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Today In History – First Red Sox Patriots’ Day Game

19 April 1902 – One hundred five years ago today, the Boston American League franchise took the field at Huntington Avenue Grounds against the Baltimore Orioles (who would later become the New York Yankees) and rallied from three runs down in the ninth to win 7-6 in the first-ever Patriots’ Day home game in team history. The holiday in itself is observed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in honor of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War, fought on that date in 1775; since 1969, Patriots’ Day has been observed on the third Monday in April. The Red Sox have made it a tradition to play a game at Fenway Park on that date every year since 1960, not including scheduled off-days in 1965 and 1967 and games missed due to the players’ strike in 1995,[1] with the start time usually scheduled to coincide with that of the Boston Marathon, giving ticket holders a chance to watch the race at Kenmore Square following the game.

In 1902, however, the holiday was observed as it was every year until 1969 on 19 April; as it fell on a Saturday, Boston decided to take advantage of this opportunity and received permission from the league to open its season four days ahead of every other club in the American League. Records at Retrosheet show that Cy Young, who led the league in wins (33), ERA (1.62), and strikeouts (158) in 1901, was given the ball by manager Jimmy Collins to start the game for Boston, opposed by Tom Hughes, though it does not show who eventually won the game for the home team nor who scored the game-winning run. The following year, the team began the tradition of making the contest a morning baseball game; with a 10:00 AM start time, Boston defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 9-4.[2]

[1],[2] Patriots’ Day and the Red Sox. Boston’s Pastime, retrieved on 18 April 2007.

Today In History – Fenway Park Opens

09 April 1912 – Ninety-five years ago today, Fenway Park hosts its first-ever baseball contest with the Boston Red Sox defeating the Harvard Crimson 2-0 in an exhibition contest amid snow flurries and near-freezing temperatures. Over the past eleven seasons, the Boston franchise had played each and every one of its home games at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which had been hastily built between March and April of 1901 after the city had been awarded a franchise in the newly-minted American League. The original capacity of that park was 11,500 people and, as was typical of early ballparks built in urban settings, Huntington had some rather odd dimensions. To the left field foul pole, it was 350 feet; to left center, it was 440 feet. The right field foul pole was a mere 280 feet away, but to center field, a ball had to travel an impossible 530 feet to clear the fences. Oddly enough, when renovations were made in 1908, the center field fence was moved 635 feet from home plate![1]

In June of 1911, then-Red Sox owner John I Taylor announced plans to build a new ballpark in the Fenway section of Boston on a plot owned by the Fenway Realty company, of which the Taylors were substantial stockholders. The announcement came at a time when baseball was experiencing a building boom of new ballparks like Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Comisky Park in Chicago, and the Polo Grounds in New York. Ground was broken in September that same year on land that as recently as the late nineteenth century had been nothing more than a swampy saltwater marsh and the Red Sox played their last game at the old ballpark on 07 October, an 8-1 win over the Washington Senators.

The new ballpark was designed by Osborn Engineering with a capacity of 35,000 seats and construction was overseen by James McLaughlin; in total, the new ballpark cost $650,000 to build.[2] Following the exhibition win, Boston’s initial opener was suppose to take place on 18 April against New York, but steady rains for two straight days delayed the first regular season until 20 April, with the Red Sox defeating the Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings. Under player-manager Jack Stahl, Boston would go on to win 105 games in 1912 and the World Series championship, besting the New York Giants four games to three.

[1], [2] Ballparks by Munsey and Suppes.

Did You Know? – Irish Red Sox Ballplayers

A short time ago, we took a quick look back at Japanese ballplayers that have played for the Boston Red Sox. With today being St. Patrick’s Day and the team breaking out the green uniforms for its game at Fort Myers this afternoon, it made us wonder about how much of an Irish influence there has been on the franchise in team history. Of course, Boston has always had a rather large population of Irish descent and it would not be surprising to find that there have been several players with Irish heritage to wear a Red Sox cap, but we were curious as to how many Boston players were native to the Emerald Isle.

