"In the 1911 World Series, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the New York Giants four games to two. Philadelphia third baseman Frank "Home Run" Baker earned his nickname during this Series. His home run in Game 2 off Rube Marquard was the margin of victory for the Athletics, and his blast in Game 3 off Christy Mathewson tied that game in the ninth inning, and the Athletics eventually won in the eleventh. The Giants never recovered. An ironic sidelight was that Mathewson (or his ghostwriter) had criticized Marquard in his newspaper column after Game 2, for giving up the gopher ball, only to fall victim himself the very next day. Baker was swinging a hot bat in general, going 9 for 24 to lead all batters in the Series with a .375 average. According to his obituary, Chief Meyers, the catcher of the Giants, threw out a record number of runners in a World Series."Wikipedia
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| Frank "Home Run" Baker |
"He was a man of unassuming character, unassuming size—and by today’s standards, unimpressive power numbers. But Frank Baker of the Philadelphia A’s would awe the fans of his day with a slugging exhibition during the 1911 season—followed by his slugging heroism in the World Series. In the six years previous to 1911, only two American League players, Harry Davis and Jake Stahl, had reached double figures in season home run totals—and they both barely made the grade. Welcome to the deadball era; the pitchers were in control, legally allowed to throw any kind of pitch in the book. They had the extra advantage of using the same ball in play for, sometimes, the entire game. If any hitter were fool enough to make a living smacking the lifeless, beat-up ball over the fence, the hideously long distances to the outfield walls would give them second thoughts."
This Great Game
"A recent technological advancement called the Playograph has made it possible to 'watch' World Series games, even if you can’t make it to the ballpark, or even if you are in a completely different city. Thanks to the PSH Herald’s technological advances and the good people at backtobaseball.com, you can now join along with the thousands of fans in New York right now following Game 2 on a playograph outside of the New York Herald Building (above). Just click here and then click on 'View Game', and you can follow Game 2 of the 1911 World Series as it unfolds! You can read more about the Playograph here, in a fascinating (and short) article in the Yale Sheffield Monthly. You can see a closeup of that same board at the Herald Building below. We’ll have a full report on today’s game in tomorrow’s edition of the PSH Herald."
Philly Sports History
"In 1911, Connie Mack and John McGraw—arguably baseball’s all-time greatest managers—shaped the game as each pitch was thrown and every base was stolen. And they did it with the help of their quirky mascots and superstitious players. Set in the stadiums, trains, hotels and clubhouses of baseball’s formative years, The Mascots of 1911 is peopled with brilliantly colorful characters. This fictional yet historically accurate story is told through the teams’ managers and mascots: Connie Mack and Louis van Zelst of the Philadelphia Athletics, and John McGraw and Charlie Faust of the New York Giants. Louis, a young, misshapen hunchback, believes in the goodness of the soul of baseball; he says teams should 'win for the right reason—they’re the best.' Under the wing of the even-tempered and gentlemanly Mack, Louis inspires the A’s by concealing his personal agony with joy. Feeble-minded Charlie Faust, the Giants’ mascot, arrives bearing a gypsy’s prophecy: if he gets to pitch, he’ll ensure the Giants win the Pennant. Barely tolerated by the pugnacious McGraw, Faust entertains the crowd and convinces the players that spells, good luck charms and black magic will improve their play. Through that curious season and all the way to the World Series in 1911, the story was clearly bigger than the final score."
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Philly Sports History - Welcome to the 1911 World Series!; Pitching Matchups for the 1911 World Series; etc.
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