Baseball Guru
11-16-2001, 06:56 PM
The Senators have rich history in baseball
By Steven Goldman
MLB.com
This is Part Two of a look at the original Washington Senators. Part One largely concerned with issues surrounding the decline of the Senators, a winning organization during the first third of the 20th Century, and causes for the franchise's eventual move to Minnesota. This installment considers what the Senators left to the game.
For a team that is remembered, with some justification, as being first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League, the Washington Senators had a surprisingly rich history and contributed much to the game. A few greatest hits from a large catalog:
Walter Johnson, who, 74 years after he last threw a pitch in anger, can still make a strong claim to having been the greatest pitcher of all time. Johnson was only 6-foot-1, but he was the Randy Johnson of his time in that his long arms and fingers allowed him to throw sidearm and still whip the ball into the catcher at extraordinarily high speeds.
Johnson pitched 802 games and 5,914 innings, a great many even in his age, and that easy delivery provides a clue as to how he was able to do it. Even when he retired at 39, it was not arm trouble that ended his career but a broken ankle.
"My arm is as good as ever, but there are other troubles," said Johnson, explaining his retirement.
Typical Johnson story: Ray Chapman walking back to the dugout after Johnson ran the count to 0-2. "You've got another strike coming," says the umpire. "You can have it," Chapman replies. "It wouldn't do me any good."
Runner up: Babe Ruth complaining to an umpire over a called third strike from Johnson because "it sounded high to me."
Third variation: Simply, "You can't hit what you can't see." They couldn't see him 411 times; of the 279 times that he lost, many of them came 1-0. He also happened to be one of the nicest guys in the game.
William Howard Taft: Secretary of War, President, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the bulbous Republican was a Washington fixture for most of a quarter-century. In 1910, Taft linked the national game with the national government by throwing out the first pitch at the Senators' home opener, a presidential tradition that would carry through down Dwight Eisenhower.
The 350-pound Taft also inspired the seventh-inning stretch when, losing contact with his lower extremities during the late innings, he stood up. Out of respect, all those around him stood as well and a new ballpark fixture was inaugurated. Taft then threw back his massive head and warbled out a tune which would come to be known as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Among those both frightened and inspired by the caterwauling commander in chief was a young Harry Caray. Taft's sometime pal Theodore Roosevelt said that Taft had "the brain of a guinea pig," but as far as baseball was concerned, the 27th president was quite versatile.
Griffith Stadium was a more eccentric place to see a ballgame than even the much-lamented Ebbets Field. It was the anti-Coors, the most difficult place in the American League to hit a home run. It was 407 feet down the left-field line, 391 feet to left-center, 421 feet to center field, and 381 to right-center. Only the right-field line was mildly forgiving at 328. Center field had an unusual feature -- a housing development.
At the time of the park's construction (actually, Griffith wasn't really constructed -- it grew), property rights to five homes, their backyards, and associated trees held out against development. Thus there was a right angle projection in dead center, an arrow pointing at home plate, behind which the five homes were hidden. A 31-foot wall protected their windows from any flies which somehow stayed aloft for more than 421 feet.
The park was so good at retaining the baseball that the world champion 1924 Senators hit precisely one homer in 77 home games. In 1926, Goose Goslin, the sluggingest Senator of the early days, hit 17 home runs. All of them came on the road. In 12 seasons with the team, Goslin hit 96 of 127 homers away from home. In 1965, a revenge-minded Goslin, 65, journeyed from his home in Salem, New Jersey and rode the first wrecking ball to strike the old ballpark.
Pebbles and Potholes of Destiny: Befitting a city built on reclaimed swamp (the Washington Monument, built on solid mud, is slowly sinking into the ground. Whoever pulleth this Sword from the Stone shall be King of all Afghanistan) that has sometimes had trouble organizing basic municipal functions like getting the trash picked up and the roads paved, the Griffith Stadium infield sometimes went years without a shave and a haircut.
In 1924, the Senators won the seventh game of the World Series when center fielder Earl McNeely's grounder to third hit a pebble and caromed over Giants third baseman Freddie Lindstrom's head. It was the second time in the game the Senators had scored on a pebble-deflected grounder.
The Senators repeated as American League champions in 1925. Prior to the Series, Washington's shortstop, Roger Peckinpaugh, was voted the league's Most Valuable Player. He was the last player to receive the award before the postseason, and the reason why has become part of baseball legend. Peckinpaugh made eight errors in the seven-game Series. Many lead to runs, the Senators lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the award was delayed from then on so as not to put too much pressure on the winner.