As it turns out, according to Baseball-Reference.com, there has been exactly one player born in the Land of Saints and Scholars: the legendary flycatcher Jimmy Walsh. Well, actually, not quite that legendary, as he played just the better part of six seasons with three American League teams and was barely a blip on the radar in Red Sox history. Born in Kallila, Ireland, he began his career in 1912 with the Philadelphia Athletics following a trade from the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. He was picked up by the New York Yankees to begin the 1914 season, but was then traded back to Philadelphia at mid-season; just over two years later, in early September, he found himself traded once again, this time to the Boston Red Sox. After a brief appearance with the club in 1916, Walsh returned to play the entire 1917 season in Boston, but that would mark the end of a rather unremarkable career in which he batted just .232.

The only other individual to have donned a Red Sox uniform was Patsy Donovan, born in Queenstown, Ireland and who played 17 seasons, mostly in the National League, as one of baseball’s top outfielders between 1890 and 1907. His career numbers were much better than what Walsh accomplished: over 2000 hits, a .301 career batting average, and 518 stolen bases, having finished in the top 10 five times in his career and leading the league one year (1900) with 45 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He often served as a player-manager, taking on that role eight times in his career. However, his playing days were behind him when he accepted an offer to manage the Boston Red Sox in 1910. In two seasons at the helm, Donovan compiled a record of 159-147, but the team seemed to take a step backwards during his tenure as they finished fourth and fifth, respectively. As the Red Sox prepared to move from the Huntington Avenue Grounds into a brand-new venue named Fenway Park, Donovan was replaced by player-manager Jack Stahl; Stahl immediately turned the club around, not only winning a franchise single-season record 105 games but the club’s second World Series title.

As a final note: in total, according to Baseball-Reference.com, there have been exactly 40 players born in Ireland to play baseball for a professional major league club. As would be somewhat expected, most played in the nineteenth century, with only nine such players to have donned a uniform in the 20th century. In fact, the last Irish national to play for either an American or National League club was Joe Cleary, born in Cork, Ireland in 1918, who appeared in exactly one game as a relief pitcher for the Washington Senators (later the Minnesota Twins) in 1945. In just one-third of an inning pitched, he gave up seven runs on five hits and three walks, giving him a career ERA of 189.00, and the only out he managed came by way of a strikeout.

Today In History – Ted Williams Makes His Boston Debut

13 March 1938 – Ted Williams dons a Red Sox uniform for the first time in an exhibition game, playing right field and batting third in a 6-2 exhibition loss to Cincinnati in Sarasota, FL; Williams is hitless in four at-bats. Born in San Diego on 30 August 1918, the same day that Carl Mays wins two complete game efforts for the Red Sox on the way to Boston’s fourth World Series championship in seven seasons, Williams played high school baseball at Herbert Hoover High School. After graduation, the youngster turned pro and signed on to play for his hometown Padres of the Pacific Coast League; it soon became apparent that he was the real deal and scouts quickly got the word back to American and National League clubs.

In the fall of 1937, then-Boston general manager Eddie Collins made the trip west to broker a deal with the Padres for the rights to Williams; the trip paid off not only with the Red Sox sending Dom Dallesandro, Al Niemiec, and cash to the Padres in exchange for the 19-year-old future Hall of Fame player, but Collins’s trip also landed another future Hall of Fame player, Bobby Doerr. After his spring training stint with the Sox in 1938, Williams was farmed out to Minneapolis of the American Association; a year later, he arrived in the majors for good, becoming one of the best hitters over the next two decades and perhaps the greatest ever, in his own words.

Did You Know? – Red Sox 20-Game Losers

Since 1901, there have been 201 instances where a pitcher has lost 20 games or more in a single season. The most recent pitcher to suffer this dubious “honor” was Mike Maroth in 2003, who went 9-21 for the Detroit Tigers ballclub that lost 119 games, one loss shy of the modern record for most losses in a season by one club. Before that, you have to go back to Brian Kingman, who lost 20 games with the Oakland Athletics in 1980.

