100 Years Ago Today 6/22/1920: Pirates Defeat Brooklyn Robins in Series Opener

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #53: Tuesday, June 22, 1920 - BR
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Pittsburgh Pirates Take Series Opener; Add to Brooklyn's Woes

New day, different opponent, same result, the Brooklyn Robins lose another game and drop to 4-9 during this current home stand.  Their latest defeat comes at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, whom climb back above .500 at the Robins expense.  Meanwhile the game marks Brooklyn's fourth straight loss, and the eighth loss in their last nine games.  You might call Tuesday's respective starting pitchers fire starters.  Each is given the hook after just two innings pitched.  Pittsburgh's Elmer Ponder yields three runs on two hits and one walk, while Jeff Pfeffer surrenders four runs on four hits and one walk.  Pittsburgh manager George Gibson summons his ace Wilbur Cooper in for relief.  Wilbert Robinson reciprocates calling upon Burleigh Grimes with two outs in the third.  Brooklyn actually gets the better of Cooper, but the damage had already been done.  The Pirates who strike for 16 hits, lead 7-6 after three innings, and add two more runs in the seventh.  The Robins muster one run in the bottom of the ninth but end the game with runners stranded on the corners.  Cooper surrenders four runs on nine hits and two walks through seven innings for the win.  Burleigh Grimes surrenders two runs, one earned, on seven hits and one walk through 6.1 innings, however Jeff Pfeffer is stuck with the loss.  Hi Myers remains steady going 3 for 5 with a double, two runs scored, and a run batted in.  And the struggling Zack Wheat shows signs of life going 2 for 3 with a run batted in.  The loss drops Brooklyn into third place.  They are now 2.5 games out of first, the furthest they've been out of the top spot so far this season.

• RECORD: 28-24 (.538)
• 3rd place; 2.5 GB

Bridging Generations: A Metsian Podcast Father's Day Special

From the desk of: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

with SAM, RICH, and MIKE

ninety minutes

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

SPANNING GENERATIONS

Talking baseball with a 

Baby Boomer, Generation X, and GEN-Z

Commissioners ~ Owners ~ Players ~ Union

Jenrry Mejia ~ Jeff Kent ~ John Franco

I jump on my soapbox, and so much more!

SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE FATHERS PRESENTLY 

SERVING OUR COUNTRY AND STILL IN HARM'S WAY

100 Years Ago Today 6/20/1920: Brooklyn Robins Drop Second Straight to Chicago Cubs

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #52: Sunday, June 20, 1920 - BR
Chicago Cubs vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Brooklyn's June Swoon Continues

Not even Burleigh Grimes can stem the rising tide of defeatism seeping into Brooklyn's locker room.  A despondent albeit large crowd of 20,000 donning in their Sunday best witness the Robins' continuing turn for the worse as the Chicago Cubs take the series finale by a 4-2 final.  It's Brooklyn's third loss in a row and the seventh loss in their last eight games, all contributing to a 7-10 record to date for the month of June.  They are indeed still five games above .500 and in second place, but in truth they're trending the complete other way.  Alas the Robins have been in this situation before.  Uncle Robbie knows it, and there's the rub.  With a roster virtually unchanged from last season Wilbert this season makes Jimmy Johnston his starting third baseman and likewise inserts Pete Kilduff at second.  So far so good.  Kilduff is 2 for 4 with a double, and Johnston drives home Brooklyn's only two runs for the game.  But what more can Wilbert do?  Zack Wheat after another 0 for 4 day sees his average dip to .263 with just two hits in his last 34 at-bats.  Meanwhile Burleigh Grimes is ineffective for a third straight appearance.  He surrenders four runs on eight hits with five walks and two walks through nine.  His record now stands at 8-2 with a rising 2.12 earned run average.  Burleigh's counterpart Hippo Vaughn does what he does best - wins.  The Cubs 32-year old southpaw yields two runs on nine hits and five walks with one strikeout while improving to 9-2 with a 1.38 ERA.

• RECORD: 28-23
• 2nd place; 2 GB

100 Years Ago Today 6/19/1920: Cubs Claw Brooklyn Robins in Extra Innings

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #51: Saturday, June 19, 1920 - BR
Chicago Cubs vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Despite 4-7 Record During Present Home Stand Fans Continue Packing Ebbets Field Unlike Ever Before;  Another 8,000 Fans Take Saturday Loss in Stride.

