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 Season Revisited
In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lose 102 games. Rebranded in 1913 as the Yankees, they move 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 proceed to lose another 94 games.
Known to hold a grudge, McGraw two full decades later still harbors much animosity 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.
As long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remains 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 at the turnstile in a decade.
Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates shift along the New York/New England fault. 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 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 - if the preceding season 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 is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the 1921 season 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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, 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 #129
POLO GROUNDS
Carl Mays Defeats Former Team In Opener
Boston wields twelve hits, but the Yankees turn three double-plays behind the pitching of Carl Mays, who limits the Red Sox to single runs in the fifth and eighth innings for the win. At the plate, the Yankees' battery takes care of most of the work. Wally Schang goes 3 for 3 with two runs scored, and Mays drives home runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Bob Meusel goes 2 for 3 with a home run and drives in his 114th run. Roger Peckinpaugh, Mike McNally, and Babe Ruth also drive in runs, the latter his 144th this season. Carl Mays improves to 23-9 with a 2.90 ERA. Boston's Allen Russell takes the loss.
- FINAL: BOS 2; NYY 6
GAME #130
POLO GROUNDS
Make-Up: 6/30/1921
Babe Ruth Hits Number 52; Yankees Sweep Red Sox, Increase Lead Over Cleveland
Harry Harper comes through with his second straight big game performance for Miller Huggins, making only his fourth appearance this season. The former Washington Senator who last year pitched for Boston holds his former mates to a pair of late runs on seven hits and three walks for the victory. In turn, the Yankees scored seven runs on nine hits against veteran southpaw Herb Pennock. Facing his former mates, Babe Ruth goes 3 for 4 with a double and home run, his 52nd this season. He is now just two home runs shy of tying his own single-season record set last season, his first with the Yankees. Wally Pipp drives home a run, and Bob Meusel drives home his 115th of the season. With a twin-bill sweep of the Red Sox, the Yankees gain another half-game on Cleveland, who defeated the Tigers at Dunn Field.
- FINAL: BOS 2; NYY 7
- RECORD: 82-48 (.631); First Place, 1.0 GA of Cleveland
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GAME #135
Baker Bowl
Make-Up: 4/15/1921
Art Nehf Defeats Jimmy Ring in Opener
The Giants make the short trip to Philadelphia and right away pounce on Phillies starter Jimmy Ring for two runs in the first and one in the second. Coming off an ineffective start against the Braves, Art Nehf makes it stand, allowing seven hits, including home runs by Ed Konetchy in the fifth and Cy Williams in the seventh. Dave Bancroft and Ross Youngs drive home two runs, and leadoff man George Burns goes 3 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Art Nehf improves to 18-9 with a 3.75 ERA.
- FINAL: NYG 7; PHI 2
GAME #136
Baker Bowl
Giants Complete Twin Bill Sweep at Baker Bowl; Move Within Half-Game of Pittsburgh
Facing old friend Bill Hubbell, the McGrawmen pick up where they left off in game one, walloping the former Giant pitcher for eleven runs on 13 hits through the first 4.2 innings. Playing in the fifth game in three days, the Giants scored twice in the second, three times in the third, then erupted for six runs in the fifth inning, knocking Hubbell out of the box. In relief, Duke Sedgwick yields another two runs on six hits over the final 4.1 innings. Earl Smith connects on a two-run home run in the second. The Giants send twelve batters to the plate in the sixth inning and score twice more in the seventh for good measure. Ross Youngs drives home three runs, and Frankie Frisch and Johnny Rawlings drive in two. High Pockets Kelly also drives in two giving him 120 for the season. Phil Douglas holds Philadelphia to four runs on twelve hits and two walks for his thirteenth win. Ed Konecthy and Cy Williams again homer for Philadelphia. With the Pirates playing an exhibition at Huntingdon, PA., the Giants gain a full game in the standings. Less than a full game now separates the Pirates and Giants.
- FINAL: NYG 13; PHI 4
- RECORD: 82-54 (.603); second place, 0.5 GB of Pittsburgh