In the team’s 106-year history, the Boston Red Sox have had exactly ten 20-game losers. The last time it happened, in 1930, the team actually had two 20-game losers in the rotation: Milt Gaston, who led the team with 13 wins against 20 losses, and Jack Russell, who posted a record of 9-20. That club also lost 102 games, the fourth time in six seasons that the club had lost 100 games or more. Gaston and Russell were also two of five pitchers that had lost 20 games or more over the previous six seasons; Red Ruffing, a future Hall of Fame pitcher whose career would blossom after being traded to New York in 1930, lost 25 and 22 games in 1928 and 1929, respectively; Slim Harriss lost 21 games againt 14 wins in 1927; and Howard Ehmke went 9-20 in 1925.

The four other pitchers in Red Sox history to lose 20 games in a season were: “Sad Sam” Jones, in 1919, two years before he would win a career-high 23 games while still with Boston; Joe Harris, who won just two games while collecting 21 losses in 1906; the legendary Cy Young, who lost 21 games in 1906, the third time in his career that he had lost 20 games or more in a season; and Bill Dinneen, who matched his 21 losses with 21 wins in 1902. Dinnenn was also the only pitcher to lose 20 games for a Boston club that had a winning record.

Books Reviews – Our Red Sox

Growing up in the shadows of Boston, it’s not surprising that writer Robert Sullivan, who has been published in TIME, Sports Illustrated, and LIFE, among others, became a Red Sox fan. His first exposure to its mystical aura came in 1960, when his father took him and his older brother to Fenway Park, with the main purpose of being able to see the legendary Ted Williams play in what would be his last season. Years later, he continues to align his loyalty towards the Boston nine but he must do so behind enemy lines, since he lives in Westchester County, New York, or, as the back cover of the book reads: “…in the backyard and too often in the shadow of the Yankees.”

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Did You Know? – Japanese Red Sox Ballplayers

With the hype surrounding Japanese pitching phenomenon Diasuke Matsuzaka as he prepares to make his MLB debut with the Boston Red Sox this spring, it’s worth noting the accomplishments of Japanese baseball players in Major League Baseball history. According to Baseball-Reference.com, in total, there have been 27 Japanese ballplayers who have worn an MLB uniform. The first such player was Masanori Murakami, who debuted at the age of 20 in September of 1964 for the San Francisco Giants; he would pitch one full season the following year before contractual obligations forced him back to the Nankei Hawks of the Japanese League, where he pitched another 17 seasons.

It wasn’t until thirty years later that another Japanese ballplayer, Hideo Nomo, would take the field with a Major League club. In 1995, “The Tornado” (named so for his winding delivery style) made his first start for the Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Giants in May of that season; at season’s end, he was 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA and 236 strikeouts, beating future NL MVP Chipper Jones by 14 points for Rookie of the Year honors. Six years later, in 2001, he would spend his first and only season in a Boston Red Sox uniform. The year began well for the then-32-year-old veteran; making his first start of the regular season in Baltimore, Nomo pitched the first official no-hitter by a Red Sox pitcher since Dave Morehead no-hit the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park in 1965. Having thrown a no-hitter against Colorado in 1996, he became the fourth pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in both the American and National Leagues. He would finish the season at 13-10 in 33 starts with a 3.09 ERA and 220 strikeouts and then return to the Dodgers in 2002 as a free agent.

Nomo was actually the second player of Japanese descent to play for the Red Sox; in July of 1999, Tomokazu Ohka made his MLB debut for Boston and would remain with the club until 2001 when he was shipped mid-season to Montréal in exchange for fellow pitcher Ugueth Urbina. Ohka began his baseball career in Japan with the Yokohama Giants of the Central League, where he was 1-2 in 34 appearances over four seasons. Starting at Double-A Trenton to begin the 1999 season, he went 8-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 starts; he was rewarded with a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket and went 7-0 with a 1.58 ERA in 12 more starts. He soon made his major league debut as a mid-season call-up on 19 July; unfortunately, he lasted just one-plus innings in his first start, giving up five runs on five hits and a walk. He did not fair any better in his second start and was sent to the bullpen for the rest of the season.