Mickey Vernon, the most inconsistent hitter in baseball history. Vernon, a first baseman with great defensive skills, played 20 seasons, 1939-1960. For roughly 60 percent of that time he hit like Keith Hernandez. The other 40 percent of the time he was Dave Bergman. There was no predicting which would show up at the beginning of each season. The Good Mickey Vernon, covering 1941, 1946, 1949-1951, 1953-1956, and 1958:
Games: 1,389
At-Bats: 5,166
Runs: 738
Hits: 1,582
Doubles: 303
Triples: 76
Home Runs: 125
Runs batted in: 859
Walks: 564
Stolen Bases: 53
Caught Stealing: 45
Batting average: .306
Slugging percentage: .467
On-base percentage: .375
The Evil Mickey Vernon, covering 1939, 1942-1943, 1947-1948, and 1957:
Games: 932
At-Bats: 3,447
Runs: 450
Hits: 889
Doubles: 187
Triples: 50
Home Runs: 44
Runs batted in: 452
Walks: 365
Stolen Bases: 84
Caught Stealing: 45
Batting average: .258
Slugging percentage: .379
On-base percentage: .329
Some of those years Mickey was fighting injuries. Others ... who knows?
Boy Managers: Senators owner Clark Griffith liked to promote from within. In doing so, he came up with two of the most famous "Boy" managers -- Bucky Harris, 28, and Joe Cronin, 27. Harris and Cronin, both infielders, rewarded Griffith in their rookie seasons. Harris earned a championship in 1924 and another pennant in 1925. Cronin won the American League pennant in 1933. Neither came close with the Senators again. Cronin, who subsequently became Griffith's son-in-law, was traded to the Red Sox because (1) Tom Yawkey offered a ton of cash for him, which Griffith needed, and (2) so he could make a better salary and could better support Griffith's daughter.
There are many more examples of Washington's unique contributions to the game, so many that we could run over into a third all-Senators installment. There's Sam Rice who took to the game almost by accident and ended up making nearly 3,000 hits. Roy Sievers, whose career rose from the ashes of a surgery which had supposedly ended it. Ed Yost, the walking man, Al Shacht and Nick Altrock, the comedian coaches who despised each other when they weren't performing ... and so many more.
We can talk about them, perhaps we will, but they are gone now and so is the franchise they served. At one time it was important to baseball, as claimant to the title of national pastime, to have a presence in the national capital. The Hall of Fame began life as a monument on the Potomac. Today, Washington, which has memorials to General John A. Rawlins, John J. Joyce, and Vinnie Ream Hoxie, has no souvenir of the game, no statue, no team.
By Steven Goldman
MLB.com
This is Part Two of a look at the original Washington Senators. Part One largely concerned with issues surrounding the decline of the Senators, a winning organization during the first third of the 20th Century, and causes for the franchise's eventual move to Minnesota. This installment considers what the Senators left to the game.
For a team that is remembered, with some justification, as being first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League, the Washington Senators had a surprisingly rich history and contributed much to the game. A few greatest hits from a large catalog:
Walter Johnson, who, 74 years after he last threw a pitch in anger, can still make a strong claim to having been the greatest pitcher of all time. Johnson was only 6-foot-1, but he was the Randy Johnson of his time in that his long arms and fingers allowed him to throw sidearm and still whip the ball into the catcher at extraordinarily high speeds.
Johnson pitched 802 games and 5,914 innings, a great many even in his age, and that easy delivery provides a clue as to how he was able to do it. Even when he retired at 39, it was not arm trouble that ended his career but a broken ankle.
"My arm is as good as ever, but there are other troubles," said Johnson, explaining his retirement.
Typical Johnson story: Ray Chapman walking back to the dugout after Johnson ran the count to 0-2. "You've got another strike coming," says the umpire. "You can have it," Chapman replies. "It wouldn't do me any good."
Runner up: Babe Ruth complaining to an umpire over a called third strike from Johnson because "it sounded high to me."
Third variation: Simply, "You can't hit what you can't see." They couldn't see him 411 times; of the 279 times that he lost, many of them came 1-0. He also happened to be one of the nicest guys in the game.
William Howard Taft: Secretary of War, President, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the bulbous Republican was a Washington fixture for most of a quarter-century. In 1910, Taft linked the national game with the national government by throwing out the first pitch at the Senators' home opener, a presidential tradition that would carry through down Dwight Eisenhower.
The 350-pound Taft also inspired the seventh-inning stretch when, losing contact with his lower extremities during the late innings, he stood up. Out of respect, all those around him stood as well and a new ballpark fixture was inaugurated. Taft then threw back his massive head and warbled out a tune which would come to be known as "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Among those both frightened and inspired by the caterwauling commander in chief was a young Harry Caray. Taft's sometime pal Theodore Roosevelt said that Taft had "the brain of a guinea pig," but as far as baseball was concerned, the 27th president was quite versatile.
