measure of offense you use, no matter what
adjustments you make, Ruth is going to rank first and
Gehrig third, with Ted Williams second”4
In the following paragraphs I will challenge this
assertion. I will make the case that Lou Gehrig not
Ted Williams was the better of the two hitters and that
the major reason for Ted Williams general superiority
on the key rate statistics (Batting Average, On-Base
Percentage, Slugging Average and On-Base
Percentage+ Slugging Average) primarily reflected the
fact that Fenway Park had a disproportionate benefit
on Ted Williams batting statistics while Yankee
Stadium penalized Lou Gehrig’s batting statistics
disproportionately.
Thorn and Palmer in “Total Baseball” identified a
key set of basic “Home” and “Road” relationships.“5
“Normally, a player will have a Batting Average,
Slugging Percentage and On-Base Percentage each
about 5 percent higher at “Home” than on the “Road”.
Thus a home-park advantage of 5 percent is to be
expected of all batters.”6
Evelyn Begley and Cliff Blau
The Iron Horse and The Kid
Why Lou Gehrig was a Greater Hitter
Than Ted Williams:
The Impact of the Home Ballpark on
Great Hitters’ Offensive Performances
©By Paul Tarr
When knowledgeable baseball people discuss the
great hitters in
baseball history,
the names of
Babe Ruth, Ted
Williams
and
Lou Gehrig are
most
often
mentioned.
Their
combination of
being able to get
on base as well
as hit with power
are unequalled in
baseball history.
Barry Bonds has
been added to the
list by many but
The Key Rate Statistics
“OPS is the sum of On-Base Percentage plus
Slugging Average …OPS is…for gauging offensive
productivity. It’s useful because it correlates better
continued on page 9
3
Palmer, Pete and Gillette, Gary, “The 2005 ESPN Baseball
Encyclopedia”, ( Sterling Publishing Co., Inc, New York,
N.Y., 2005), 1641.
4
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete, “The Hidden Game of
Baseball”, (Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, N.Y.,
1989), 92.
5
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete, “Total Baseball”, (Warren
Books, New York, N.Y., 1989).
6
Palmer, Pete and Gillette, Gary6 op. cit., 2197.
Above, Lou Gehrig. in a well-known pose, from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/imag
2
The Giants easily won the game, 7 to 2. “The big
leaguers took advantage of some weird fielding and
scored twice in the opener and three times in the third.
During this period the Giantlets had hit safely only
once.”10
Later in the game, Jim Thorpe hit a ball into a
building beyond left field, over 400 feet away. One of
those young soldiers on the 1914 Army team was
Cadet Omar Bradley, future General of the Army
during World War Two.
Major League Baseball at
West Point’s Doubleday Field:
©By Michael Huber
continued from first page
the winter, the Army Athletic Association approved
the hiring of New York Giants hurler and future Hall
of Famer Christy Mathewson, paying him $75 a week
for three weeks to coach the Army pitching squad.
Perhaps it was Matty’s work with the cadets that
developed his conditioning in 1908, because he went
on to win 37 games for the Giants that season,
establishing the post-1900 mark for most wins by any
pitcher in the National League.
In the Giants’ first inter-squad game of spring
training in 1908 in Marlin, Texas, The New York
Times reported that “Mathewson was very fast, as he
got his pitching arm well oiled up at West Point when
he was coaching the Cadets.” An interesting story
associated with Matty’s time at West Point involves a
challenge he received from some cadets. After a
strong talk on control and precision to the Army
ballplayers, Matty was challenged by the cadets to
throw twenty-five pitches to the same spot. The
cadets wanted to know: “Could he throw twenty
consecutive pitches, including five fade-aways, to
exactly the same spot?”7
They offered him 12–1 odds (and he bet $50 on
himself) that it could not be accomplished. The Army
catcher tightly held his catcher’s mitt with both hands
on one knee. Matty proceeded to put every pitch into
the unmoving pocket of the catcher’s glove from 60
feet away to amaze all in attendance8 and walked
away with $600. After collecting his money, Matty
supposedly remarked, “That is all you need to know
about pitching.”9
Cadet Omar Bradley, second from left, photo, courtesy
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/bradley/bradley.htm
A tradition had begun, as each year a New York
Giants team would schedule a trip to West Point in
order to have a contest with the cadets.
The fans were treated to a great pitcher’s duel
when the Giants played the cadets on April 15th, 1946.
