April 21, 1915
Phillies @ New York Giants
Athletics vs. New York Yankees
Today, 100 years ago, Americans were greeted with a
declaration from president Woodrow Wilson confirming his belief that the United
States must remain neutral in the Great War that had been destroying
Europe. Wilson saw America’s role as a
helper to all of Europe once the fighting ended. The president’s neutrality statement put
American minds at ease. It was the European's war, not America’s. It’s funny to think
that only 100 years ago America was still very much an isolationist nation when
you consider that American foreign policy for most of the rest of the century
involved intervention overseas. But in
1915, the nation wanted to remain discipline and in control of their
affairs. Wilson told the Associated Press,
“So that I am not speaking in a selfish spirit when I say that our whole duty,
for the present, at any rate, is summed up in this motto ‘America first’…Let us
think of America before we think of Europe, in order that America may be fit to
be Europe’s friend when the day of tested friendship comes. The test of friendship is not now sympathy
with the one side or the other, but getting ready to help both sides when the
struggle is over.” In less than a month,
Wilson’s words would be tested for their sincerity. In less than a day, one of the most
significant battles of World War I would erupt in the Belgian countryside. This European war wasn’t going to go away.[1]
In Philadelphia the war was an ocean away physically and metaphorically. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives defeated a bill that would allow local communities to vote for or against the sale of alcohol. The debate in Harrisburg was that passing the bill would essentially meant prohibition for Pennsylvania, and that the few in favor of prohibition, like Governor Martin Grove Brumbaugh, should not make rules for the majority that aren’t fervent on the subject. Obviously most representatives disagreed with Brumbaugh and defeated the bill. This was an example of news that was getting more play in the newspapers than World War I.
The ball players with the Phillies and Athletics were
surely thrilled that the bill did not pass the House, seeing as ball players
had quite the reputation for after-hours spirits. The Phillies had one more game against the
Giants before they could return to Philadelphia and drink all the Pennsylvania
booze they wanted. George Chalmers got
the start for the Phils and would be opposed by Pol Perritt. In a strange twist, Chalmers was on the
Giants roster for Spring Training and was considered New York’s property until John
McGraw released him days before this game.
The Phillies resigned him and he made his first start of the year
against McGraw’s club. Chalmers only had
two more years left in his pitching arm, but he got a lot out of it in
1915. He threw 170 innings for the
Phillies and only went 8-9, but his 2.48 ERA and 2.47 FIP show that he should
have won more had he received sufficient run support. On this day, though, he was supported.
For the first time all year the Phillies did not score first,
but, similar to the past five games, the Phillies did score most. With the Phils down 1-0 in the top of the
third, Perritt walked the bases loaded.
Up strode slugger Gavvy Cravath.
Perritt regained his control only long enough so that Cravath could slam
a pitch into the gap in the outfield for a double, scoring two. Possum Whitted knocked Beals Becker in with a
sacrifice fly and Cravath scored on an error, giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead. Chalmers held the Giants under this thumb for
the rest of the day, and after scoring two more in the top of the ninth, the
Phillies left New York undefeated and in first place in the National League. The sweep of the Giants was as much a psychological
boost as it was a boost in the standings.
In the wake of their destruction they left the archrival Giants to limp
across the East River to battle Brooklyn for last place.
The Athletics also completed their four game series against
their New York counterpart. Rube
Bressler continued what would be an incredibly inefficient pitching career when
he faced off against the Yanks and promptly got knocked around for seven runs
in three innings. I’m starting to
realize the 1915 Athletics had a lot of players nicknamed Rube, which probably
didn’t bode well for them. Bressler was
eventually allowed to move on to Cincinnati where he proved to be an excellent
utility bench player over the next seventeen seasons. Connie Mack can’t be blamed for letting
Bressler go, as he could with a number of star players he sold off this year, simply because Rube was such a horrendous pitcher. How was anyone to know that the tiniest bit
of talent could be squeezed from the player so long as he didn’t twirl the
ball? In any sort, Bressler was completely
out-pitched by the Yankees' Ray Fisher, who scattered four hits and a walk in his
complete game shutout. The A’s were 2-4,
but luckily for them the White Sox were off to a worse start. The club hopped a train for Boston after the
game for round two against the Red Sox.
The A’s split the opening series of the year with Boston and hoped that
they could turn their fortunes around at Fenway Park.
[1]
“Wilson Says Neutrality Is Duty Of U.S.,” New
York Tribune, April 21, 1915, accessed April 20, 2015, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1915-04-21/ed-1/seq-1/.
No comments:
Post a Comment