On September 20, 1924, the defending champion New York Yankees, led by Babe Ruth, played the middle of a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees had pulled into town tied for first place with the upstart Washington Senators. They were gunning for their fourth straight pennant.
Detroit was in third place, out of the running at seven games behind. But this didn’t make the series meaningless for the Tigers — at least not for Ty Cobb, their playing manager. According to many accounts, Cobb had it in for Ruth and his team. For one thing, Ruth had supplanted Cobb as the game’s top attraction.
At least as importantly, Ruth was transforming the way baseball was played — for the worse in Cobb’s opinion. Cobb liked “small ball” or scientific baseball, dominated by singles, bunting, and baserunning, rather than home runs. Ruth’s slugging exploits threatened to make Cobb’s brand of baseball obsolete.
To add fuel to the fire, the Yankees and Tigers had brawled in a June game after a Detroit pitcher hit New York star Bob Meusel in the back. Ruth said he saw Cobb order his pitcher to throw at Meusel. Thousands of Tigers fans stormed the field and the game was forfeited to the Yankees, who were leading 10-6 in the ninth.
In the opening game of the late-season series, played on September 19, the Tigers trailed the Yankees 5-3 going into the bottom of the eighth. Dutch Leonard, who would later accuse Cobb of betting on games after Cobb released him, had yielded all five Yankee runs.
Ex-Yankee star Del Pratt led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk yielded by Yankee starter Sam Jones, who then walked Frank O’Rourke. Jones picked off Fred Haney (later the manager of the world champion 1957 Milwaukee Braves) who was running for Pratt. (Cobb must have loved that.) But pinch-hitters Les Burke and Johnny Bassler singled to make it 5-4,.
New York manager Miller Huggins finally pulled Jones and brought in future Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt. Managing in overdrive, Cobb countered with yet another pinch-hitter, Al Wingo. The move paid off. Wingo tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
The Yankees failed to score in the ninth. Babe Ruth completed a 1-4 day with a groundout.
Cobb led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to third base. Third baseman Joe Dugan threw the ball away, allowing Cobb to take third. I can’t tell for sure, but I’m guessing Cobb’s hit was a bunt. If so, score one for small ball.
Huggins ordered Hoyt to walk the next two batters intentionally (one of them was future Hall of Famer Harry Heilman). Haney then settled the matter with a single to center field. Detroit 6, New York 5.
Meanwhile, the Senators won their game with the St. Louis Browns to take a one game lead over the Yankees.
The September 20 game was also settled in the ninth inning, and by the same score. Cobb drove in the game’s first run in the top of the first inning with a single. He scored the second run in the fifth after doubling.
The Yankees tied it in the top of the eighth. Young Lou Gehrig, pinch hitting, drove in the first run with a double.
But the Tigers put three runs on the board in the bottom of the inning to take what seemed like a commanding 5-2 lead. Bassler, again pinch hitting, drove in two of the three runs with a single.
Only one of the runs was earned. The other two scored as a result of a pair of errors by Wally Pipp, whom Gehrig would eventually (and famously) replace at first base.
The Yankees roared back with three runs in the top of the ninth. Meusel led off with a home run. Bob Paschal and Whitey Witt drove in the other runs with singles.
The Yankees had a chance for more. With two out, they had runners on second and third, and Ruth at the plate. Cobb had his pitcher, Ken Holloway, walk Ruth intentionally, leaving it up to Pipp to break the deadlock. Holloway struck Pipp out.
Heinie Manush led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off of Bob Shawkey. Cobb was next up. Huggins had him walked intentionally.
Up stepped Heilman, the third consecutive future Hall of Famer to bat in the inning. His infield single loaded the bases.
Shawkey nearly pitched out of the bases loaded, no-outs jam. He fanned Pratt and retired pinch-hitter Bob Jones on an infield fly.
But then, with the light-hitting Burke at the plate, Shawkey unleashed a wild pitch. Manush scored to end the game.