The following spring, Ohka again started the year in the minors with Pawtucket and enjoyed another fast start, beginning the season with a 9-6 record and a 2.96 ERA in 19 starts, which included a perfect game against the Charlotte Knights on 01 June 2000. Once more, the Red Sox promoted him mid-season and, after saddling two more losses in starts with Boston, he finally earned his first major league win on 13 August in Texas against the Rangers, the first of three straight wins; at season’s end, he was 3-6 in 12 starts but with a respectable 3.12 ERA. He would begin the next season with Boston, winning two of his first three starts, but those would be the last wins for Ohka in a Boston uniform before the deadline trade. In total with the Red Sox, he compiled a 6-13 record in 25 starts and 33 total appearances with a 4.61 ERA.

Only one other Japanese-born player has worn a uniform for the Boston Red Sox, though many fans may not be familiar with this player’s heritage: Dave Roberts, one of the heroes of the 2004 World Series champions. Forever remembered in Boston lore for his stolen base in the ninth inning of Game Four of the 2004 ALCS, now often referred to as “The Steal,” his father, Waymon Roberts, was a Marine stationed in Okinawa, Japan; his mother, Eiko, is of Japanese descent. However, despite being born in the Land of the Rising Run, Roberts spent most of his youth in San Diego, CA. In total, counting players with other heritages, there have been 34 players born in Japan to don a major league uniform.

Did You Know? – Football at Fenway Park

Though it may come as a surprise to some, Fenway Park has been the home of more than just baseball and the Boston Red Sox; not once, not twice, but professional football franchises have occupied Fenway Park three times in its 95 years of existence since the park opened in April of 1912 with an exhibition baseball game between its primary resident and Harvard University (the Red Sox prevailed, 2-0). Yes, in its storied past, the beautiful park has been transformed from a baseball diamond into a football gridiron, with goal posts standing before the bullpens and hash marks crossing through the infield, as the national pastime gave way to Sunday afternoon turf wars.

With the city awarded a National Football League (NFL) franchise in 1932, the Boston Braves took residence at Braves Field, the team taking the moniker of the baseball team with which it shared its season at home, in its first year of existence; the following season, owner George Preston Marshall moved the team across town to Fenway and changed its name to the Redskins. Unfortunately, the city showed little interest in football and attendance was poor, so much so that the 1936 NFL title game, which was scheduled to be played in Boston, was moved to the Polo Grounds in New York City. Ironically, the Redskins finished first in the NFL East division that season for the only time while in Boston and would lose in that title game to the Green Bay Packers, 21-6. The next year, the Redskins moved to Washington, DC, where they remain today.

The next team to play football at historic Fenway Park was the Yanks, the NFL’s second attempt to establish a Boston franchise; team owner Ted Collins picked the name “Yanks” because he originally wanted to have the team play at Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees. The franchise lasted five seasons in Boston but never caught on, likely due to the lack of success on the field; the team’s best record came in 1947 when they finished 4-7-1 in regular season play. Citing financial woes, Collins asked the league to fold the team in favor of a New York City franchise; that team would play three seasons in New York, first as the Bulldogs and then for two seasons as the Yanks. Collins would then sell the franchise to Giles Miller, who would move the franchise to Dallas for one season and watch the team go 1-11, the only win coming against George Halas and the Chicago Bears. Miller then sold the team back to the NFL, which awarded the franchise to Baltimore with Carroll Rosenbloom as the team’s new owner; that team would eventually become today’s Indiannapolis Colts, winners of Super Bowl XLI.

The last team other than the Red Sox to occupy Fenway Park was none other than the Boston Patriots, one of the original teams in the American Football League (AFL). After playing its first three seasons at Boston University’s Nickerson Field, the original site of Braves Field, the team moved to Fenway Park, where they played six seasons from 1963 through 1968. In its first season there, the team managed a record of 7-6-1, tying the Buffalo Bills for first place in the AFL East. Boston would win a one-game divisional playoff game against the Bills in Buffalo but then would lose the AFL championship against the Chargers in San Diego. The next season, the Patriots improved to 10-3-1 but finished out of the playoffs in second place behind Buffalo, which had gone 12-2. After another four seasons at Fenway Park, in which the team went 19-32-5, owner “Billy” Sullivan moved the team to Boston College’s Alumni Stadium. The team would play the 1969 season there, the 1970 season at Harvard Stadium, then finally took residence in Foxboro, MA, changing its name to the New England Patriots.

