From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD
100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds:
New York Giants & New York Yankees
1921 Seasons Revisited
In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lost 102 games. Rebranded as the Yankees, in 1913, they moved just a few blocks away into the Polo Grounds as tenants of the Senior Circuit's New York Giants. To the chagrin of Giants manager John McGraw, the Americans proceeded to lose another 94 games.
Known to hold a grudge, McGraw still harbored much animosity two full decades later, not only towards Ban Johnson and his rebel circuit (unkept promises included) but more so towards the Yankees. As they were founded at the expense of his rendered defunct Baltimore Orioles.
For as long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remained amicably strained. Mainly because the middling Americans, except for one season in 1916, never elevated themselves above the ranks of Junior Circuit also-rans. But that changed in 1919 when they briefly vied for the pennant but tuckered out down the stretch to finish third. A franchise record of 619,164 fans showed up to root for the American League contenders. However, the Yankees' burgeoning success was not yet a pressing issue, per se, for the Giants, who were coming off a second-place finish and their best season in a decade at the turnstile.
Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates along the New York/New England fault shift. The Yankees' purchase of George Herman "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox sends seismic waves reverberating throughout the baseball world but none more intense than in Washington Heights.
Ruth's earth-shattering record of 54 home runs was something never experienced before in the history of baseball. However, it was an accomplishment for which John McGraw had little appreciation. He believes players work too hard and earnestly to have their skills disrespected by some miscreant's lone swing of the bat.
Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance. However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions. McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history. Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.
In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds. Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it. All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed. Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.
Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail. But a solution lies not too far away ...
Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds. It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series. All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe.
This is my replay of that season. I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.
- Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE
Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!
GAME #39
POLO GROUNDS
Fred Toney Turns Back Phillies With Both Arm and Bat
Philadelphia ties the game at one in the top half of the third. But starter Fred Toney atones for his misstep with a home run hit deep into the right field seats, giving himself and the Giants a lead they would not again relinquish. Ross Youngs addresses that with a home run leading off the fourth and runs batted in by Goldie Rapp and Earl Smith in the seventh, giving this game its final score of 5-1 in favor of the home team. Fred Toney improves to 6-2 with a 3.11 ERA. He allows just one run on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts through nine.
- FINAL: PHI 1; NYG 5
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GAME #40
POLO GROUNDS
Giants Outslug Phillies to Secure Twin Bill Sweep
Try as they might, Philadelphia continually comes up short as the Giants lineup continues pressing throughout. New York tallies four runs in the second on two triples, a single, and Earl Smith's home run. High Pockets Kelly and Aaron Ward drive in two more runs in the third, and a Frank Snyder homers in the fourth, giving the Giants a 6-1 lead. But the Phillies close with two with three runs in the fifth and one in the top of the sixth. That's when the Giants commence the second wave of their twelve hit barrage with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, one in the seventh, and two more in the eighth. Philadelphia can only muster two in the seventh and ultimately lose by a difference of five. Speaking of which, five Phillies misplays in the field account for four unearned runs. The Giants get home runs from Smith and Frank Snyder in the fourth. Curt Walker leads the charge going 3 for 4 with a double, triple, two runs scored, and three runs batted in. Starter Phil Douglas despite yielding seven runs on ten hits earns the victory. Rosy Ryan pitches in with 2.2 scoreless innings.
- FINAL: PHI 7; NYG 13
- RECORD: 27-13 (.615); second place, 2.5 GB of Cleveland
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GAME #38
Griffith Stadium
McNally Swipes Home; Rip Collins Hurls Gem
You know what happens when you walk the leadoff batter, don't you? Washington starter Jose Acosta issues a base on balls to Roger Peckinpaugh leading off the first. After a double by Babe Ruth advances him to third, Peckinpaugh scores Wally Pipp's ground ball second to first. With two outs and runners on the corners in the third and Chicken Hawks at the plate, second baseman Mike McNally steals home for a 2-0 Yankees lead. Tasked with a spot start in the first game of today's twin bill, Rip Collins puts forth a stellar performance, allowing just one run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly to ruin the shutout. He otherwise yields just four hits, four walks, with four strikeouts for the win.
- FINAL: NYY 2; WAS 1
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GAME #39
Griffith Stadium
Washington's George Mogridge Two-Hits Former Team; Senators Gain Split
Pitching clearly rules the day. In another very tightly contested affair, Washington's tally in the second ends up being the game's decisive run. Facing Jack Quinn, left fielder Bing Miller triples and scores when third baseman Howie Shanks advances him home. But that's it. Quinn allows eight hits and just one walk in a hard-luck loss. Meanwhile, a former Yankees teammate last season and now hurler for the Senators, George Mogridge, limited the Highlanders to a mere two hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a complete-game shutout effort. Mike McNally and Babe Ruth muster the Yankees only two hits. Ping Bodie reaches on a walk, and the fourth and last Yankees base runner reaches safely on shortstop Frank O'Rourke's fielding error. The crowd of 15,000 express their great appreciation for Mogridge's masterful handling of the Yanks who endure their first whitewashing this season.
- FINAL: NYY 0; WAS 1
- RECORD: 24-15 (.615), second place, 2.5 GB of Cleveland
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