After two straight days of rain the clouds over Bedford and Sullivan dissipate and baseball finally resumes play Saturday afternoon at Ebbets Field, although not exactly to Uncle Robbie's great satisfaction.  The visiting Cubs and Robins complete nine innings deadlocked at two runs apiece.  But in the Chicago twelfth and manager Wilbert Robinson looking on starter Al Mamaux commits a cardinal sin by walking leadoff batter Zeb Berry.  Berry is successfully bunted over to second then scores on Freddie Merkle's double to deep right.  But Wilbert Robinson makes no move.  After Mamaux retires third baseman Buck Herzog on a lazy fly to center for out number two Wilbert Robinson watches Chicago catcher Bob O'Farrell strike a Mamaux offering into deep center field for an inside the park home run and an abrupt 5-2 Cubs advantage.  Brooklyn scrapes together one run in the bottom of the frame but nothing more en route to a 5-3 defeat.  Performing like his old pre-war self, the great Grover Cleveland Alexander pitches another dandy.  In his third year with Chicago, Pete Alexander improves to 13-4 with a 2.22 earned run average.  Brooklyn manages just eight hits with Hi Meyers, Ed Konetchy, and Pete Kilduff, accounting for two each.  Meanwhile Zack Wheat since returning from a minor injury remains mired in an awful slump, going just 2 for 30 over his last eight games.  Al Mamaux pitches twelve innings in a losing effort.  Why, is something perhaps we'll never know.  Entering Saturday's action the Robins were coming off three straight days away from the diamond.  In other words Uncle Robbie had a fully rested and available staff.  Now he must contemplate the Robins sixth loss in their last seven games and the seventh in their last nine.  The Robins with a 28-22 record to date have now completed roughly one third of their regular season and to the dismay of naysayers still rank among the first division contenders.  They are indeed off to their best start since winning the pennant four years ago.  But Wilbert knows very well that at this point during each of the last three seasons the Robins have been a sub par team.  As if the onset of summer serves as a foreshadowing of things to come, in June 1916 the Robins post a 14-11 record.  But during the month of June from 1917 through 1919 they post sub par records.  Despite today's loss the second place Robins are still six games above .500 and are just 1.5 games behind the league leading Cincinnati Reds with the Cardinals and fourth place Cubs hot on their tail feathers.  However, June 2020 seems determined once again to become an issue as the Robins today fall to 7-8 this month.

• RECORD: 28-22 (.560)
• 2nd place; 1.5 GB

A Champion Grows in Brooklyn: Making of the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms

From the desk of:  FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

130th Anniversary

1890 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 

BROOKLYN BRIDEGROOMS

Bridegrooms Become Only Team to Win Back to Back Championships Playing for Two Different Leagues

In 1883 a new Brooklyn Atlantics Baseball Club was founded unrelated to the old.  Their home field is newly constructed Washington Park conveniently located on the outskirts of Red Hook, a reasonably short distance south along 5th Avenue from Flatbush Avenue.  In 1884 the Atlantics became members of the American Association, the National League's two-year-old rival.  They post a 40-64 record during their inaugural season.  After this, the team nickname is dropped in favor of the Grays.  As such, they continue onward, sandwiching a third-place finish in between two more losing campaigns.  This era of Brooklyn baseball is most notably anchored by players the likes of p-Adonis Terry; p-Henry Porter; p-John Harkins; p-Hardie Henderson; 1b-Bill Phillips; inf-Bill McClellan; ss-Germany Smith; 3b-George Pinkney; of-John Cassidy; of-Ed Startwood.