The bleachers were crowded at Doubleday Field to see
Army “hold Little Mel Ott’s Giants to a 2–2 deadlock
in a game that was called after 10 innings of play due
to rain and impending darkness.”11
Dick Kinney, the ace of the Army staff, limited
the Giants to nine well-spaced hits until he was
relieved in the ninth inning, keeping the New Yorkers
scoreless until the top of the eighth, when singles by
first baseman Mike Schemer and centerfielder Johnny
Rucker, coupled with an Army error, allowed the
Giants to rally. The cadets came back to tie the score
in the bottom of the ninth, when Heisman Trophy
winner and center fielder Glenn Davis “singled
sharply through short. He then scooted all the way
around the pond on Johnny Nance’s double that hit the
fence 353 feet away.”12
Shortstop Bill Rigney paced the Giants’ attack
with a double and two singles. Monte Kennedy
pitched a great game for the visiting professionals,
yielding only four hits and fanning fourteen.13
“Neither of the teams could scrape a run up in the
tenth inning and the game was called on account of
darkness.”14
The New York Giants:
One Tie in 23
Former New York
Giants
player
Sammy
Strang became West Point’s
baseball coach in 1909 and
in a favor to his former
player,
manager
John
McGraw sent his New York
Giants rookies to West
Point to play an exhibition
game on May 9th, 1914.
Above, Sammay Strang, photo courtesy the Deadball Era
www.thedeadballera.com
7
Philip Seib, The Player: Christy Mathewson, Baseball, and
the American Century, Four Walls Eight Windows
Publishers, New York, 2003.
8
Personal correspondence with Eddie Frierson, author/star of
Matty: An Evening With Christy Mathewson, July 18, 2003.
9
Personal conversation with Paul Gillespie, February 10,
2004.
10
Ibid.
The Newburgh News, April 16, 1946.
12
Ibid.
13
The New York Times, April 16, 1946.
14
The Pointer of the United States Military Academy, April
26, 1946.
11
3
On April 17th, 1950, the Giants played at West
Point under new manager Leo Durocher and blanked
the cadets 8-0. The game was virtually over in the
first inning, when the Giants scored three times. In the
top of the fourth, second baseman Eddie Stanky sent a
drive over the left field fence for a 340-foot home run.
Retired Lieutenant General Jack Mackmull, the Army
pitcher, remembers the at-bat:
“A fast ball got away from me and Stanky had to
hit the dirt in order to get out of the way. Although he
did not say anything, I could tell by his look that he
was more than a little upset. On the next pitch, Stanky
threw the bat toward me on the pitcher’s mound. I had
to dodge it to keep from getting hit. That upset me.
On the next pitch, I threw a fast ball close enough that
he had to bail out. He called time out and came out to
the mound to tell me that we were both tough
competitors and that we should go back to playing real
baseball. We both agreed. On the next pitch, Stanky
hit a home run over the left field fence.”15
The highlight of the game occurred after the sixth
inning had concluded. Durocher was “attracting as
much attention as the ball players with his clowning in
the first base coaching box.”16 While Mackmull was
pitching to Alvin Dark in the sixth, the Giants hitter
called time and came to the pitcher’s mound.
“He told me to throw him a fast ball, high outside
and not too fast, and he would line it to Leo in the first
base coaching box,”17 recalls the Army pitcher. “I did
and he did. The ball caused Leo to dive out of the
way. He knew what happened and he came out to the
mound and hit me with his cap.”
The great annual tradition of Giants – Army
baseball had lasted from 1914 until 1960, a span of 47
years. Twenty-three times they battled at Doubleday
Field. The Giants were victorious 22 times, and the
famous 2–2, 10-inning tie game of 1946 was the
closest the cadets would come to triumphing over the
National Leaguers.
“Aw, he didn’t try to hit the ball,” said one of
the cadets. “He was just trying to make us feel good.”
However, the truth of the matter was that George
Herman was so eager to hit a homer for the Hudson
folks that he went after bad balls which he couldn’t
have reached on a stepladder.18
Army faced the regular Yankees lineup except that
the Babe played first base and Lou Gehrig played in
right.
Below, Ruth and Gehrig at West Point, May 5, 1927, from
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/spring/b
aseball.html
As a special treat to visitors to the United States
Military Academy during June Week (graduation
week), the New York Yankees played an exhibition
game against the Army baseball squad on June 11th,
1934, at Doubleday Field. Babe Ruth, making his last
appearance at West Point, played two innings at first
base. Cadet William Priestly laid one in his groove
and Ruth blasted it to the tennis court fence beyond
right field, estimated to be over 535 feet away!!! That
blast was “one of the longest and highest ever hit here.
It went to deep right center, and although the Babe
only jogged lazily to second on it, the crowd
understood.”19 The New Yorkers prevailed in the
game, 7 to 0, out-hitting the cadets 11 to 7.
“Cadets Give Old College Try,”20 read the
headlines on May 8th, 1962. The May 7th exhibition
game began with the World Champions arriving early
and settling into the old North Gym to view a few
Army Football game films from the previous season.
