When Gehrig Lost a Legitimate Home Run
PLUS: A BASEBALL SALUTE TO FATHER'S DAY
Pregame Pepper
When the Boston Red Sox come to San Francisco to play the Giants next weekend, look for an on-air battle between brother announcers Dave Fleming (Giants) and Will Fleming (Red Sox) . . .
Unsung youngster Jacob Wilson of The Athletics won’t beat out Bobby Witt, Jr. to be starting shortstop for the American League All-Stars but he certainly merits a backup berth . . .
Kansas City rookie Noah Cameron did not allow more than one earned run in any of his first five starts . . .
The Royals are drooling over outsized first baseman Jac Caglianone, who is conjuring up images of Steve Balboni . . .
Hard to believe the Atlanta Braves had two seven-game losing streaks with the season not even at the halfway mark . . .
Former World Series hero Ian Anderson forgot how to throw strikes, sabotaging his bid to return to the Braves from Triple-A.
Leading Off
Lou Gehrig’s lost homer at Griffith Stadium in 1931
By Andrew Sharp
On April 26, 1931, Lou Gehrig hit a ball into the center field bleachers in the top of the first inning at Washington’s Griffith Stadium for what should have been a long home run, off the Nats’ Fred “Firpo” Marberry.
Hit so hard, the ball caromed back to Senators’ center-fielder Harry Rice (Hall of Famer “Sam” Rice was in right), who caught it on the fly.
With two outs in the top of the first, Yankees shortstop Lyn Lary was running hard as the ball was hit. He was headed to third when he saw the ball being caught, and immediately began jogging back to New York’s dugout, thinking the inning was over.
For some reason, manager Joe McCarthy, coaching at third base, made no attempt to stop him. Gehrig, not noticing what Lary was doing, continued to jog around the bases.
As he reached home plate, Gehrig was called out for passing Lary by umpire Bill McGowan. Absent such details from newspaper accounts of the day, I can only guess 95 years later what the umpires were thinking.
Presumably, one or all three of them saw the ball clear the fence and assumed most of the players knew it was a home run. Nobody on the bench must have bothered to holler to Lary. It's not clear why Lary was not called out for leaving the basepaths, which itself would have been the third out and left Gehrig credited with a single or double. Perhaps McGowen acted quickly to settle the matter before arguments got too heated, which they did not.
In any case, the lost homer had an impact on the game result: Washington won, 9-7, the Yankees missing the two runs that should have scored on the Gehrig homer.
Far more significant in retrospect, however, was that Gehrig ended the season tied with Babe Ruth for the home-run title, instead of winning it outright.
Just as significant, had he not lost those two RBIs, his career-high total in 1931 of 185 –- an American League record that still stands –- would have been an even more jaw-dropping 187.
Under a rules change that took effect in 1931, Gehrig later in the game was charged with a time at-bat for a run-scoring fly ball that would have been a sacrifice fly in previous seasons and as it would be today. He got credit for an RBI, but that rule cost Gehrig several points on his batting average for the rest of his career, as it did all batters who hit run-scoring flies from 1931-38 -- and again from 1940-53.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired journalist and a SABR member who has written several dozen CBiography and Games project stories. He lives in Central New Jersey but grew up in the D.C. area and blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Baseball Fathers Gave The Game Great Sons
By Dan Schlossberg
Happy Father’s Day tomorrow!
Baseball history includes more than 250 father-and-son tandems but only one — executives Lee and Larry MacPhail — who both reached Cooperstown.
That could change, however, if Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. continues batting down the fences. The burly first baseman of the Toronto Blue Jays, just signed to a 14-year, $500 million extension that starts next season, is still just 26, giving him plenty of time to establish his Hall of Fame credentials.
Of all the fathers and sons who wore big-league uniforms, the Bobby and Barry Bonds might have been the best. The only paternal tandem to post 30/30 seasons, Barry tied Bobby’s record when he did it for the fifth time in 1997.
They were on the same team at the same time four years earlier after the San Francisco Giants signed Barry as a free agent and Bobby as a batting coach. How much Dad helped is debatable, since Barry brought three National League MVP trophies with him from Pittsburgh and won four more in windy San Francisco, giving him a record seven.
He also wound up with records — allegedly tainted by steroids — for home runs in a season (73) and career (762).
The Griffeys were another notable pair. In fact, they were the only fathers and sons who produced back-to-back home runs in the same game (Sept. 14, 1990) plus the only such tandem with separate All-Star Game MVP trophies, 12 years apart (1980 and 1992).
Speaking of All-Stars, six members of the 1997 squads were sons of famous fathers: Roberto and Sandy Alomar (Sandy, Sr.), Moises Alou (Felipe), Todd Hundley (Randy), Barry Bonds (Bobby), and Ken Griffey, Jr. (Ken).
The Raines family copied the Griffeys in playing for the same team at the same time. It happened near the end of the 2001 season when Tim Jr. played in the same outfield as his like-named father for the Baltimore Orioles.
Speaking of the O’s, Cal Ripken, Sr. remains the only manager in baseball history to manage two sons (Billy and Cal, Jr.) at the same time. But the dad never played in the majors.