By 1887 the Grays are a seventh-place club.  Recognizing it would be best for the team, club president Charley Byrne relinquishes his self-anointed role as field manager and hands it to newly hired Bill McGunnigle, a former pitcher with the Buffalo Bisons and Worcester Ruby Legs.  Byrne also understands the true measure of a league champion over being a mere contender is possessing the wherewithal to procure, accumulate, and retain quality talent.  Charley henceforth begins improving the roster while making cost a secondary consideration.  He purchases the failing New York Metropolitans and transfers its best players Darby O'Brien among them to Brooklyn. Byrne soon after pays a handsome fee to the St. Louis Browns for pitcher Bob Caruthers, pitching and first base threat Dave Foutz, and catcher Doc Bushong.  Entering 1888, the club is now most commonly referred to as the Bridegrooms, and with improvements, fortunes begin changing for the better.  Charley executes another savvy midseason transaction with the August purchase of infielder Oyster Burns from the Baltimore Orioles, then very late in the season purchases of/inf-Hub Collins away from the Louisville Colonels.  The Brooklyn Bridegrooms finish in second place with an 88-52 (.629) record, a mere 6.5 games out of first, the finest ever regular-season finish throughout their eight-year American Association existence.  But Charley Byrne is not yet done, making another key off-season addition to the pitching staff with the purchase of right-hander Tom Lovett.

1889 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONS

Brooklyn's new pitching triumvirate is spearheaded by Bob Caruthers, who proves a worthy investment after issuing the league's least walks per nine innings and for a second time leading with a career-high forty victories against eleven losses with a 3.13 earned run average.  Adonis Terry, a pitcher with the club since the Atlantics days and who in 1884 wins 19 games as a rookie, finally posts his first twenty win season with a 22-15 record and 3.29 ERA.  And after debuting as a rookie in 1886 with the Association's Philadelphia Athletics 24-year old Tom Lovett returns to the game after a three-year absence to post a representative 17-10 record with a 4.32 earned run average.  Together they join for 79 victories accounting for 85% of Brooklyn's 93 regular-season wins.  Brooklyn's pitching staff as a whole is deceptively effective despite registering the league's fifth-best team ERA.  That's because they issue the league's least base on balls while surrendering the third least average hits per game.  In turn, their staff 1.324 WHiP ranks second.  The 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms also wield a productive stick.  They lead the American Association in walks and runs scored.  They are otherwise across the board above league average in home runs, total bases, stolen bases, team batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging.  Oyster Burns bats .304 and is one of two Bridegrooms to achieve one hundred runs batted in.  The other is Dave Foutz, who leads the team with 113 runs batted in.  Darby O'Brien bats .300 with 80 runs batted in and a team-high 91 stolen bases.  George Pinkney, with the team since 1885, is third on the team with 82 runs batted in.  Pinkney, O'Brien, Burns, Foutz, and last year's late-season acquisition Hub Collins, each exceed one hundred runs scored.  Worth mentioning is pitcher Adonis Terry who bats an even .300 with 14 extra-base hits and 26 runs batted in through 160 at-bats.  Brooklyn entreats their trolley dodging fans to a 50-19 record at Washington Park, to go along with a league-best 43-25 record on the road.  Alas, Charley Byrne's astute decisions pay off as Brooklyn crosses the finish line with a 93-44 record to capture the American Association pennant by a slim two-game margin over the dethroned St. Louis Browns.

1890 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

After six seasons as an American Association member club, Brooklyn in 1890 abruptly jumps over to National League baseball's more established environs, wherein their first season wins the pennant, and thus repeat as a major league champion.  Brooklyn's pitching triumvirate flourishes against its newest competition, with each achieving at least twenty victories.  Tom Lovett posts a 30-11 record with a 2.78 ERA; Adonis Terry is 26-16 with a 2.94 ERA; Bob Caruthers goes 23-11 with a 3.09 ERA.  The staff finish the season tied for third in team ERA, yields the third least home runs, and the second least walks.  At the plate, Brooklyn leads the circuit in runs scored, slugging, and stolen bases.  They rank second in home runs, team average, and on-base percentage.  Oyster Burns leads the National League with 13 home runs and 128 runs batted in; first baseman Dave Foutz bats .303 with 98 runs batted in; and longtime Bridegroom favorite George Pinkney bats .309 with seven home runs and 83 runs batted in.  Team captain Darby O'Brien leads the club with a .314 average, and Hub Collins leads with 85 stolen bases.  With an 86-43 (.667) record, the Bridegrooms clinch first place by 6.5 games over the second-place Chicago Colts and 9.0 games over the third-place Philadelphia Phillies.  The defending world champion New York Giants with a record of 63-68 finish a distant sixth, 24-games back of Brooklyn.

