THE BASEBALL HISTORY COMES ALIVE BLOG

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June 2, 2021

New Blog Topic: RANDOM MUSINGS OF A LIFE-LONG GIANTS FAN

Today, lifelong Giants fan Bill Schaefer shares with us some random thoughts and humorous stories he’s picked up over the years from observing at close hand the great game we all love. I think you’ll enjoy reading what Bill has to say. -GL

BASEBALL UNPLUGGED

Here we go again, nudging the floodgates open just a tad to allow a modest stream of intriguing baseball humor, history, and wisdom – from our vast archives.

Paraphrasing 1950s TV news anchor and later Timex pitchman, John Cameron Swayze, we’ll hopscotch the decades for anecdotes to rivet your attention. One or two on a personal note, others researched with meticulous care.

MY FIRST GAME

Many things are remembered vividly from the age of six, but there are gaps. This is what sticks with me from that long-ago day, like it was yesterday. From Westfield, New Jersey my dad and I took the 222 bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan (41^st and 8^th). After a short subway ride to 59^th at

Columbus Circle, we hopped on the express “D” train. It seemed to roar at breakneck speed immediately, with a rushing, hypnotic clackety-clack din as the stations flew by in a blur–20 minutes, two stops, and then…155^th St. and 8^th Avenue. Coogan’s Bluff-the Polo Grounds!

The first sight of the famous ballpark was breathtaking; the infield dirt seemed flawless; lush, green grass way out into the open spaces of the huge outfield. And double decks extending around the bullpens at the curve of the horseshoe stadium in left and right center, meeting the two bleacher sections in center field divided by a recessed clubhouse—505 feet from home plate at that time, in 1944.

It was a June 11^th Sunday doubleheader with the Phillies. I was enthralled with the whole thing but remember only one specific event, occurring in the first game. We were halfway back in the lower deck equidistant between home plate and third base. A left-handed batter was up for the Giants around the fifth inning (Johnny Rucker maybe). He hit a drive on one hop to the Phils’ right fielder. The cheering crowd was on its feet, including my dad.  But in my child’s mind, if the ball didn’t go over the fence it wasn’t so great. I said, “Aw, that’s no good.” My father snapped, “It’s a hit you damn fool, it’s a hit!” I shut up. The Giants won both games. On the way home I asked if they ever played a triple header.  My baseball mentor knew he had a burgeoning fanatic on his hands.

OH, THOSE EARLY DAYS

Before the turn of the 20^th century, only one umpire would work a regular major league baseball game. This allowed baserunners to take extraordinary liberties when they knew the man in blue was looking elsewhere. “Run with one eye on the ball and the other on the umpire.” For example, if the ump were occupied with action at second base, a baserunner coming around third would cut 15 feet off his path and not bother touching the base at all.

In Cincinnati, circa 1898, National League Hall-of-Fame first baseman, Jake Beckley took outrageous advantage and came around to score without a play being made on him. Umpire Tim Hurst, whose attention had been diverted, nonetheless called Beckley out at the plate. “You got here too quick,” Hurst told the first sacker.

TY COBB

With his .366 lifetime batting average, 12 batting titles, and dominant base stealing exploits, the Georgia Peach is still considered by many the greatest player of all time. But It was widely agreed Ty Cobb had a severe persecution complex, which made him a horrifying figure both on and off the field. Even Cobb himself, in later years characterized his youthful self as “a snarling wildcat.” Teammate Davey Jones said, “He had such a rotten disposition that it was almost impossible to be his friend.”

In his autobiography, Ty acknowledged that during the 1909 season he decided to scare off Boston pitcher Cy Morgan, who Cobb insisted had been throwing at his head. Positioned at second base, Tyrus Raymond got his chance when Morgan uncorked a wild pitch. Cobb was determined to race all the way home, anticipating a violent collision with his nemesis, as the pitcher covered the plate. Cobb had barely rounded third when Morgan was ready at home plate, waiting with the ball. “As I came down the line and went whipping at him with my steel showing,” Cobb wrote, “Morgan…turned and actually ran away from the plate. I scored, and Morgan was released by Boston that night.”

THE WINNING STREAK CONTINUES…WITH A TWIST

It was a glorious, euphoric time for Giants fans as Sunday, August 26, 1951, blossomed into a perfect late summer day. The team had won 12 straight games and my dad and I couldn’t wait to get to the Polo Grounds and watch the twin bill with the Cubs, as our beloveds would surely extend to 14 in a row. Sal Maglie had great stuff in that first game, fanning eight little bears over eight innings with the Giants breezing 4-1.

Meanwhile, over at Ebbets Field, “dem bums” were blasting the Pirates 9-3 in the top of the seventh, in their first of two. Then fans with radios started cheering in scattered pockets throughout the stands. Suddenly a huge “8” went up on the scoreboard for the Bucs. They would go on to beat Brooklyn 12-11. It just didn’t get any better!

But a funny thing happened in the Chicago ninth inning. Maglie had thrown a ton of pitches and was tired. With two on and one out the Cubs sent in a very tall, angular left-handed pinch hitter. He was thin with a face carved out of granite. The game was wrapped up—but suddenly it wasn’t. This huge character, a cross between Ichabod Crane and James Arness, swatted a long drive deep into the lower deck in right field to tie the game. How dare he do that! And the blow knocked Sal out of the game, relieved by Sheldon “Available” Jones. The Giants prevailed 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. But who was this towering batter who knocked our best pitcher out of the game?

He was one of only 13 athletes to play both professional basketball (Boston Celtics, ’47) and major league baseball (Dodgers,’50; Cubs ’51). He pursued a freelance acting career on TV and in 1958 was the star of The Rifleman, which was enormously popular and ran for five years. Got it? Yup, it was Chuck Connors. How about that?

A COGENT QUOTE

 It’s a wild time in baseball, where pitchers are so profoundly dominant, throwing fastballs that make the radar gun wince at 102 mph. And pitches that whoosh through the hitting zone, while diving a half foot at the knees.

Cincinnati slugger Ted Kluszewski, years ago, offered this analogy concerning the difficulty of connecting with a major league pitched ball that seems particularly appropriate today:

“How hard is hitting?” asked Big Klu, rhetorically. “You ever walk into a pitch-black room full of furniture that you’ve never seen before and try to walk through it without bumping into anything? Well, it’s harder than that.”

That’s all for now, folks. But stay tuned, we’re just getting started!

Bill Schaefer 

 

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