The baseball game was a close match until the eighth
inning, when the Yankees’ offense exploded, en-route
to an 8 to 4 victory. Retired Major General Bill Boice
was the lead-off hitter for Army, and he recalls his
first at-bat in the game:
The New York Yankees: 21-Game Salute
The New York Yankees scheduled their first
exhibition game with the Army cadets on May 26th,
1927. At noon, the New York players entered the
mess hall and received a tremendous ovation from the
1200 cadets. The cadets were excused from their
duties to attend the exhibition game, which was called
after only two innings of play, due to a heavy thunder
shower. The Yankees were leading by a score of 2-0
when a lightning storm and cloudburst covered the
area. Before the game, Babe Ruth presented Army
players with autographed baseballs. In the first inning,
Ruth stepped to the plate to face Cadet Tim
Timberlake, who struck out the mighty Sultan of Swat.
James Harrison of The New York Times described the
moment:
Bullet Bob Turley could throw a 100-mph
fastball and did so on the first pitch to me. It was high
and outside, I think, because I did not see it – I heard
it. Elston Howard asked me if I saw the pitch, and I
15
Personal correspondence with Lieutenant General (retired)
Jack Mackmull, Class of 1950, September 30, 2003.
16
The Newburgh News, April 18, 1950.
17
Personal correspondence with Lieutenant General (retired)
Jack Mackmull, Class of 1950, September 30, 2003.
18
Ibid.
The New York Times, June 12, 1934.
20
The New York Times, May 8, 1962.
19
4
said, “Nope.” He allowed as how no one in the majors
could see it, either, but he couldn’t get it over for a
strike, so he’d have to slow him down and call for a
curve just to get a strike. Knowing that, I set for the
curve and slashed it into center field, to Mantle, for a
hit. The next time I came to the plate, Elston said,
“Bill, I can’t tell you the pitch anymore…I got chewed
out in the dugout really bad.”21
game today back to New York, I’d still be there at
West Point.”26
From 1927 until 1976, a span of 50 years, twentyone games were scheduled and played; the rains
shortened two games but cancelled none. The Bronx
Bombers emerged victorious in every contest,
although the 1966 game was the closest the Army
Nine came to beating the American Leaguers.
The 1966 exhibition game between the Yankees
and Army was probably the greatest game of the
twenty-one played in this series. On April 29th, 1966,
Army senior pitcher Barry DeBolt pitched seven
strong innings against the American Leaguers,
limiting them to just four singles, outshining his
Yankee counterpart, Jim Bouton.
Unfortunately, the Yankees prevailed, trimming
the cadets by a score of 1 to 0. Singles by Bobby
Richardson and Roy White in the first inning put
runners at first and third, and then Mickey Mantle
came to the plate with one out. Mantle hit a grounder
to Army second baseman Bob Fazen, who started the
double play. “He got White at second, but failed to
get Mantle at first as Richardson scored.”22 In the
bottom of the first, Army tried to even the score.
Army’s leadoff hitter, Gene Atkinson, drilled one to
deep right but Roger Maris made a fine over-the-head
catch. According the The New York Times, “it would
have been a homer in Yankee Stadium.”23
After the first inning, DeBolt retired eight
Yankees in a row. Mantle hit a harmless single in the
fourth, and then the pitcher set down another eleven
Yankees in a row before Clete Boyer singled to left.
DeBolt also struck out eight, including Tom Tresh
and Ray Baker twice each, and even fanned slugger
Roger Maris.
Only twice did the Yankees’ Jim Bouton retire the
Army side in order. Dooley Womack pitched the
seventh for New York, and he needed a game-ending
double play to preserve the win. The Yankee general
manager, Ralph Houk, was very impressed with Barry
DeBolt’s pitching and poise, and he asked what the
commitment of the cadets were after graduation.
When he heard the response (four years), Houk said,
“Too bad. That kid could play at the AAA level right
now.”24
Ralph Houk seemed prepared to offer DeBolt a
contract on the spot. On his way to Vietnam in 1969,
25-year-old Barry DeBolt had a try-out with the
Yankees, but “by that time, some of my skills had
been lost.”25 After the 1966 game, Yankees pitcher
Jim Bouton was asked about his performance. He told
reporters, “If the Yankees took the best pitcher in the
Searching Sites: Little Leagues,
Hall of Famers’ Resting Places
©By M. Frank
{Mike Frank’s quest to visit each Hall of Famer
gravesite resumes with this text of his various reports]
When I noticed Christy Mathewson's grave is
about 20 miles south of Williamsport, Pa., and I had
unfinished business with the 3 Hall of Famers buried
around Scranton (Nestor Chylak, Hugh Jennings,
Bucky Harris), I knew I wanted to go in late August of
2005 – opening weekend of the Little League World
Series.