Despite winning two straight major league pennants, manager Bill McGunnigle fails to capture a world championship in 1889 against the National League New York Giants, and then again in 1890.  However, the series ends in a tie against the American Association Louisville Colonels.  McGunnigle is fired and replaced with the irrepressible John Montgomery Ward.

EXTRA INNINGS: The Ongoing Debate

Some consider the 1890 Player's League to have been the best of the year's three operating circuits.  The American Association, to begin with, was constantly having their major league viability questioned.  Meanwhile, most upper-echelon players to join the Players League were National League defectors.  However, Brooklyn somehow remained relatively unscathed, and so contrarians contend the Bridegrooms did nothing more than get the better of a weakened field.

Make of it what you will ...

Twenty-five years pass before Brooklyn wins another pennant.


Sources:

• SABR/Charley Byrne
• Brooklyn Dodgers/Baseball-Reference
• SABR/Brooklyn vs. New York

100 Years Ago Today 6/15/1920: Brooklyn Robins Lose Three of Four to Cincinnati Reds

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #50: Tuesday, June 15, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS TAKE SERIES FROM ROBINS THREE GAMES TO ONE

The Reds score early and often, above and beyond what the Robins can withstand.  Jeff Pfeffer is wholly ineffective, reliever Clarence Mitchell more so.  Making his ninth start of the season Pfeffer yields five earned runs on eight hits and one walk in just three innings pitched.  Clarence Mitchell records just one out before being relieved himself but not before surrendering another three runs on four hits.  Cincinnati southpaw Dutch Ruether despite allowing five runs on nine hits and five walks  improves to 11-3 with a 1.82 ERA.  For Brooklyn Hi Myers and Pete Kilduff each drive in two runs apiece, and Ed Konetchy goes 2 for 5 with one run batted in.  However the Robins leave ten men on base and are just 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position.  Despite homering in yesterday's contest Zack Wheat is now 2 for 26 (.076) over his last seven games.  The Robins have now lost six of their last eight games.  Meanwhile the Reds take the series three games to one, and reclaim sole possession of first place.

• RECORD: 28-21 (.571)
• 2nd place; 0.5 GB

The Great Baseball Impasse of 2020 on Another Metsian Podcast

From the desk of: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

with

SAM, RICH, and MIKE

fifty-five minutes

Precious time continues wasting away.  It's already mid-June and MLB and the MLBPA are far from striking a deal on a tentative 2020 season.  Negotiations between parties remain stalemated and rife with animosity.  The Union believes talks have reached the point of futility, with players essentially throwing their hands in the air asking MLB to impose a modified schedule and a report to work date.  Should that be the case baseball now gets to unilaterally impose a shortened season and pay players at a prorated basis.  Who wins?  Who loses?  And who still cares?  Sam, Rich, and Mike, return this evening attempting to tackle these very issues.  Also on tap, Mets money matters and a trip down Metsian lane.

100 Years Ago Today 6/14/1920: Brooklyn Robins Back In First With Victory Over Cincinnati Reds

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #49: Monday, June 14, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Zack Wheat Breaks Out of Slump; Robins Snap Four Game Skip

Brooklyn rallies late to take game three of their four match set with Cincinnati.  Facing a 4-6 deficit through the sixth, the Robins score once in the seventh and four times in the eighth en route to a 9-7 come from behind victory at Ebbets.  Zack Wheat breaks out of a 1 for 19 slump with a three run home run in the third.  Ed Konetchy climbs back above .300 going 2 for 4 with a triple and run scored.  Ivy Olson drives in a pair, and Pete Kilduff and Tommy Griffith each drive in a run apiece.  Even Burleigh Grimes pitching in relief of Leon Cadore chips in with a hit and two runs batted in.  Making his eleventh start of the season Cadore allows six runs, only four are earned, on eleven hits and a walk through seven innings pitched, but does not factor in the decision.  Burleigh Grimes improves to 8-3 on the season upon yielding one run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts through two innings in relief of Cadore.  A former Robin and favorite of Wilbert Robinson Jake Daubert singles and drives in a run, and Edd Roush goes 3 for 5 with a double and his 27th run batted in of the season.  With the victory Brooklyn regains first place by one half-game over the defending champion Reds.

