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“Tinker to Evers to Chance,”
…But What About Harry Steinfeldt??
Yesterday was the one-hundred-eleventh anniversary of the day (February 14, 1914) when the Cubs traded their great second baseman, Johnny Evers, to the Boston Braves. With Johnny playing a pivotal role at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career, the “Miracle Braves” upset the heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics and won the 1914 World Series.
“Tinker to Evers to Chance – to Steinfeldt?”
Of course, whenever the topic of the Cubs from the early years of the twentieth century arises, the famous poem by Franklin Pierce Adams, Baseball’s Sad Lexicon, immediately comes to mind. The poem immortalized the Cubs’ Hall of Fame infield trio with the line: “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” [complete poem at bottom of essay].
Whenever I think about that fabled Cubs’ infield, I also wonder about third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, who became, in my opinion, baseball’s version of “odd man out”: the only member of the Cubs’ infield left out of the famous poem. Harry was a fine ball player in his own right, but he’s been largely forgotten over time. Was he upset that history overlooked him while immortalizing his infield teammates? Was it because his name didn’t fit neatly into Mr. Adams’ poem? “Tinker to Evers to Chance – to Steinfeldt??” Somehow that doesn’t have quite the same poetic ring to it!
Let’s Give Harry Steinfeldt His Due!
On October 24, 1905, the Reds traded Steinfeldt to the Cubs. His addition, along with star Jimmy Sheckard, made the Cubs “the greatest baseball machine in the country,” as one sportswriter at the time put it. He was the third baseman on the Cubs’ three consecutive pennant winners of 1906, ’07, and ’08, and again in 1910, including the World Series championships of ’07 and ’08.
Steinfeldt’s best season was his first with the Cubs, 1906, as he led the National League in hits (176), tied for most RBIs (83), and was second in batting average (.327). He also led all National League third basemen in fielding percentage (.954) in 1906, and did so again in three of his five seasons with the Cubs, earning a reputation as the best defensive third baseman of his era. Steinfeldt also had a stellar performance in the 1907 World Series, batting .471, leading the Cubs to a sweep over the Tigers in the Fall Classic.
Why Has Harry Been Slighted?
Harry Steinfeldt played 14 seasons in the major leagues (1899-1911) for the Reds (1898-1905), Cubs (1906-1910), and Boston Rustlers (1911). Over his career, he hit .267 with 1576 hits, 762 RBIs, and 759 runs. Steinfeldt’s career statistics compare favorably to his Hall of Fame middle infield teammates. Shortstop Joe Tinker played for 15 seasons, hitting .262, with 1690 hits, 774 runs, and 785 RBIs; while second baseman Johnny Evers logged 18 years in the majors hitting .270, 1659 hits, 536 RBIs, and 919 runs. All very similar numbers…so why the disrespect shown to Harry Steinfeldt?
Harry Steinfeldt passed away on August 17, 1917, at the age of 36. Maybe if his name had more of a poetic ring to it, he’d also be in the Hall of Fame. Who knows? So today I’m glad to shine our baseball spotlight on a fine ball player who’s been largely overlooked by his more famous teammates – who just happened to possess more poetly favorable names!
Baseball’s Sad Lexicon
These are the saddest of possible words:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double –
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
“Tinker to Evers to Chance.”
Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Harry Steinfeldt Wikipedia page
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I don’t like to brag about myself, but I will make an exception for this story. Years ago, while making a delivery in St. Louis, I had some free time. I happened to drive by The Sporting News offices, so I pulled in to see if they offered tours. I was told not for indivduals, but a tour group was scheduled to arrive shortly. In the meantime, I noticed that their display of autographed baseballs from EVERY All-Star Game was labeled incorrectly. The secretary insisted they were correct; I stood my ground and told her they weren’t.
She finally called the official historian of TSN down to the lobby, he introduced himself, and verified that, in fact, three of the baseballs were placed in the wrong order. He thanked me for noticing the error, and proceeded to take me on a personal tour of the offices and the plant. It is still one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Some of things I saw inside their vault (not part of the normal tour) literally gave me chills (letters from some of the all time greats, scale replicas of ball parks sent in by fans, old photos of countless stars from the early days of baseball, and on and on.)
Later on (I spent HOURS wih this man) we ran into the public tour, The tour guide was asking trivia questions; nobody in the group knew too many of the answers; I was on fire, and answered about 15 questions in a row, without hesitating. He was, to say the least, very impressed. He finally says to me, “I’ve got a question that nobody has ever gotten right; if you get this one, you can have my job!” Then he asked me, “In the famous poem, ‘Tinker To Evers To Chance’, who was the third baseman?” I answered, “When do I start? Harry Steinfelt!” I swear that he had tears in his eyes! He looked at me and said, “Son-You do know your baseball!” I loved the game, and loved the history of the game. Ironically, I can barely watch an inning of a game now without turning it off. Baseball lost me the year they cancelled the World Series, and I’ve tried to get back into it, but I just couldn’t do it. With these recent rule changes, I am done. It’s like I have lost an old friend.
Thanks for the great story Steve! I always love the personal stuff like this! Looks like you and I may be the only peoople alive who could answer that question…you should have held the guy to his offer and taken his job!