The fields and the museum are south of
Williamsport. The Museum has safe exhibits, and
emphasizes female players now.
Even though
virtually every game is televised, the seats get filled
early, even in the initial weekend of games.
The cameras don't pick up the players' parents by
accident; they have people with carefully made charts.
When not in a game, players can be found in the
stands or on the grounds. One can't get into the
compound they board at. Also around is Dugout, the
mascot -- I think it's a woman.
On the west side of town, near Bowman Field
(minor league professional) is the "original Little
League field," where the tournament was held for
many years before it outgrew the grounds.
21
Personal correspondence with Major General (retired) Bill
Boice, Class of 1963, October 7, 2003.
22
The Newburgh Evening News, April 30, 1966.
23
Ibid.
24
Personal conversation with Colonel (retired) Morris
Herbert, Class of 1950, July 8, 2003.
25
Personal correspondence with Barry DeBolt, Class of
1966, July 31, 2003.
The House of David baseball team, one of many teams
to play at Bowman Field, poses there in 1932. Photo from
http://timesnewsweekly.com/Archives2004/Oct.Dec.2004/120904/NewFiles/OURNEIGH.html
26
Personal conversation with Jim Bouton, November 3,
2003.
5
Their small museum has more artifacts on
early Little League history; a man stays around there
during August, who played on Carl Stotz's initial 1939
team. Programs for boys baseball sprang up in other
cities around 1939, yet somehow Williamsport's
consumed them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I left the SABR Hot Springs group to go to Little
Rock to find Bill Dickey's grave and the postcard
show. The group went to a college game in
Arkadelphia. Next was Travis Jackson down in
Waldo. Too bad I didn't have time to visit Lon
Warneke earlier, he's just as deserving to be in the
HOF.
Right, someone
else not in the Hall
of Fame, but a name
familiar to New
York baseball fans:
Thurman Munson.
Location: Canton,
Ohio.
Photo
from
Mike
Frank’s
personal collection.
Photo, courtesy of Mike Frank (personal collection)
I found Enos “Country” Slaughter in a small
cemetery, where half the people are Slaughter's, for
my 160th Hall of Famer. North Carolina native Jim
“Catfish” Hunter has a large monument that shows his
baseball career, and a small flat one with his dates.
Below, Catfish Hunter photo from Mike Frank’s
collection.
Dexter Park Memories
©By Everett Parker
My memories of Dexter Park in the mid-1930s
involved the dreaded and hated Bushwicks, a semi-pro
team who called Dexter its home from 1918 to 1951,
when baseball on television kept people home and
forced the ballpark to close for lack of fans, the same
phenornenon that closed minor league parks and semipro parks all over this land.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Going deeper South, in Jacksonville, FL, home of
the Dodgers Double A team, I spoke to owner Peter
Bragan, youngest of 5 brothers in baseball. (Yes,
Bobby is still alive).
The stadium, between the NFL Jaguars' Alltel
Stadium and an indoor sports arena, has been spruced
up since my last visit there. There's a people mover
light rail from downtown to the museums, and it
seems logical this should be extended to the stadium
area. Then I went on to Bill Terry's grave, on the
north side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dexter Park in Woodhaven, the home of the Bushwicks
baseball team, as photographed in the the early 1930s. The
ballpark had a seating capacity of 15,400.
Note the light towers for night games, which provided
the first focused lighting system for baseball. Photo courtesy
of Jane and Doug Jacobs from their book Dexter Park
(Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Soc., Inc.)
6
That puzzled a 6-year-old, with one major league
game under his belt, but I didn’t question Dad. The
Bushwicks played with dull and deadly precision but
the Homestead Grays did not. They played with flair
and with laughter. They played as if they truly loved
this boy’s game. When the doubleheader was over, the
mighty Bushwicks had been beaten badly in both
games, to our wonderment and joy. In the trolley car
ride home over Old Stony Road, I was filled with
questions, and it was there on that rumbling trolley
when I asked them.
I asked Dad if these Negro league players were
good enough to play in the big leagues? His answer
was, “Many of them are.” My next question of course
\as. “Why aren’t they in the big leagues then?” There
was sadness in his eyes when he responded and a
lesson about life in America, a lesson not taught in the
schools of that time. I knew I had seen exactly what he
saw that day.
The Grays’ great catcher “Josh” Gibson belting
two homeruns high up on a hill beyond the distant left
field fence. Then there was “Satchel” Paige, the great
pitcher who toyed with and shut out Rosner’s
champions. Dad tried to explain the color line without
ever using the word discrimination, which I would not
have understood anyway. “These fellows are not
allowed into the major leagues because they are not
white.” He quickly added, “That’s not right, but that’s
the way it is.”
