April 14, 1915
Athletics vs. Red Sox
Phillies @ Braves
“Once more the grand
old pastime has
been
launched upon its way,
Old Europe’s war has
been forgot,
the
U.S.A. is gay;
The fans of every big
league burg are
Adding to the din,
Each one can prove by talk
alone his
This poem was on the front page of the Philadelphia Evening Ledger on April 14, 1915. World War I had been in full swing for almost
a year and the headlines about Italian ships being sunk by Austrian foes and
Slavic bases being menaced by Germans was a constant reminder. Yet, baseball was getting as much, if not
more, attention on this day. The center
of page one is a large picture of Shibe Park from 1914 with a superimposed
pennant that reads “Champions 1914” with the Athletics’ white elephant marching
along. This day was not about the
millions being killed in Europe or what, if anything, Americans should do about
it. It was about the renewal of
American’s pastime.
The 1915 season started with both Philadelphia teams taking
on clubs from Boston. Up in Beantown,
the Phillies battled the club formally known as the Beaneaters, now much more
commonly known as the Braves. Nicknames
were fluid during this era, as we’ve seen.
The Braves fans were eager to start the new campaign, hoping that the
miracle of 1914 might mark the fulcrum on which the beleaguered franchise
turned its fortunes around. See, in the
19th century, the Beaneaters were one of the premier clubs in the
National League, winning 8 pennants and almost always finishing in the first
division. But when the American League
came to town in 1901 and with it came hard times for the Nationals. Like in most cities where the AL moved in,
the Americans (Red Sox) raided the Beaneaters roster, causing enough hardship
to render the club ineffective for almost a decade and a half. How ineffective, you might ask? Well, between 1901 and 1913, the
Beaneaters/Doves/Braves only had one less season in which they lost 100 games
(6) than seasons in which they didn’t
lose 100 games (7). In fact, the rest of
the league combined managed five 100-loss seasons during that span. Needless to say, Braves fans were well
acquainted with the basement by the time 1914 rolled around.
So on July 4, 1914, after the all the fireworks were shot
off and celebrations of the nation’s founding had ceased, and after the Braves
dropped two games in a doubleheader with the Dodgers, you couldn’t blame
Boston’s National League fans for believing their destiny was another last
place finish. They were crossing their
fingers in hopes the club wouldn’t lose 100, again. But then the Braves redeemed themselves by
sweeping the doubleheader against the Dodgers on the 6th. And then they went to Chicago and took three
out of four from the Cubs. And then they
finished off their sixteen-game road trip 12 and 4. And then they just did not stop winning. By August 1st, in less than a
month, they had made up fourteen games to reach .500. On September 8th, the Braves took
control of first place and didn’t let it go for the remainder of the
season. It was an astounding 68-19 run
for these Miracle Braves, and when they went on the sweep the vaunted Athletics
in the World Series, their underdog story was engraved in baseball lore.
It was this amazing Braves club (with the addition of Sherry
Magee) that the Phillies played in their first series of the 1915 season. Grover Cleveland Alexander took the hill for
Philadelphia, set to do battle with Dick Rudolph. This was an amazing matchup between the two
best pitchers in the National League in 1914.
Alexander had gone 27-15 with a 2.38 ERA and 7.2 WAR; Rudolph went 26-10
with a 2.35 ERA and 6.2 WAR. No other
pitcher, and only a few batters, really came close in terms of WAR to these two
men. It was a dream opening day matchup.
The Phillies jumped on Rudolph early, putting up a run in
the top of the 1st, and Old Pete wouldn’t need much help from
there. He struck out 5, scattered 6
hits, and even drove in a run to help capture his first complete-game shutout
of the new year. Possum Whitted got
revenge on his old club by banging out a double and driving in a run in a
winning effort. Magee, meanwhile, was
contained by Alexander, who held the former Phillie slugger to a single and a
walk.
The win was as important as a win can be one the first day
of a new season. While, yes, this was
one game and there were 152 remaining and all the other clichés that apply
about taking it one game at a time, the fact remains that the Phillies went to
Boston, faced the best opposing pitcher in the league, and beat the World
Champions rather handily. I mean, hell,
the Athletics faced the same club six months prior and couldn’t even take a
game from the Braves! Opening Day is a
time to be overjoyed or overwrought, depending on your circumstances, and the
Phillies deserved to be praised for their win.
And how did the Athletics do back in Philadelphia against
the Red Sox? Oh they won and Herb
Pennock almost threw a perfect game?
Yep, the A’s once again overshadowed the Phillies accomplishments. The Athletics got almost a full page of
coverage in the Philadelphia Evening Ledger
and Phillies game was barely even mentioned?
It’s true. Herb Pennock took a
no-hitter into the ninth inning at Shibe Park against the Red Sox and was one
bad hop off of Nap Lajoie’s bare hand from completing the Opening Day no-hitter
feat 25 years before Bob Feller. And as
much as it’s too early to get excited about winning a game for the Braves, it’s
never too early to for the Phillies to feel the sting jealousy of being
Philadelphia’s second-class team.
Still, the baseball loving populous of Philadelphia were
probably overjoyed by the results of the season’s first day. No matter which club they felt more affinity
for, the city had two clubs at the top of the leagues’ standings. A’s fans could believe that Mack had all the
answers to push for a pennant and Phillies fans could believe that this would
be finally their year. However, only one
team’s fan base would have their dreams come true.
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