Cobb had gone 2-4 with a double and two stolen bases (plus the intentional walk). Ruth went 0-3 with two walks, one of them intentional.
Fortunately for the Yankees, St. Louis beat Washington in a wild affair, 15-14. Walter Johnson started for the Senators, giving up four runs (three earned) in just one inning. The Senators committed six errors in the ten inning contest.
The New York-Detroit series concluded on Sunday, September 21, with another one-run victory for the Tigers. Detroit did all of its scoring in the sixth inning, plating four.
Cobb was in the middle of it. After Manush led off with a double, Cobb followed with a bunt single — small ball, again. Heilman then singled to drive home Manush to tie the score at 1-1. Cobb scampered to third.
More small ball followed. Cobb had Pratt bunt. Hoyt tried to nail Cobb at the plate, but his throw was both late and wild. This set the table for two more Tiger runs. One scored on a wild pitch, the other on a single by pitcher Earl Whitehill.
The Yankees fought back in the top of the eighth. Pipp led off the inning with a single. Meusel’s grounder forced Pipp, but Aaron Ward doubled and pinch-hitter Bullet Joe Bush (a good hitting pitcher) walked.
Bases loaded, one out and Lou Gehrig, on as a pinch-hitter, at the plate.
Gehrig singled home two runs, but was thrown out at second base by Heilman. Now, with Detroit leading 4-3, the tying run was at third in the person of Ernie Johnson, a pinch-runner for Bush. But because of Gehrig’s baserunning mistake, Johnson couldn’t score on an out.
So instead, in a small ball move of the Yankees, Johnson tried to score by stealing home. He didn’t succeed.
The Tigers didn’t score in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of that inning, veteran Hooks Dauss (winner of 223 big league games) retired the Yankees in order to pick up the save. Ruth was in the on-deck circle when the game ended.
It was a third straight one-run win for Detroit, and another quiet day for the Babe. He went 1-3 with a single and a walk.
It was another loud day for Cobb, who went 3-4. He also caused Gehrig to be ejected in the ninth inning.
He did so by taunting Gehrig from the dugout (presumably for his baserunning mistake). The normally mild-mannered Gehrig shouted back at Cobb so vigorously that the umpire tossed him, along with Yankee shortstop Everett Scott. (It was Scott’s “iron-man” streak that Gehrig would later break.)
For the Series, Cobb went 6-13 (5 singles and a double) and scored three runs, with one RBI. He added a walk (intentional) and two stolen bases in two attempts.
Ruth went 2-10 with four walks (three of them intentional). He scored one run and didn’t drive in any.
The Yankees left town two games behind the Senators. They then won four straight, closing to within one game of Washington after the next to last game of the season. But on the last day, they lost to Philadelphia and finished two back of the Senators.
After the season, Cobb would express satisfaction for “kicking the Yankees out of the race.” The satisfaction was widely shared. The last three World Series had been all-New York affairs between the Yankees and the Giants. Fans, owners, and the Commissioner, Judge Landis, craved a different look.
The Senators provided it in a memorable World Series against the New York Giants. But without Cobb’s artful managing and late September exploits, the Series might once again have been an all New York affair.
Calling Good People "Racist" Isn't New: the Case of Ty Cobb | 5 Minute Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzbJn2UAoIs
Apr 3, 2017 5-Minute Videos
Ruining someone's name is very easy. So is calling them a "racist." Take the case of Ty Cobb, one of the greatest baseball players ever. Cobb is known as a racist and a dirty ballplayer. Is it true? Charles Leerhsen, author of "Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty" sets the record straight.
Your baseball columns are much appreciated. Although a long time Mets fan I can’t pretend to be anywhere as knowledgeable about the game. I did have one question that I haven’t seen addressed anywhere—maybe because my perception is wrong. That is this: my feeling is that there are far more blowout games (working definition games decided by 7 runs or more?) than when I was young. Is this true and, if so, why?