Boston Red Sox Set a Franchise Record for Wins!

The Boston Red Sox set a new franchise record for regular season wins this week. In doing so, they broke a record held for over a century by the 1912 Red Sox. That 1912 team was one of the greatest teams in baseball’s first quarter century, but through the passage of time, many fans no longer know much about that amazing team and its story.

The 1912 team won 105 games while losing just 47. The club had new ownership and opened its new ballpark, Fenway Park, on April 20, 1912. Fittingly, the Sox beat the New York Highlanders (later renamed the New York Yankees) 7-6 in extra innings for the team’s first win in Fenway Park. The opening of the new park was somewhat obscured in the news of the day. The Titanic sunk just five days earlier on April 15^th.

The Red Sox team was led by future HOF centerfielder Tris Speaker. Speaker enjoyed a stunning season hitting .383, leading the American League in home runs with 10, doubles with 53, extra-base hits with 75, on-base percentage of .464. Speaker also had a 30-game hitting streak, at the time the longest in Red Sox history. Speaker capped the season by winning the Chalmers Award – the equivalent of today’s MVP.

On the mound, a 22-year-old Smokey Joe Wood turned in one of the greatest pitching seasons in Red Sox history. Wood went 34-5, and his 34 wins was tops in the American League. He started 38 games and threw a league leading 35 complete games. He led the American league in shutouts with 10 and posted a 1.91 ERA.

The 1912 Red Sox roster boasted 3 players (Speaker, Hooper and Wood) who rank in the top 24 in all-time Red Sox career WAR. Wood’s 11.5 in 1912 remains as the 3^rd best season in franchise history topped only by two HOF players – Yastrzemski in 1967 (12.5) and Pedro Martinez in 2000 (11.7).

This great Boston team won the American League pennant comfortably. They finished 14 games ahead of the Washington Senators, and their arch rivals from New York finished 55 games behind the Red Sox – the largest difference in the standings ever between the two teams.

By 1912, the Red Sox already had a history of post-season excellence. The Sox won the very first World Series in 1903 over the heavily favored Pittsburgh Pirates. The Sox won the AL pennant again in 1904, but there was no world series played that year due to a dispute with New York Giants manager, John McGraw. Starting in 1905, the leagues agreed to make the series an annual event.

The 1912 series featured a match-up of two excellent teams. The New York Giants won the National League pennant with a record of 103 wins and 48 losses. The Giants 103 wins stands as the 3^rd highest total in Giants’ franchise history.

The Giants’ team was led by a trio of .300 hitters – Chief Meyers (.358) (Led NL in on-base % - .441), Fred Merkle (.309) and Larry Doyle[1] (.330). The Giants’ pitching staff boasted two future HOF pitchers – Christy Mathewson (23-12, 2.12 ERA)[2] and Rube Marquard (26-11, 2.57 ERA) Marquard’s 26 wins topped the National League. Jeff Tesreau was a rookie and led the NL in ERA at 1.96 and had a record of 17-7.

Game one of the World Series was at the Polo Grounds in New York. Smokey Joe Wood got the start against Tesreau and the Giants carried a 2-0 lead into the 6^th inning. But the Sox rallied for one in the 6^th and scored 3 in the top of the 7^th. Wood pitched a complete game and held on for the victory. In a theme that would be repeated throughout the series, the Giants out hit the Sox 8 to 6.

Game 2 on October 9^th was called due to darkness with the teams tied at 6 runs apiece.

Game 3 at Fenway Park was a tight affair with the giants prevailing 2-1. Marquard pitched a complete game to knot the series at 1 game each. Game 4 was a repeat of the Game 1 pitching match-up of Wood against Tesreau. The Giants again out hit the Red Sox, but the Sox won the game 3-1 behind Woods’ 9-hit, 8-strikeout performance.

Game 5 saw the Red Sox take a 3-1 lead in the series as 22 year-old Hugh Bedient, a 20-game winner, out pitched the great Christy Mathewson. The Giants could only muster 3 hits and a single run in the Red Sox 2-1 victory.

Entering game 6, the Red Sox were just one win away from taking the World Series. Giants’ Manager John McGraw started Rube Marquard. The Red Sox spotted the Giants 5 runs in a sloppy first inning, and Marquard made the runs hold up in a 5-2 win bringing the Giants to within a game of evening up the series.

Game 7, on October 15^th was at Fenway Park. The Giants had to win, and in the only rout of the series the Giants scored 6 in the top of the first on their way to an 11-4 win to even out the series at 3 games each.

Game 8 of the series was also at Fenway Park and might be one of the greatest games in World Series history. Bedient and Mathewson were the starters, and the Red Sox scored one run in the 7^th when pinch hitter Olaf Henriken doubled to tie the game at 1-1. Smokey Joe Wood then entered the game to pitch. Wood shut down the Giants in the 8^th and 9^th, but the Red Sox could not score against Mathewson either, so the game went into the 10^th inning tied 1-1.

Red Murray hit a double and the Giants’ Fred Merkel singled him home to put the Giants on top 2-1 behind Mathewson entering the bottom of the 10^th inning. But things fell apart for the Giants. Mathewson induced pinch hitter Clyde Engle to hit a routine fly ball but Giants’ centerfielder Fred Snodgrass dropped it. Engle ended up on second base. Harry Hooper then hit a shot to centerfield that Snodgrass caught making a sensational play, but Engle tagged up and advanced to third base. Now the Red Sox had 1 out and a runner at 3^rd base trailing 2-1.

Steve Yerkes then walked and Tris Speaker’s pop foul landed between Merkle and Meyers on a misplay by the usually sure fielding Giants. Speaker didn’t miss his chance, and he singled to tie the score 2-2. With Yerkes advancing to third. Mathewson walked Duffy Lewis to set up force outs around the infield. So, with the bases loaded, one out and tie game, Mathewson faced Larry Gardner. Gardner hit a long fly ball to right field, and Yerkes scored on the sacrifice fly giving the Red Sox their second World Series win.

The next 6 seasons marked perhaps the most dominant period over the American League by the Red Sox. Building off that great 1912 season the Sox went on to win the World Series again in 1915, 1916 and 1918 to claim 4 World Series titles in the decade from 1910-1919. By the end of the decade, the Red Sox had more World Series titles than any other franchise with 5. They were also the 2^nd team to win back-to-back titles.

Nikco Sports Celebrates!

[1] Doyle finished his Giants career with a .292 career average and ranks 14^th on the all-time franchise list for total WAR at 42.7.

[2] Mathewson is regarded as one of the top two or three right-handed pitchers of all-time. At the end of the 1912 season, he’d amassed 308 career wins on his way to 373 wins, 3^rd highest in MLB history. His 104.1 WAR for the Giants ranks him 4^th among the all-time franchise leaders.