CUBS - SCARY IN OCTOBER
The Cubs in the World Series? I didn’t want to take a chance at waiting to write about it. Who knows how long the Cubs playoff push will last? While the dream is alive, I thought I would explore Cubs World Series story, albeit a brief one.
It seems spooky things happen in October between the white lines of a baseball diamond. While baseball purists love stats, I thought these vignettes might be more useful in helping more moderate fans sound like they just jumped on the band wagon. The Cubs appearances are easy enough to look up but I was surprised at how many different ways the Cubs have dramatically choked. Here are the odd stories you don’t get from simply glancing at the box score.
Let’s start out on a positive note, something the 1907 Cubs did not do. According to THE WORLD SERIES’ MOST WANTED by John Snyder, for unexplained reasons, the Cubs wore their gray “away” uniforms, so they looked just like the visiting Tigers. The only difference was the hat and socks. It’s unclear if having two teams dressed alike caused much confusion, but the matching grays of Chicago and Detroit finished with a matching score. Game one was called 3-3 because of darkness in the 12th. When the Cubs straighened out their wardrobe malfunction, they won four straight.
In 1918, The Cubs and Red Sox threatened to go on strike during the World Series.
Their share of the gate receipts had been cut. Part of the reason was that the nation was at war, so attendance was lower and ticket prices decreased. The players eventually backed off their threats, worried they would appear greedy, while other men were risking their lives.
What contributed to the Cubs failure in 1918 was not the tension over a strike threat, but baserunning. In game three, the Cubs were down 2-1 with two outs in the ninth. Cubs outfielder Charlie Pick tried to take third on a passed ball that was only 20 feet behind the plate. The third-baseman knocked down the catcher's poor throw into foul territory. Pick pressed his luck and tried for home and a perfect throw nailed him.
It gets worse. In game four of that series, Cubs outfielder Max Flack was picked off base twice in the game---the only time that’s ever happened in the World Series.
Here’s a bit of baserunning trivia. The only time the World Series ended on a botched stolen base attempt? Babe Ruth, who was not known for his fleet feet, decided on his own to steal second and was thrown out. I bring up the baserunning blunders, because it reminds me of Carlos Zambrano recently chugging around third, ignoring the coach’s stop sign, and getting thrown out at home. As they teach you in Little League, physical mistakes are inevitable; mental errors are unforgiveable.
OTHER NOT-SO-FUN FACTS from Snyder’s WORLD SERIES MOST WANTED
The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cubs in the 1910 World Series using only two pitchers: Chief Bender and Jack Coombs.
In the 1918 Series, The Cubs’ Hippo Vaughn pitched three complete games, giving up only three runs, but he lost two of the games, including the opener 1-0. The opposing pitcher? Babe Ruth.
In the 1929 Series, Pat Malone took an 8-0 Cubs lead over the Athletics and gave up a record setting 10 runs. A couple of days later, he pitched game five, and took a two hitter into the ninth. With two outs away from a World Series ring, he fell apart and gave up three runs.
In 1932, game three was at Wrigley and the Yankees hit four home runs. Babe Ruth reportedly pointed his bat to the outfield to “call his shot” and hit a homer to center. It was the last of his 15 career World Series home runs.
A former Cub has the best all-time World Series batting average (minimum 75 appearances) but this won’t make you burst with pride. It involves the worst trade in Cubs history. Lou Brock hit .391 in three series. His 25 hits in consecutive World Series (1967-68) is a record.
In the back of my mind, I can’t help but wonder, what are the possible ways in which someone could blow it. There are physical errors (Bill Buckner letting a ball through his legs in ‘86) and mental errors (see examples above) and the intangibles (Bartman.) So here is a look back, in hopes of learning a lesson or two. Clip and send to your favorite Cub. Hopefully, October will spare us frightening nights until the 31st.