• RECORD: 28-20 (.583)
• 1st place; 0.5 GA

Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn 6/14/1870: Atlantics Bring Cincinnati Red Stockings Historic Win Streak to an End

From the desk of: WHEN BEDFORD WAS THE WORLD

ATLANTIC BASE BALL CLUB of BROOKLYN

150 Years Ago Today

BROOKLYN ATLANTICS PREVAIL IN EXTRA INNINGS; CINCINNATI RED STOCKINGS HISTORIC WINNING STREAK ENDS AT CAPITOLINE GROUNDS

Among the greatest battles ever waged pitting amateurism and eastern idealism versus professionalism and western aspirations erupts in 1870 in the Bedford section of Brooklyn where the Atlantics host the openly professional Cincinnati Red Stockings at Capitoline Grounds.  Established in 1866, the Red Stockings finish the 1869 season undefeated, including a commanding 32-10 victory against the Atlantics.  Picking up where they left off, Cincinnati to date remains undefeated and is in the midst of an 84-game winning streak upon their arrival at Brooklyn.  The afternoon's respective competitors are by no means strangers.  The lure of play-for-pay inspires many an eastern player into moving west.  Lest we forget, Asa Brainard is the former feature hurler of the Brooklyn Excelsiors; Harry Wright once a member of the old Knickerbockers and Gothams; and his brother George Wright also a one-time member of the Gothams.  Otherwise, each of the nines enters this match virtually intact from the 1869 season, making them quite familiar with one another.

On June 14, 1870, upwards of 15,000 fans from Bedford and beyond are treated to an extraordinary contest - a terrific back and forth affair - in which the underdog Atlantics overcome the mighty Red Stockings by an 8-7 final score in eleven innings, and thus bring to an end Cincinnati's historic undefeated run dating back to the 1868 season.

CINCINNATI

• George Wright-ss
• Charlie Gould-1b
• Fred Waterman-3b
• Doug Allison-c
• Capt. Harry Wright-cf
• Andy Leonard-lf
• Asa Brainard-p
• Charlie Sweasy-2b
• Cal McVey-rf

Cincinnati's Harry Wright promptly opens the scoring with a first inning double plating George Wright and Doug Allison.  The Red Stockings tally another in the third for a 3-0 lead.  Brooklyn strikes back for a pair of runs in their half of the fourth on Joe Start's base hit scoring Dickey Pearce, and Bob Ferguson's double scoring Start.  After which a series of infield gaffes committed by Cincinnati's Charlie Gould, Charlie Sweasy, and Fred Waterman, clear the way for a 4-3 Brooklyn lead after six.  But the pendulum again swings Cincinnati's way when George Wright drives in two runs in the top half of the seventh giving the Red Stockings a 5-4 lead.  Undeterred the Atlantics forge a tie in the eighth.  The clubs remain deadlocked at five apiece through the ninth.  Brooklyn seemingly resigned to a draw begins walking off the field while a dismayed crowd begins overrunning the playing field.  However Cincinnati captain Harry Wright insists on a continuance of play.  After much on-field deliberation team captain Bob Ferguson and the Atlantics agree to play on.  A scoreless tenth ensues, the Red Stockings then tally two runs in the top half of frame eleven.  Though faced with a 5-7 deficit the Atlantics temerity would not be denied.  Charlie Smith leads off the bottom half of the frame with a hit and immediately scores on Joe Start's triple.  Two batters later Joe Ferguson drives in the game tying run with a base hit scoring Start.  George Zettlein then reaches safely on first baseman Charlie Gould's error, placing runners on the corners.  When George Hall follows with a sharp grounder to the right side, base runner Bob Ferguson makes his break down the third base line, second baseman Charlie Sweasy fields it and throws home.  The umpire declares Ferguson, SAFE!  Brooklyn wins!  Amateurism seizes the day ... or does it?