A poor white kid of 6, from a poor white family
like almost every other family in America in those
dark days of the Great Depression. asked no more
questions that day. It seems, “That’s the way it is,”
was a fact of life. Dad knew it was wrong, baseball
knew it was wrong, America knew it was wrong —
even a 6- year-old kid knew — yet it went on.
My dad never lived to see the color line broken, I
lost my best pal too young. I wished he had seen that
line broken. My dad and all those Negro league
players who lived and died with only a dream. All
those smiling faces and talented men who lived in a
time when ability took a back seat on a bus.
Before I ever saw a big league game, my dad
would take his youngest of four baseball-loving sons
to Dexter Park. The site had been a hotel and picnic
grounds, in the 1870s, and before the turn of the
century, a ballpark had been added to the site. It was
just inside the Queens County line on what had once
been called Jamaica Plank Road.
Across the street was the Borough of Kings,
Brooklyn, where miles away the Brooklyn Trolley
Dodgers played their games. I must have been all of 5
years o1d when Dad began taking me to dear old
Dexter Park, and that old green wooden edifice. Dad
pointed out the optician’s wall billboard in left field.
The advertisement read, “Don’t kill the umpire—
maybe it’s your eyes.” He also explained the high
mound reaching the right-field fence.
Dexter, a champion racehorse of the 19th century,
was buried there beneath the grass. In fact, fans called
the mound Horse Heaven. It was the only ballpark I’ve
ever heard of that was named after a horse.
At Dexter Park every Sunday you got two games
for the price of one. Visiting teams, no match for the
mighty Bushwicks, came and went, all badly outmatched.
Babe Ruth of the Bay Parkways with Max Rosner and Dazzy
Vance of the Bushwicks, photo courtesy Brooklyn BallParks
http://www.covehurst.net/ddyte/brooklyn/bushwicks.html
Max Rosner, the club owner, would be seated in a
box seat behind his team’s dugout. He’d be
surrounded by his pals all rooting for their Bushwicks.
My dad and I, deep in the grandstand, the cheaper
seats, with all the other poor tenants, sat on the
Visitors side of the field, rooting for the underdog
visitors in vain.
There came a Sunday late in 1936 when my
education really began. Max Rosner risked the aura of
Bushwick invincibility. He wanted a full house and he
got it. He booked a team from the Negro National
League for a doubleheader. Into the Bushwick’s lair
they came, and long before the sun had set that day,
everyone knew Old Max had booked the wrong team.
My dad and I had left early that morning and
headed for the ballpark. “We’ll make sure we get
seats,” he said. Every seat was gobbled up that day;
Dad was right. He also said, “Today, you’re going to
watch the Homestead Grays, and you’ll see a brand of
baseball you’ve never seen before.”
Above, Josh Gibson, from
http://baseballguru.com/jholway/gibson.jpg
7
game, paid by the visiting team while the home team
absorbed all other expenses.
Co-author
Scott
Flatow has granted
permission for the
following excerpt to
be reprinted here,
from Great Baseball
Feats, Facts & Firsts
(2006) published by
Signet.
Left,
“Honest John
Gaffney”
from the
Benjamin K.
Edwards
Collection,
Library of
Congress,
Prints and
Photographs
Division,
[LCbbc1316305-307]
Invisible
Men:
Umpires
©By David Nemec and Scott Flatow
Don Denkinger achieved a unique distinction
in 1985—he became the first umpire ever to be the
most memorable performer in a World Series. Years
from now, long after it has grown misty whose pinch
single finally won Game Six, his controversial safe
call on Jorge Orta’s seeming ground-out will still seem
vivid. But whether Denkinger himself will become a
major figure in the umpires’ pantheon remains to be
determined. If he does, he’ll have a lot of company.
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/bbc/0300/0370/0379ft.gif
First League to Put Its Umpires
on a Regular Salary
The First Famous Umpire
In 1883 the American Association paid its umpires
$140 a month and $3 per diem for travel expenses.
Accordingly the AA had a better overall caliber of
umpiring than the National League in the early
eighties.
The AA’s most highly esteemed umpire was
probably Ben Young, who pioneered in forming a
code of ethics for umpires before he was killed in a
railway accident en route to an assigned game. Before
his deal Young was also instrumental in getting the
AA to provide training for its umpires, issue them blue
coats and caps, and experiment with a double umpire
system.
