Tag Archives: Wilbur Cooper

September 28, 2020

This Date in 1920

September 28, 1920, proves to be a dark day in the history of baseball. The White Sox scandal gets a four column headline on page one of the New York Tribune, and takes up all of page two as Eddie Cicotte and Joe Jackson confess their guilt to the grand jury in Chicago.

Indictments were voted against eight baseball stars to-day, confessions were obtained from two of them, and Charles A. Comiskey, owner of the oft-time champion Chicago White Sox, smashed his pennant chasing machine to clean up baseball. The confessions told how the Sox threw last year’s world championship to Cincinnati for money paid by gamblers.
New York Tribune

Comiskey paid off the eight players and suspended them for the rest of the season. This basically killed Chicago’s hope of catching Cleveland for the AL pennant. It the day the Chicago American League Club became the Black Sox.

On the field, five of the six games scheduled in the major leagues play to completion, including two doubleheaders. The Reds beat the Pirates at home 2-0 in game one of their twin bill for the low scoring game of the day. The Indians beat the Browns in St. Louis 9-5 for the high scoring game of the day.

Eddie Foster of the Red Sox takes home the honor of best offensive game of the day. He posts a four for five day in game one, missing the cycle by a homer as he collects two doubles and a triple. The Senators win that game 7-6 in ten innings. Foster collected 23 extra-base hits in 1920, none of them home runs, so this was an unusually powerful day for the third baseman. He was a bit of an iron man, leading the league in at bats four times in his career.

Wilbur Cooper of the Pirates takes home best pitched game of the day. It’s an unusual situation, as he takes the loss despite his high game score. He allowed two unearned runs on four hits and no walks, striking out two. Twice in the bottom of the fourth inning, rookie shortstop Pie Traynor made throwing errors that wind up costing the Pirates the game.

George Sisler of the Browns sets the single season mark for hits as he posts a two for four day to raise his league leading BA to .407. The two hits give him 249 on the season, one ahead to Ty Cobb‘s 1911 record. Speaker goes two for five in the game to stay at .386. The batting race is over, and now we’ll see if Sisler can stay above .400.

The Yankees and White Sox are idle. The Indians win gives them a one-game lead in the AL, with a two-game lead in the loss column. The Yankees are three games back, but the best they can do is clinch a tie. The Indians magic number is down to four. Jim Bagby of the Indians picks up his 30th win of the season.

On the sports page, the AL Pennant is conceded to Cleveland. The Dodgers and Indians already started discussing the series. It seems that back then a coin toss determined which team would get the extra game at home. The Indians won the toss, but elected to play the middle four game of the best of nine in Cleveland. The Indians wanted more time to erect extra seating. It is also agreed that Joe Sewell, who replace Ray Chapman on the Indians roster following Chapman’s death, would be allowed to play. Sewell joined the Indians after the deadline for post-season play. The page lists all the players on both teams eligible for the series.

August 4, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The majors saw all six scheduled games played on August 4, 1920. The Pirates shutout the Braves 3-0 in Boston for the low scoring game of the day. At the high end, the Senators beat the Indians in Cleveland 11-3.

The best offensive game of the day did not come from that contest, however. Joe Jackson of the White Sox hosted the Yankees, Chicago pounded New York 10-3. Jackson collected three hits in four trips, hitting a triple and driving in two runs. The four game series between the now powerful Yankees and the defending AL Champions set an attendance record for a four-day, single game a day series, taking in 126,000 fans.

Wilbur Cooper of the Pirates spun the shutout to take home best pitched game of the day honors. Cooper allowed five hits and one walk while striking out four for a game score of 80. Cooper ties Pete Alexander of the Cubs with 18 wins to lead the National League.

Tris Speaker of the Indians posts a two for two day to raise his league leading batting average to .421. George Sisler of the Browns hangs in the race with a two for four day, and is now batting .403. Jackson climbs to .397.

In the AL pennant race, the White Sox gain on both the Yankees and league leading Indians. New York remains four games out of first place, the White Sox right behind them at 4 1/2 games back of Cleveland.

In the NL, the first place Dodgers and second place Reds had the day off, and Brooklyn’s lead remains 2 1/2 games. The Pirates win moves them into a tie with the Giants for third place, both teams five games out.

In other news, Hal Chase is banned from the Pacific Coast League for gambling. A semi-pro team tries to sign him, but the head of that league says no.