BROOKLYN

• Dickey Pearce-ss
• Charlie Smith-3b
• Joe Start-1b
• Jack Chapman-lf
• Capt. Bob Ferguson-c
• George Zettlein-p
• George Hall-cf
• Lipman Pike-2b
• Dan McDonald-rf

Scribes and fans alike resoundingly hail the game as the finest ever played.  But rather than reinvigorate the noble notion of amateurism and reinforce traditional sensibilities rooted deeply in the old New York Game long promulgated so eloquently by Henry Chadwick, baseball itself comes under the sway of western entrepreneurs set on deriding the "Father of Baseball" and forging headlong into the world of business and capitalism.  In 1871 the newly formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players launched their inaugural season.  But the great Brooklyn Atlantics of former 1860's glory, baseball's first dynasty, elect not to join.  They soon reverse course and in 1872 join baseball's professional circuit albeit shells of their former selves.  The Atlantics complete four sub-par seasons through 1875, never finishing better than sixth.  The National Association is dissolved, and in 1876 the Atlantics are excluded from the newly founded National League of Professional Baseball Clubs.  This brings to an effective end the twenty-year existence of the original pioneering Atlantics Base Ball Club of Brooklyn, one of the most fiercely competitive and highly successful 19th-century ball clubs to ever take the field.

• John Thorn/SABRvideos
• SABR/1870/Atlantics/Red Stockings

100 Years Ago Today 6/13/1920: Cincinnati Reds Bump Brooklyn Robins Back Into Second Place

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #48: Sunday, June 13, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Brooklyn Drops Second Straight to Defending Champs; Robins Fifth Loss in Last Six Game

Rube Marquard and the Brooklyn Robins end up on the wrong side of an otherwise brilliant pitcher's duel at Ebbets Field.  Very much looking like his old self again, Marquard allows just one earned run on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts through eight innings work.  His only mistake is unleashing a wild pitch in the top of the fifth putting first baseman Jake Daubert into scoring position.  Naturally center fielder Edd Rouch last year's batting champion drives him home with a hit to center.  Cincinnati right-hander Jimmy Ring likewise yields six hits and one walk with three strikeouts but in a victorious nine inning whitewashing of the Robins.  For Edd Roush, his 26th run batted in of the season.  Jake Daubert the former Brooklyn Robin traded to the Reds in exchange for Tommy Griffith is 1 for 4 with the only run scored.  The Robins threaten with one out in the eighth and runners on the corners but Jimmy Johnston grounds into a classic inning ending 6-4-3 double play.  Whereas Robins first baseman Ed Konetchy seems to have gotten off the schneid with two hits in four at-bats, Zack Wheat not so much as he is now a mere 1 for 19 since returning to action.  First place of the National League changes hands again, as Brooklyn slides back into second place one-half game behind the defending champion Cincinnati Reds.  The Robins trail the Reds in the series two games to none, and are now losers of four in a row.

• RECORD: 27-20 (.574)
• 2nd place; 0.5 GB

100 Years Ago Today 6/12/1920: Brooklyn Robins Bow to Defending Champs

From the desk of:  FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 National League Champions

Game #47: Saturday, June 12, 1920 - BR
Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

First Place Showdown: Cincinnati Rides Pair of Brooklyn Misplays to Opening Game Victory

The much anticipated clash for first place begins with visiting Cincinnati taking Saturday's series opener by a 4-3 final at Ebbets Field.  In the battle of starters the Reds Dolf Luque outlasts Al Mamaux.  Luque yields three earned runs on just six hits and two walks.  He even surrenders a home run to Tommy Griffith in the bottom half of the fifth.  However two errors in the top of the frame by Zack Wheat and Jimmy Johnston proves the Robins undoing.  Al Mamaux allows four runs but only three earned on eight hits and three walks en route to his second loss of the season.  Reds leadoff batter Morrie Rath goes 3 for 4 with a run scored, and left fielder Pat Duncan goes 2 for 4 with two runs batted in.  For the Robins Zack Wheat and Ed Konetchy are held hitless in seven combined at-bats with one walk.  Catcher Otto Miller with a single in the eighth is credited with Brooklyn's only other run batted in.  Second place Cincinnati closes to within one-half game of the first place Robins.