Griffith Stadium was a more eccentric place to see a ballgame than even the much-lamented Ebbets Field. It was the anti-Coors, the most difficult place in the American League to hit a home run. It was 407 feet down the left-field line, 391 feet to left-center, 421 feet to center field, and 381 to right-center. Only the right-field line was mildly forgiving at 328. Center field had an unusual feature -- a housing development.
At the time of the park's construction (actually, Griffith wasn't really constructed -- it grew), property rights to five homes, their backyards, and associated trees held out against development. Thus there was a right angle projection in dead center, an arrow pointing at home plate, behind which the five homes were hidden. A 31-foot wall protected their windows from any flies which somehow stayed aloft for more than 421 feet.
The park was so good at retaining the baseball that the world champion 1924 Senators hit precisely one homer in 77 home games. In 1926, Goose Goslin, the sluggingest Senator of the early days, hit 17 home runs. All of them came on the road. In 12 seasons with the team, Goslin hit 96 of 127 homers away from home. In 1965, a revenge-minded Goslin, 65, journeyed from his home in Salem, New Jersey and rode the first wrecking ball to strike the old ballpark.
Pebbles and Potholes of Destiny: Befitting a city built on reclaimed swamp (the Washington Monument, built on solid mud, is slowly sinking into the ground. Whoever pulleth this Sword from the Stone shall be King of all Afghanistan) that has sometimes had trouble organizing basic municipal functions like getting the trash picked up and the roads paved, the Griffith Stadium infield sometimes went years without a shave and a haircut.
In 1924, the Senators won the seventh game of the World Series when center fielder Earl McNeely's grounder to third hit a pebble and caromed over Giants third baseman Freddie Lindstrom's head. It was the second time in the game the Senators had scored on a pebble-deflected grounder.
The Senators repeated as American League champions in 1925. Prior to the Series, Washington's shortstop, Roger Peckinpaugh, was voted the league's Most Valuable Player. He was the last player to receive the award before the postseason, and the reason why has become part of baseball legend. Peckinpaugh made eight errors in the seven-game Series. Many lead to runs, the Senators lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the award was delayed from then on so as not to put too much pressure on the winner.
Mickey Vernon, the most inconsistent hitter in baseball history. Vernon, a first baseman with great defensive skills, played 20 seasons, 1939-1960. For roughly 60 percent of that time he hit like Keith Hernandez. The other 40 percent of the time he was Dave Bergman. There was no predicting which would show up at the beginning of each season. The Good Mickey Vernon, covering 1941, 1946, 1949-1951, 1953-1956, and 1958:
Games: 1,389
At-Bats: 5,166
Runs: 738
Hits: 1,582
Doubles: 303
Triples: 76
Home Runs: 125
Runs batted in: 859
Walks: 564
Stolen Bases: 53
Caught Stealing: 45
Batting average: .306
Slugging percentage: .467
On-base percentage: .375
The Evil Mickey Vernon, covering 1939, 1942-1943, 1947-1948, and 1957:
Games: 932
At-Bats: 3,447
Runs: 450
Hits: 889
Doubles: 187
Triples: 50
Home Runs: 44
Runs batted in: 452
Walks: 365
Stolen Bases: 84
Caught Stealing: 45
Batting average: .258
Slugging percentage: .379
On-base percentage: .329
Some of those years Mickey was fighting injuries. Others ... who knows?
Boy Managers: Senators owner Clark Griffith liked to promote from within. In doing so, he came up with two of the most famous "Boy" managers -- Bucky Harris, 28, and Joe Cronin, 27. Harris and Cronin, both infielders, rewarded Griffith in their rookie seasons. Harris earned a championship in 1924 and another pennant in 1925. Cronin won the American League pennant in 1933. Neither came close with the Senators again. Cronin, who subsequently became Griffith's son-in-law, was traded to the Red Sox because (1) Tom Yawkey offered a ton of cash for him, which Griffith needed, and (2) so he could make a better salary and could better support Griffith's daughter.
There are many more examples of Washington's unique contributions to the game, so many that we could run over into a third all-Senators installment. There's Sam Rice who took to the game almost by accident and ended up making nearly 3,000 hits. Roy Sievers, whose career rose from the ashes of a surgery which had supposedly ended it. Ed Yost, the walking man, Al Shacht and Nick Altrock, the comedian coaches who despised each other when they weren't performing ... and so many more.
We can talk about them, perhaps we will, but they are gone now and so is the franchise they served. At one time it was important to baseball, as claimant to the title of national pastime, to have a presence in the national capital. The Hall of Fame began life as a monument on the Potomac. Today, Washington, which has memorials to General John A. Rawlins, John J. Joyce, and Vinnie Ream Hoxie, has no souvenir of the game, no statue, no team.