The ballpark has also been host to other teams as well, including the National League’s Boston Braves (known today as the Atlanta Braves), who played for a season there in 1914 while Braves Field was under construction; that “Miracle Braves” team eventually won the 1914 World Series, sweeping Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics. The ballpark also hosted home football games for Boston College and Boston University; oddly enough, one-time BU All-American Harry Agganis quarterbacked more than a few games for the Terriers at Fenway Park before he eventually signed to play baseball with the Red Sox in 1952. Tragically, the Lynn, MA native would die just three years later at the age of 26 from a pulmonary embolism in the midst of the 1955 season.

Five Future Red Sox Hall of Fame Inductees

The selection committee for the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame isn’t due to make a decision on the next list of nominees until more than a year from now, and the next induction ceremony isn’t scheduled to take place until November of 2008, but just whose career as a Red Sox player or manager might be worthy enough to earn enshrinement at that time? (We won’t consider non-uniformed honorees here nor will we consider a “memorable moment” from team history.) To be eligible, players must have played a minimum of three years with the team and have been out of uniform as an active player for another three years; former managers are generally chosen well after leaving Boston, as was the case for “Walpole” Joe Morgan and Dick Williams, two 2006 inductees. We are also going to shy away from more recent candidates who will be eligible when the next vote is expected, like John Valentin, Mo Vaughn, and Ellis Burks, simply because selections usually happen longer than three or so years after leaving the game.

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Did You Know? – Unassisted Triple Plays In Red Sox History

Considered one of the rarest of feats, an unassisted triple play occurs so infrequently that only 12 have been turned in modern Major League Baseball history. It’s even more astonishing when you consider that the triple play itself is an unusual event and that there have been more perfect games (17) than unassisted triple plays. Most often, unassisted triple plays require luck more than anything; often times, a ball must be caught on a line drive by a middle infielder with no outs and runners on the move from first and second, giving the defensive player time to tag the runner from first and step on the bag at second for the force out of the other runner.

In Red Sox history, Boston has been not only a victim (once) but the beneficiary (twice!). In 1909, shortstop Neal Ball of the Cleveland Indians became the first player in modern baseball history to turn the trick. In the top of the second at Cleveland on 19 July, with Red Sox shortstop Heinie Wagner on second base and first baseman Jake Stahl on first, Boston second baseman Amby McConnell struck a hard line drive right at Ball. In one quick motion, the infielder caught the ball, stepped on second to force Wagner, and then tagged out Stahl, who was just a couple strides away. Boston would end up on the losing end of a 6-1 Cleveland win but take revenge in the second game with an 8-2 victory.

14 years later, on 14 September 1923, Red Sox first baseman George Burns becomes the first Red Sox player and third ever Major League player to perform the rare feat, and one of only two infielders other than a shortstop or second baseman to do so. Facing the Indians at Fenway Park, Burns snares a line drive off the bat of Frank Brower and tags Rube Lutzke who had strayed too far from the bag at first. Burns then found himself in a foot race to second base with Riggs Stephenson, who had started running towards third as the pitch was delivered. With every ounce of effort he had, Burns managed to slide into the bag, the ball still in his glove, ahead of Stephenson to complete the trifecta.

More than seventy years would pass after Burns’ feat when shortstop John Valentin took the field on 08 July 1994 against the Mariners at Fenway Park. Trailing 2-0 at the time and with runners on first and second, Marc Newfield hits a line drive off Red Sox pitcher Chris Nabholz straight at Valentin, who goes down on one knee to snare the line drive with the runners going. Valentin then casually runs to second to double off Mike Blowers and nonchalantly tags Keith Mitchell, who had virtually come to a stop, realizing that his goose was cooked. It wasn’t until Valentin reached the dugout and teammates began to congratulate him that he realized what he had just accomplished; ironically, he had only tagged Mitchell in fun, thinking that there was already an out in the inning.

Oddly enough, of the twelve players that have turned an unassisted triple play, two of these players have also hit for the cycle, a feat rarer than a standard triple play: Valentin and Burns. Burns accomplished that feat as a member of the New York Giants in 1920; Valentin made his mark on 06 June 1996, the last of 18 Boston players who have hit for the cycle.