• RECORD: 27-19 (.586)
• 1st place; 0.5 GA

100 Years Ago Today 6/11/1920: St. Louis Cardinals Rout First Place Brooklyn Robins

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 National League Champions

Game #46: Friday, June 11, 1920 - BR
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Cardinals Win Finale, Take Series Three Games to One; Defending Champion Cincinnati Reds to Make First Visit at Ebbets Field

The St. Louis Cardinals charge to a second straight rout over the Robins and thus take the four game series at Ebbets Field three games to one.  Brooklyn's mound trio of Sherry Smith, Clarence Mitchell, and Johnny Miljus, receive rude treatment from the Cardinals whom rough them up for ten earned runs on 15 hits and one walk.  Second baseman Rogers Hornsby is 2 for 4 with two runs scored; third baseman Milt Stock is 4 for 4 with a pair of runs scored; and pinch hitter cashes in on a hit and three runs batted in.  Cardinals starter Marv Goodwin earns his second win of the season allowing two runs on eleven hits through nine innings pitched.  For Brooklyn Zack Wheat goes 0 for 4, and is now 1 for 13 since returning to the lineup.  Jimmy Johnston continues wielding a hot bat with three hits in four times to the plate, and Tommy Griffith goes 3 for 4 with a triple and one run batted in.  The Robins are just 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position.  However, Brooklyn maintains their slim 1.5 game lead over the Reds whom are rejected by the Giants at the Polo Grounds.  The defending champion Cincinnati Reds arrive this weekend for a first place showdown at Ebbets Field.

• RECORD: 27-18 (.600)
• 1st place; 1.5 GA

100 Years Ago Today 6/10/1920: Brooklyn Robins Bow to Cardinals at Ebbets

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #45: Thursday, June 10, 1920 - BR
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Burleigh Grimes Ineffective; Cardinals Take Two Games to One Series Lead

The Cardinals maintain a 1-0 lead through the sixth, then erupt for four runs in the seventh and four more in the eighth.  Brooklyn scores three times in the ninth but it's too little too late.  St. Louis starter and former New York Giant Ferdie Schupp allows just one earned run over nine innings on ten hits and two walks with four strikeouts for his fourth victory of the season.  Burleigh Grimes sustains his third loss of the season, yielding nine earned runs on ten hits and four walks with five strikeouts through 7.1 innings pitched.  Cardinals catcher Verne Clemons goes 2 for 4 with four runs batted in.  Second baseman Rogers Hornsby lifts his average to .384 also going 2 for 4 with a triple and two runs scored.  Zack Wheat clearly rusty is held hitless in five at-bats.  Jimmy Johnston Brooklyn's lone bright spot goes 3 for 5 with a run batted in.  The Robins lose a full game in the standings as second place Cincinnati emerges victorious in extra innings at the Polo Grounds.

• RECORD: 27-17 (.613)
• 1st place; 1.5 GA

100 Years Ago Today 6/9/1920: Brooklyn Robins Even Series with Cardinals

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #44: Wednesday, June 9, 1929 - BR
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field

Robins Seize Upon Cardinal Errors

Brooklyn pulls even with St. Louis at a game apiece.  Two errors in the seventh inning by Cardinals shortstop Doc Lavan and center fielder Jack Smith pave the way for Otto Miller scoring the go ahead run and an eventual 3-2 margin of victory.  Miller scores on a wild pitch back in the second, and in the fifth Ivy Olson drives in his fourteenth run this season.  Starter Jeff. Pfeffer yields two runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts for his third victory of the season.  Today's victory coupled with Cincinnati's loss against the Giants give the Robins a 2.5 game lead over the defending champion Reds.  After sitting out the last eight games with an injury Zack Wheat returns to the lineup.

• RECORD: 27-16 (.627)
• 1st place; 2.5 GA

The Fair Witness Perry Barber Joins a Metsian Podcast

From the desk of: HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

A METSIAN PODCAST

with SAM, RICH, and MIKE

GUEST

Amateur/Minor League Umpire 

Perry Barber

two hours

What we have here is a failure to communicate - a crisis of trust.  Over ten weeks have elapsed since the COVID-19 pandemic first causes baseball to suspend all operations.  Although MLB and the MLBPA in March come to terms on a contingency agreement the parties have since only grown more divergent in their respective plans for proceeding forward.  Sadly, any semblance of a 2020 season is now under threat of being cancelled outright not over health concerns but due to proverbial irreconcilable differences.  Said another way, money.  And so continues the contentious near 150-year history of professional baseball.  Joining A Metsian Podcast to provide a fair unbiased assessment of baseball's present condition, and lend context into what really is at stake in the world of collectively bargained baseball, is amateur/minor league umpire, the Fair Witness, Perry Barber.