The NL regarded two umpires as a needless
extravagance and preferred to put each game in charge
of just one man like Gaffney or Bob Ferguson, a
former NL player and manager, whose philosophy
after becoming an umpire was “Never change a
decision, never stop to talk to a player—make ‘em
play ball and keep their mouths shut and never fear but
the people will be on your side and you’ll be called the
king of umpires.”
As late as 1908, in fact, both the National and the
American League had a staff of only six umpires, one
of whom served as alternate, meaning that three
umpires each day worked a game entirely alone.
In the early days umpires were required to be
consummate gentlemen, and the man appointed to
umpire a game was generally deemed to be both the
most honorable and the most knowledgeable club
member. But when baseball became a business and
players were no longer necessarily of the gentleman
class, a new breed of umpire appeared.
The first such man was probably Bill McLean, an
ex-prizefighter. Officiating in the National Association
in the early 1870s, McLean earned the nickname
“King of Umpires” because of the vigorous manner in
which he took charge of games. McLean later umpired
in the National League through the 1884 season.
Living in Providence, he customarily walked from his
home to work an afternoon game in Boston, rising at
4:00 A.M.
First to Make Umpiring
a Full-Time Profession
Nobody knows for sure, but a good guess would
be “Honest John Gaffney,” who joined the National
League in 1884 and introduced the style of working
behind the catcher with no runners on base.
By 1888 Gaffney was paid $2500 plus expenses
for a season’s work, more than most players received.
Only a few years earlier umpires had earned just $5 a
8
Batting Average to reflect the fact that he is no longer
being penalized for having played in Yankee Stadium
as his home park. Yankee Stadium is considered a
“pitcher’s park”. His home park OBP, SA and OPS
will also be increased proportionately.31
Other key “home park” offensive batting statistics
will also be increased or decreased by 5% and a set of
“revised and reweighted” lifetime Total BA, OBP, SA
and OPS Statistics will be computed for both Gehrig
and Williams to reflect the home park adjustments.
The results will be compared in the following set of
tables. (See TABLES 2-7).
The Iron Horse and The Kid
©Paul Tarr
continued from page 2
with run scoring than Batting Average, On-Base
Percentage, or Slugging Average alone.”27
Batting Average (BA) is the measurement of the
rate at which a hitter generates hits for each at bat.
However, “Batting Average needs companion
statistics to better describe a player’s contribution to
his team.”28
On-Base Percentage (OBP) measures the rate a
player reached base via hit, walk or hit by pitch;
“among traditional offensive statistics it’s the most
important… The higher a player’s OBP the less often
he’s cost his team an out at the plate and the more he’s
prolonged innings and created more runs, which leads
to more wins”.29
“Slugging Average (SA) measures a player’s
power.”30 It measures the rate a player creates singles,
doubles, triples and home runs weighted by bases each
type of hit attains (i.e., 1 for singles, 2 for doubles, 3
for triples and 4 for home runs.
LIFETIME STATISTICS
In TABLE 2 Williams’s and Gehrig’s total
Lifetime statistics are compared for four key rate
metrics:
•
Batting Average
•
On-Base Percentage
•
Slugging Average
•
On-Base Percentage + Slugging Average
They are compared both on an unadjusted and
adjusted basis. The differences are startling.
On an unadjusted basis all four of the rate
statistics are higher for Williams than Gehrig. The
differences range from 2 points to 36 points. Based on
these rate statistics Williams’ record is clearly
stronger.
However, after the 5% adjustments are made,
which provide a “normal” home park advantage the
relationships significantly change. Gehrig’s Batting
Average, Slugging Average and On-Base Percentage
+ Slugging Average exceed the comparable rates for
Williams by a range of 15 points to 28 points.
Williams’s 13-point lead in On-Base Percentage,
which primarily reflects his ability to draw more bases
on balls than Gehrig, is not sufficient to compensate
for Gehrig’s leads in the other rate statistics. On an
adjusted basis Gehrig has the stronger rate statistics.
The Adjustment Procedure
I will be creating a series of adjusted “Home”
statistics, which will assume that the basic
relationships described by Thorn and Palmer are what
would normally be expected.
First, Lou Gehrig’s and Ted Williams’ “Home”
statistics will be adjusted to reflect the “Road”
statistics increased by 5%. In other words, if Ted
Williams had a lifetime Batting Average on the
“Road” of .328, it will be adjusted to .344 (.328 x
1.05).
The .344 will be substituted for the .361 he
actually attained. This substitution will lower his
overall lifetime Batting Average to reflect the fact that
he is no longer obtaining the advantage of having
Fenway Park as his “home park”. Fenway is
considered a “hitter’s park”, and helped boost his
Batting Average disproportionately. His home park
OBP, SA and OPS will also be reduced for the same
reason.
