Sunday, July 13, 2014

World Series: Did You Know?

Urban Shocker, one of baseball's saddest stories, did not get to pitch in the 1927 World Series for the Yankees. It didn't seem to matter, as New York needed just four games to take the Fall Classic from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shocker had always been good for the Yankees. Amazingly enough, in between his Yankee stints (1916-17, 1925-1928) he pitched for the St. Louis Browns. All he did was win pretty much every time he took the mound. Pitching for the Browns in 1921, he even led the league in wins with 27. That was rare for a Brown hurler. But Urban was one of those rare pitchers that didn't need a good team behind him to win. Too bad, in baseball's greatest time of the year, for it's greatest (to that point) team ever seen, Urban wasn't allowed to pitch. Given his track record, one wonders!

He never had a losing season, going 12-12 in 1925, on a sub .500 season for the Yankees. His World Series moment arrived in 1926 as he took the loss in game two to the St. Louis Cardinals. Urban got into game six and allowed a pair of unearned runs in two-thirds of an inning. New York lost in seven games. But New York has a habit of bouncing back from heartbreaking (see 1960) World Series losses with both barrels the next season!

But in 1927, Urban himself seemed prime to lead the Yankees back to the promised land. Waite Hoyt ended up leading the New York starting pitchers in wins (22), W% (.759) and ERA (2.63). But Shocker was right there with 18 wins, a .750 winning percentage, and 2.84 ERA.

The 1927 World Series looked like a mismatch on paper. The Yankees had the pitching outside Hoyt and Shocker. Plus they had the hitting outside of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Up and down the lineup, there was hitting. Up and down the hurlers, there was pitching. Pittsburgh, winners of the first World Series in 1903, and as recently as 1925, must have realized this was one Fall Classic they were thoroughly over-matched in. Babe Ruth himself was looking to redeem himself, having been nailed at second to end the 1926 Fall Classic. Ruth out on a steal to end the World Series? Yes.

But in game one on the road, the Yankees seemed to be unable to shake the Pirates. Oh, New York would score a run, or three, but Pittsburgh would come right back. The teams traded single tallies in the first and fifth, plus Pittsburgh scored a run to New York's zero in the eighth. The moment of truth came in the third, as the Yankees touched home three times to the Pirates' one. That helped make the final score, 5-4, Bronx Bombers. But it was Pittsburgh with nine hits to New York's six. Hoyt was the winner. But he must have hardly been impressed. The Big Ace looked like a fourth starter. Urban Shocker would have been a better choice, right?

The Yankees, too, must not have been impressed with Hoyt's performance. They sent George Pipgras to the hill to start game two. He looked more like a fourth starter in the regular season (10-3, but with a 4.11 ERA). Were the Yankees sending a message to Hoyt? "Here, watch as we send a pitcher out that will do better than you!" But it looked like Shocker was coming in. Manager Miller Huggins informed Urban that when George was out, he was in! It should have been in no time, given what New York saw of Hoyt in game one and George from April to September!

And, as in game one, it was the Pirates that notched a single tally in the bottom of the first. Well, well...well! This time, the Yankees failed to score in their half. Alas, as in game one, the Yankees tallied three times in the top of the third. Unlike game one, the Pirates failed to score in the bottom of the frame. It was 3-1, Yankees.

Pipgras gave up a single in the bottom of the second, a single in the bottom of the third. In the fourth, it was Pie Traynor with a double. But George got the Yankees out of these problems without a single tally by Pittsburgh. A 1-2-3 fifth inning gave George a much needed boost of confidence. In the sixth, he allowed Paul Waner to single with one out. But again, no damage done.

The Yankees seemed to struggle against Vic Aldridge all game long, save for two innings. With a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth, it was time for the third inning all over again. New York scored three times again to put this game out of reach. But this time, Ruth and Gehrig didn't contribute. Actually, in the third Ruth hit a sac fly and Gehrig doubled. So I had better mention that both contributed to the three runs. Here, they were the last two outs of the inning, and nothing more. But with a 6-1 lead, the two legends of the game were not needed any more.

However, Paul Waner drove in his brother Lloyd with a sac fly of his own in the bottom of the inning. Shocker's time to show soon? No, as Pipgras got out of the inning and then retired Pittsburgh 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth. With a 6-2 win, New York was up two games to none in the 1927 World Series. They promply won the next two games at home to complete the sweep. Urban Shocker had his first World Series ring.

But, he had not pitched. And his health was failing. Heart trouble forced him to sleep standing up, although it was one of baseball's best kept secret. He lost weight in the offseason. But he returned to pitch one more game the following season, before his career came to a close. Later, on September 9th, 1928, Urban Shocker passed away at the age of 37.

The Yankees have had their share of tragedies over the years. From Urban Shocker to Lou Gehrig to Thurman Munson. Unlike those two, Shocker is not remembered very well. Even in one of his finest seasons, he was not around on the hill when the Yankees put the finishing touches on one of their finest seasons ever. That's probably got a lot to do with it. You need to be there when you put the icing on the cake.

But Urban was there with them in the regular season. Who knows what it would have meant for him to be on the hill with one of the greatest teams of all time behind him in October? We'll never know.


References

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Frommer, Harvey. Five O'Clock Lighting. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008. Print

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Informationhttp://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 13, 2014.

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