The father of Ronald Acuna, Jr. and brother Luisangel, a rookie with the Mets this year, once played minor-league ball but never surfaced in the big leagues.
Another active player with MVP aspirations, Bobby Witt, Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, had a dad who carved a niche in the record book: In 1997, he became the first American League pitcher to hit a home run in an interleague game since the adoption of the designated hitter.
One father-and-son pitching tandem actually reached triple digits in major-league victories. Both Mel and Todd Stottlemyre were accomplished pitchers, with the former also enjoying a long career as pitching coach. Not to be overlooked, Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. made a brief stop in the majors (0-1 for the Royals) before becoming a coach himself.
The coaching ranks also includes several famous fathers and sons, starting with current Yankees manager Aaron Boone. The Boones became baseball’s first three-generation family when Bret, son of Bob and grandson of Ray, made his big-league bow in 1992.
Three years later, the family bell rang for the Bells when David, son of Buddy and grandson of Gus, reached the majors. Buddy and David eventually became managers.
Buddy ran the Tigers, Rockies, and Royals before David got his shot with the Reds.
The late, great Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, had his son Earle at his side — as a utility player and even fill-in manager when Connie was ailing. Connie, like Aaron Boone and David Bell, started his career as a major-league player.
Several father-and-son pairs not only shared bloodlines but uniform numbers.
For the Boones, that was No. 8, worn by Ray from 1948-60, Bob from 1972-90, and Aaron as his playing career wound down. Bob was the best of the bunch, reaching the All-Star Game four times and collecting seven Gold Gloves as a catcher during his 19-year career.
Bobby and Barry both wore No. 25 for the Giants, though not at the same time, while the Griffeys shared No. 30, Junior with the Reds and Senior with Seattle — after wearing it for 12 years during separate stints in Cincinnati.
That tradition continues today.
When blue-chip prospect Jackson Holliday reached the Orioles, he took No. 7 as a tribute to father Matt.
A father himself, HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 43 books, including two Hank Aaron biographies and collaborations with Ron Blomberg, Al Clark, and Milo Hamilton. Now promoting The New Baseball Bible, he’s looking forward to appearances at the Ocean County Book Fair June 21, the Atlanta History Center July 13, and Willis Monie Books in Cooperstown July 26. Email him at ballauthor@gmail.com.
Extra Innings: These Brothers Were Quite a Pair — or More
Baseball celebrated Mother’s Day with pink bats, gloves, and chest protectors, just as it will mark Father’s Day with a preponderence of blue add-ons. But shouldn’t there be a Brothers Day too — or at least a Family Day?
Brothers are as different as night and day, with one usually better than the other . . .
One exception was the Waners, lefty-hitting outfielders in the majors from 1927-1945. When they hit consecutive home runs in 1938, they became the first fraternal tandem to do that . . .
Consistent .300 hitters, Paul and Lloyd Waner also earned separate plaques in the Hall of Fame — another first for brothers . . .
Brooklyn fans nicknamed them “Big Poison” and “Little Poison,” but they meant “Big Person” and “Little Person” because of their difference in size . . .
Hank and Tommie Aaron hit the most home runs by brothers (755 and 13, respectively), but Ozzie Canseco never contributed a home run to the slugging legacy inspired by brother Jose . . .
The three Alou brothers (Felipe, Matty, and Jesus) once played in the same outfield for the Giants but the three DiMaggios (Joe, Dom, and Vince) never played together . . .
Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty had four brothers in the majors while Steve O’Neill had three . . .
Tony and Billy Conigliaro, both outfielders, were Red Sox teammates briefly but not as long as Billy and Cal Ripken, Jr. formed a double-play combination in Baltimore . . .
Phil and Joe Niekro combined for 539 wins, most by any brother tandem, but spent most of their careers on different teams . . .
The Niekros nosed out Gaylord and Jim Perry, who gave the 1974 Indians 38 wins, faced each other in the same All-Star Game, and were the only brother tandem with Cy Young trophies . . .
Dizzy and Paul Dean gave the Cardinals 49 wins, plus two apiece in the 1934 World Series, for a pitching record that seems out of reach . . .
Later Cardinal pitchers Andy and Alan Benes later became the first brothers to pitch for the same team in a postseason game . . .
While the Aarons outhomered all brother tandems — including several trios — the Alous played the most games, the Waners had the most hits, and the DiMaggios had the most runs batted in . . .
A couple of brother batteries need mentioning too: Mort and Walker Cooper and Wes and Rick Ferrell . . .
The first brothers to be teammates on an All-Star team were Joe and Dom DiMaggio in 1941, while Carlos and Lee May were the first to play on opposite sides, in 1969 . . .
Robby and Sandy Alomar, Jr. were All-Star rivals in 1990 but teammates a year later . . .
In the major leagues today, brother rivals include former MVP Ronald Acuna, Jr. (Braves) and rookie infielder Luisangel Acuna (Mets).
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Forbes, Memories & Dreams, and many other outlets. The author of 43 baseball books may be reached via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.