By contrast, Lou Gehrig’s lifetime Batting
Average on the “Road” was .351. This will be
adjusted to .369 (.351 x 1.05). The .369 will be
substituted for the .329 he actually attained at
“Home”. This substitution will increase his overall
31
100 is considered an average “park factor”. If
a simple average of the Yankee Stadium “park
factors”, computed in the 2005 ESPN Baseball
Encyclopedia for the 1923-1939 periods
(Gehrig’s home park during these years), and the
same simple average of the Fenway “park
factors” in the 1939-1960 periods (Williams’
home park during these years), the averages
would be as follows:
• Yankee Stadium – 97
• Fenway Park - 107
This would mean that, on average, 3% less runs
were scored in Yankee Stadium and 7% more
runs were scored in Fenway Park than the
average ballpark in the American League during
these years.
27
“Baseball Between the Numbers: What’s the
Matter with RBI…and Other Traditional
Statistics” Edited by Jonah Keri, (Basic Books,
New York, N.Y., 2005), 421.
28
Keri, Jonah ibid.., 5
29
Keri, Jonah ibid.., 5.
30
Keri, Jonah ibid.., 5.
9
Unadj.
Player
Gehrig32
Williams33
BA
.340
.344
Pt. Diff.
G-W
-4
TABLE 2: GEHRIG VS. WILLIAMS – LIFETIME
Unadj.
Unadj. Unadj
Adj.
OBP
Home
+
Park Adj. +5%
OBP
SA
S.A.
Above Road.
BA
.447
.632
1.080
Yankee Stadium
.359
.483
.634
1.116
Fenway Park
.336
-36
-2
-36
TOTAL
Adj.
+23
Adj.
OBP
.467
.480
SA
.659
.631
-13
+28
Adj.
OBP
+
SA
1.126
1.111
+15
In TABLE 3 it becomes clear why the changes were so strong in Gehrig’s favor.
Gehrig’s rate statistics on the “Road” are 20 or more points higher than Williams’ for Batting Average, Slugging
Average and On-Base Percentage + Slugging Average. Williams’s 10-point lead in On-Base Percentage cannot
compensate for the large differences favoring Gehrig for the other rate statistics. It is this road advantage that benefits
Gehrig on an adjusted basis.
TABLE 3: GEHRIG VS. WILLIAMS – LIFETIME ROAD
Unadj.
Unadj. Unadj.
Unadj.
Adj.
Adj. Adj. Adj.
OBP
Home
OB
+
Park Adj.
P
Player
BA
OBP
SA
SA
+5%
BA
OB
SA
+
Above
P
SA
Road.
Gehrig34
.351
.458
.644
1.102
No Adj.
Williams35
.328
.468
.615
1.082
No Adj.
Pt. Diff.
+23
-10
+29
+20
In TABLE 4 the benefits of playing in Fenway Park as a home park as compared to playing in Yankee Stadium as a
home park become obvious. On an unadjusted basis Williams led Gehrig by over 30 points in each of the four rate
statistics. This is a huge margin. When the 5%+ adjusted “Road” rate statistics are substituted (to provide a normal
home park advantage) for both players, Gehrig’s disadvantage in Batting Average, Slugging Average and On-Base
Percentage+ Slugging Average is reversed and becomes a lead of 20 points or more for each statistic. Again
Williams’s 10-point lead in On-Base Percentage cannot compensate for Gehrig’s advantage in the other rate statistics.
Unadj.
Player
Gehrig36
Williams37
BA
.329
.361
Pt. Diff.
G-W
-32
TABLE 4: GEHRIG VS. WILLIAMS – LIFETIME
Unadj. Unadj.
Unadj.
Adj.
OBP
Home
+
Park Adj. +5%
OBP
SA
SA
Above Road.
BA
.436
.620
1.056
Yankee Stadium .369
.497
.652
1.150
Fenway Park
.344
-61
-32
-94
+25
32
Palmer, Pete and Gillette, Gary op. cit., 242.
Palmer, Pete and Gillette, Gary ibid., 23
34
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete, op. cit., 2203
35
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete, ibid., 2213
36
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 2203
37
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 2212
33
10
HOME
Adj.
Adj.
OBP
.481
.491
SA
.676
.646
Adj.
OBP
+
SA
1.157
1.137
-10
+30
+20
SINGLE-SEASON STATISTICS
Williams’ best season is generally considered to be 1941. His Batting Average was .406, which was the last time a
batter exceeded .400. He also had his peak On-Base Percentage and Slugging Average in 1941.
Gehrig’s 1927 season is generally conceded to be his best. His Slugging Average and On-Base Percentage +
Slugging Average peaked in 1927. In addition, his Batting Average was his third highest and his On-Base Percentage
was his 2nd highest. Two key counting statistics (11738 extra-base hits and 44739 total bases) were the highest he
attained and clinched the number one position for 1927.
