Was It Really "Only" One Hundred Years Ago?

The Retrosheet is an easy place to blow a few hours without noticing, especially on a rainy Saturday morning.

Looking for a little history to match up with the present:

100 years ago, the Boston Pilgrims/Americans won the 1903 World Series over the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 5 games over 3 margin. They were led by player/manager Hall of Fame third baseman Jimmy Collins, who broke in with them in 1895 when they were still the dreaded Beaneaters of Boston. Of course, this was before Fenway Park, when they still played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds.

Also of note in the lineup was "the brawling Irishman" (was there any other kind of Irishman back in 1903?) Patsy Dougherty, who at 27 hit .331 in only his second year in the league. He would never hit over .300 again for the rest of his career.

Although Boston led their league in hitting that year, they also led the league in pitching with Cy Young, who went 28-9 with a 2.08 ERA and Big Bill Dineen, who went 21-13 with a 2.26 ERA. This was the same Big Bill Dineen who lost 21 games the year before, going 21-21 in 1902.

Of course, pitching dominated back then. Boston had a team ERA of 2.57. And there would be no deadline trades for relievers. What for? Their starters completed 123 of the 141 games they started! The four saves they had all season where earned by who else but Cy Young and Bill Dineen, with two apiece. In addition to his two saves, Dineen completed 34 of the 35 games he started. Meanwhile, Cy Young wielded a feisty bat, hitting .321 with a homer and 14 rbis in 137 at bats.

Boston blew through their competition that season at a 91-47 clip, taking the American League title by a comfortable 14 1/2 game margin over the Philadelphia A's. They went on to face the Pittsburgh Pirates, led by Hall of Famer Honus Wagner's .355 average, 19 triples, 101 rbis and 46 stolen bases, in the first World Series.

According to Ballpark Watch, the Series could be summed up from the inscription on a home plate shaped plaque that was dedicated on May 16, 1956 and still stands as a memento today on the grounds where the first game took place:

"On October 1, 1903 the first modern World Series between the American League champion Boston Pilgrims (later known as the Red Sox) and the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates was played on this site. General admission tickets were fifty cents. The Pilgrims, led by twenty eight game winner Cy Young, trailed the series three games to one but then swept four consecutive victories to win the championship five game to three."

But that's not the crazy part. The crazy part is that Boston starters Cy Young and Bill Dineen pitched all but 2 innings of the World Series. Dineen won games 2,6 and the deciding Game 8, while Cy Young won games 5 and 7 after losing the Series opener.

If that wasn't enough excitement, later on that year The Wright Brothers became the first ever to fly.

*****

The question on my mind today is if it is to be Theo Einstein in the future. He looked a little more like Theo Neinstein when the Evil Empire was outbidding him for Jose Contreras back in the chair-throwing winter, when he went 0-for-5 bidding for Bartolo Colon, Jose Contreras, Edgardo Alfonzo, Jeff Kent and Erubiel Durazo. But the kid made a swell comeback when he torpedoed the Yankees this past week. Scott Sauerbeck and Scott Williamson yanked from the Yankees for the pen and Jeff Suppan, who was 6-2 in his last 11 starts for the Pirates, adding another limb to the starting rotation. This all looks magical but then again, how does it sound that Suppan's lifetime record against the Yankees is a 0-4 with an 8.46 ERA, 0-2 in Yankee Stadium and 0-1 in Fenway Park?

Meanwhile, the Yankees settled for kidding themselves. This race was over when they traded for Armandogeddon and while the Yankees brass muttered the appropriate slogans about straightening Armando out, it was a move of quiet desperation which continues to bear fruition for Yankee-haters everywhere. Last night, the saga continued. Benitez entered a game the New York Yankees had seemingly full control over, holding a one-run lead over the Oakland A's with one out in the eighth. Moments later, he allowed a single to Mark Ellis and then walked Scott Hatteberg on a 3-1 pitch. Hmmm. What was that miraculous twaddle coming out from GM Brian Crashandburn on the day of the trade? Oh yeah:

"Benitez stands out, head and shoulders, above the other guys out there."

Yes, he most certainly does. He stands out like a hideous highway car crash, like dry kindling to a fire, or a population at risk.

On the verge of seeing the game blown, Torre came out of the dugout, looking pained, and had to bring in a miracle worker, Mariano Rivera, who, by now, must be thoroughly sick of getting called out to change Armando's diaper every other game.

So while Theo has been busy, the Yankees dunce trust has come up with a relief pitcher, Jesse Orosco, who was tossing around the old horsehide in the cow pasture with Abner Doubleday back in 1836, a reliever named Gabe White, who has been on the DL with a groin injury for over a month and has already been called off of rehab twice, a former closer reduced to blowing games from the setup position, and an unspectacular third baseman in Aaron Boone, who cost them the best and only pitching prospect in their system, Brandon "Santa" Claussen.

But here's my dream: On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, September 27th and 28th, 2003, Armandogeddon blows leads in consecutive ballgames against his former team, the Baltimore Orioles, as the Yankees see their one game lead over the Red Sox evaporate while the Sox are sweeping the series against the Devil Rays in Tropican Field to clinch the AL East and the loser of the season-ending Seattle-Oakland series at Safeco clinches the final wildcard spot. Then, with the Yankees and their 80 trillion dollar payroll shut out of the postseason, everyone in the world who isn't a miscarriage of humanity will be celebrating the triumph of justice and the quashing of evil.

All of this reminds me of a great joke I read recently via Yank This, an unbiased commentary on the lineage of the Bronx:

"Three baseball fans are walking home from a game at friendly Fenway Park.

One is wearing a Red Sox cap, the second one is wearing an Indians cap, and the third one is wearing a Yankees cap.

As they are walking down Commonwealth Avenue, they see a pair of legs sticking out from under a bush. Upon further inspection, they find that it is a totally naked dead woman.

A crowd starts to gather before the police arrive, so they decide to give the woman some vestige of dignity. The first one places his Red Sox cap over her left breast. The second one places his Indians cap over her right breast. The third one places his Yankees cap over her crotch.

The police arrive to investigate. The detective picks up the Red Sox cap for a moment, takes a quick look, writes a few things in his notepad, then puts the cap back on her breast. He picks up the Indians cap, takes a quick look, writes a few things in his notepad, then puts the cap back on her other breast. He picks up the Yankees cap, takes a quick look, starts to write in his notepad, but stops and scratches his head for a moment, with a puzzled look on his face. Then he kneels down real close, sticks his fingers in the womans crotch, spreading it open and staring.

Now one of the baseball fans yells at him: “Hey, what are you some kind of pervert?”

To this the officer replies: “Oh, no, of course not. I just need to double check because every other Yankees cap I’ve ever seen had an ASSHOLE under it!”