June 29, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The majors league teams play all nine scheduled games on June 29, 1920, including two double headers. The World Champion Reds take a second game in a row from the Cardinals 5-1, the low scoring game of the day. At the high end, the Cubs trounce the Pirates 14-3 in the second game of their double header. It is the second day in a row the teams played a twin bill.

Elmer Smith of the Indians takes home best offensive game of the day in Cleveland’s 9-6 win over the Browns in game one of a double header sweep. Smith posted a three for four day with a double and a home run, drawing a walk for good measure. He drives in six runs on the game, his home run a grand slam. His big game ties him for fifth in the AL RBI race with 46.

Special mention goes to Dave Robertson of the Cubs, who posted the second and third best game scores of the day in that double header, and easily has the best overall day at the plate. He goes four for five in game one with a double and a stolen base, then posts a three for five with a triple and home run in the night cap, hitting for the cycle in the twin bill.

The Pirates at the Cubs double header also produces the best pitched game of the day, as Wilbur Cooper wins the 4-3 first game in eleven innings. Cooper allows eleven hits but just two walks as he strikes out seven batters. His 1.49 BB per 9 IP is fifth lowest in the NL. He is also all over the NL leader boards in terms of the amount of games and innings he pitched.

The Reds win extends their lead in the NL pennant race to two games over the Cardinals. Brooklyn drops to fourth place behind the Cubs as the Dodgers lose their sixth straight game. The Giants remain in seventh place, still just 5 1/2 games out as all but the Phillies have a shot at the pennant.

The Indians win two and the Yankees win one, as the Indians increase their lead in the AL to 1 1/2 games over New York. The White Sox remain 5 1/2 games out in third place after they defeat the Tigers 8-7.

June 6, 2020

This Date in 1920

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The eight scheduled game played to completion on June 6, 1920. It would another 24 years before that date took on its historical significance. The Indians scored two runs in each game of their double header at home against the Browns. Cleveland lost the first game, but won the second by a score of 2-1, the pitching duel of the day. The day ended in exciting fashion on a two out, bases loaded single by Elmer Smith in the bottom of the ninth. At the high end, the Yankees routed the Athletics 12-6 at the Polo Grounds. The game featured five triples, two by Washington and three by New York, but no home runs.

Babe Ruth of the Yankees did come close, however, as he takes best offensive game of the day honors. Ruth goes three for three with two walks and the triple, driving in four runs and scoring two. The triple was almost a home run, however, as the subhead to the game story notes, “Ruth Hits Fence in Center, But Only Gets a Triple.” The odd shape of the Polo Grounds provided short home runs if one pulled the ball, but death to fly balls in centerfield.

As for the pitchers, Burleigh Grimes of the Dodgers and Wilbur Cooper of the Pirates tie for the best game score at 78, but Grimes takes home the honor of best pitched game of the day for his six-hit shutout. Cooper allowed just one run in ten innings as Pittsburgh beat Cinncinati 3-1, but was wild, walking four. Grimes allowed the Giants just one walk to go with his six hits, Brooklyn taking the game from their cross-town rivals 8-0. Among the league leaders, Grimes is now second in ERA at 1.18, fifth in walks per nine IP at 1.40, and second in strikeouts per nine IP at 4.63.

The Dodgers rotation continues to dominate the majors with an average game score of 65.8, nearly eight points higher than their nearest competitor, the Pirates.

April 21, 2020

This Date in 1920

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MLB saw two games played on April 21, 1920. Both games produced good offensive shows as the White Sox beat the Browns 7-4 in Chicago, and Pirates beat their Ohio River rivals the Reds 5-3 in Cincinnati.

The offensive player of the day goes to George Sisler of the Browns. He went four for five on the day, missing the cycle by a home run. Sisler would hit .400 twice in his career, including this 1920 season and be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939. Now a week into the season, the Zack Wheat led the majors in batting average at .526, 10 for 19 with no extra base hits. He did not strike out that first week.

No pitching performance was outstanding, but Wilbur Cooper takes home the daily trophy with a complete game win for the Pirates. His game score comes in at 55. He allowed 13 hits but no walks, striking out four. Cooper was a great pitcher, topping four rWAR a season from 1916 to 1922, amassing 49 rWAR for his career. A number of pitchers owned ERAs of zero at this point, Elmer Ponder doing so with the most innings, thirteen.

The New York Tribune sports page reviewing the day also features a lead story about the Yankees opening at home. The Tribune does something interesting, as their headline story appears on the left side of the page. I was always taught the lead story should be on the right side. They certainly do that on the front page.