Despite Gehrig’s strength in the four key rate statistics, Williams’ lead in three of the four exceeded 30 points. (See
TABLE 5). Gehrig’s 30-point lead in Slugging Average is not enough to overcome Williams’s advantages.
However, after the 5%+ “Road” adjustment Gehrig led in three of the four rate statistics. His adjusted Slugging
Average and On-Base Percentage + Slugging Average leads exceeded 60 points. He supported this advantage with a
16-point higher Batting
Average than Williams’s. Again, Williams’s superior ability to draw bases on balls was his only advantage on an
adjusted basis.
TABLE 5 TOTAL
Unadj.
Player
BA
Unadj.
OBP
GEHRIG – 1927 VS. WILLIAMS – 1941
Unadj.
Unadj.
OBP
+
SA
SA
Gehrig40
Williams41
.373
.406
.474
.553
.765
.735
1.239
1.288
Pt. Diff.
G-W
-33
-79
+30
-49
Home
Park Adj. +5%
Above Road.
Adj.
Adj.
Adj.
BA
OBP
SA
Yankee Stadium
Fenway Park
Adj.
OBP
+
SA
.406
.390
.501
.539
.824
.719
1.325
1.258
+16
-38
+105
+67
It was Gehrig’s “Road” record, which again best reflected his batting superiority over Williams. (See TABLE 6). He
led Williams in three of the four key rate statistics. He led Williams by over 70 points in Slugging Average and OnBase Percentage+ Slugging Average. Gehrig supplemented this large advantage with a 17-point lead in Batting
Average. Williams’s 33-point advantage in On-Base Percentage again reflected his superior ability to draw bases-onballs.
TABLE 6 ROAD
Unadj.
Player
Gehrig42
Williams43
Pt. Diff.
G-W
Unadj.
Unadj.
BA
.397
.380
OBP
.492
.525
SA
.805
.700
+17
-33
+105
GEHRIG–1927 VS.WILLIAMS–1941
Unadj.
OBP
+
SA
1.296
1.225
Home
Park Adj. +5%
Above Road.
No Adj.
No Adj.
Adj.
Adj.
Adj.
BA
OBP
SA
Adj.
OB.
+
SA
+71
Williams’s dominance in the four key rate statistics at ”Home” in Fenway Park again provided his overall advantage
over Gehrig. (See TABLE 7). He led Gehrig in all four key rate statistics by margins that ranged from 43 points to 162
points. These are overwhelming leads in each statistic. However, on an adjusted basis, to provide a “normal” home
park advantage, the batting leads in the key rate statistics were generally reversed. On an adjusted basis Gehrig’s
advantages were substantial.
38
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete Ibid., 1126
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 795
40
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 1126
41
Palmer, Pete and Gillette, Gary op. cit., 723.
42
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete op. cit., 2203
43
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 2213
39
11
TABLE 7 HOME
Unadj.
Player
BA
Unadj.
OBP
Unadj
GEHRIG – 1927 VS. WILLIAMS – 1941
Unadj
OBP +
SA
SA
Gehrig44
Williams45
.347
.428
.455
.574
.722
.765
1.177
1.339
Pt. Diff.
G-W
-81
-119
-43
-162
Home
Park Adj. +5%
Above Road.
Yankee Stadium
Fenway Park
Adj.
Adj.
Adj.
BA
OBP
SA
Adj.
OBP
+
SA
.415
.399
.517
.551
.845
.735
1.362
1.286
+16
-34
+110
+76
He led Williams by over 70 points in Slugging Average and On-Base Percentage+Slugging Average. This was
supplemented by a 16-point lead in Batting Average. Williams continued his dominance in drawing bases on balls, his
only major advantage.
Conclusion: With a “normal” home park advantage, Gehrig’s 1927 season reflected generally superior key rate
batting statistics as compared to Williams’s 1941 Season adjusted levels.
The “lifetime” and “best season” adjusted comparisons
showed comparable results. In both instances Gehrig’s
adjusted key rate statistics were generally superior to
Williams’s. The only exception was Williams’s ability to
draw bases on balls.
Williams’s superior performance at “Home” primarily
provided him with his unadjusted advantages in the four key
rate statistics. This home park advantage was consistently a
function of his playing at Fenway Park while Gehrig’s home
park, Yankee Stadium, was a detriment to his performance.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/vc006274.jpg
Below, Lou Gehrig in a less well-known pose,
on the cover of the music sheet for a song co-written
by his wife, published in 1935. From
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri045.html
44
45
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 2203
Thorn, John and Palmer, Pete ibid., 2212
12