Hank, I applaud your use of TGOTT as a source. Genuinely. EEE vers. SI cot. Those are names many of us mispronounce today. Everyone on this board should listen to those 4 CDs. The first was the Cubs second baseman, the second one was that Black Sox pitcher. Woods' segment is a wonderful lesson on equivocation. Did you bet on baseball? No!!! YES!!!! And after listening to Sam Crawford, it makes me think that Wagner was the best ball player ever, not Cobb nor Ruth.
Mays threw a pitch that hit Chapman in the head. Chapman tried to take a couple of steps toward first and collapsed. Mays stayed on the mound, away from him. Mays stayed in the game, Chapman was taken to a hospital. The game went on. Chapman died early the next day.
I doubt Mays was trying to kill Chapman. Chapman died because he was hit by a pitched ball. It wasn't an unexpected pitch. It was in the top of the 5th at the Polo Grounds (the home park for the Yankees that season). Smokey Joe Woods would have been on the bench as an outfielder, he didn't play that day. Harry Lunte went in to pinch run and then play in the field. Speaker was the next hitter and he reached on a fielder's choice, eventually scoring Cleveland's 4th run (Cleveland won 4-3). Mays started the day going for his 100th career win. The Cleveland players didn't revolt, nor storm the field, nor refuse to bat, nor chase Mays out of the game. Seems fault would go to the pitcher, and a bit to the batter, maybe the ball was dirty. Mays did have an unconventional, submarine type pitch. Chapman was hitless that Monday, his last game. And he was 0 for 4 on Sunday, the day before, at home in Cleveland.
I don't think anyone killed anyone that day. I do think Chapman died a few hours after being hit in the head by a pitch Mays delivered. Mays won over 100 more games in the Majors after that game. I deem it a tragic accident. I figure Mays barnstormed the season before, and the season after... That was what ball players did then. I don't think they barnstormed to capitalize on Mays having thrown that pitch.
I'm encouraged about there being people here who've listened to Mr. Ritter's The Glory Of Their Times, 4 CD set. Guys, that's must listening!! And after you've listened to that, listen to it again in a year or two.
Davy Jones, Chief Meyers, Sam Crawford, Fred Snodgrass, Hans Lobert, Rube Marquard.... if you love those white border T206s you have to listen to the voices and pronunciations of those guys.
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