Washington DC Baseball

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How Walter Johnson became a National Hero (Part 5): After the third straight whitewash, Cantillon must have thought it was time to rest his 20-year-old prodigy. Johnson came out again on Thursday, three days later, and edged the A's and their ace Eddie Plank 2-1. He said after this particular game that he did not deserve the victory, an early sign of his humble disposition. Over the years, Walter would consistently credit his teammates for his own well-deserved successes.

On the day following the victory over Eddie Plank, young Johnson was asked to start again because sore-armed Charley Smith was unable to take the turn. Again, the Big Train went all the way, for his fifth victory in nine days. Throughout his lengthy career, Walter Johnson would display tremendous stamina. According to team trainer Mike Martin, the effortlessness with which he threw a ball, which Johnson himself felt was a result of his use of the sidearm delivery, could be compared to the energy a normal human expends in snapping his fingers.

Following a three-inning shutout performance in relief two days later that saved the last game of the Philadelphia series, Johnson finally lost on September 18. He gave up just three hits but lost a 1-0 decision to Big Ed Walsh (the league's top winner at 40-15 in '08) and the White Sox on a tenth-inning bunt. This setback ended a string of five wins for the rising star. In acquiring those five wins, Barney had allowed just five runs in 58 innings. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

We will finish this account soon, but today we end with Walter and his team of prized pointers and setters from October of 1927. More than just the pitcher from Washington, Johnson was an avid outdoorsman and could often be found in the wilderness of Virginia during the offseason hunting for quail and partridge.

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Player #33B: Charles E. "Gabby" Street. "The Old Sarge". Catcher for the Washington Senators in 1908-1911. 312 hits and 2 home runs in 8 MLB seasons. Debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 1904. Caught ball dropped from top of Washington Monument. Holds MLB record for longest gap between MLB games at 19 years -- 1912-1931. Managed the St. Louis Cardinals in 1929 and 1930-1933, including the 1931 World Series championship. Managed the St. Louis Browns in 1938.

Street's SABR biography addresses his time in Washington: Persistence (in sticking with the San Francisco Seals in 1906 and 1907) paid off for Street, and his contract was sold to the Washington Senators. Of the 504 games Street played in the major leagues, 429 were over the next four years (1908-11) with Washington. His calling card was his defense, as he led the league in putouts and double plays in both 1908 and 1909. In 1910 he was atop his peers with a fielding percentage of .978. In today’s vernacular Street’s batting average would be characterized as worthy of the “Mendoza Line,” as his average with the Senators was a meek .210. Catchers of the day were never expected to hit that well, and in any event Washington was not fielding a championship team in those years, finishing no better than seventh place in the American League and no closer than 22½ games back of the pennant winner.

Importantly, Walter Johnson favored Street, acknowledging him as a first-rate catcher. “He always kept the pitcher in good spirits with his continual chatter of sense and nonsense,” said the Big Train. “ ‘ Ease up on this fellow, Walter, he has a wife and two kids,’ he would call jokingly when some batter was hugging the plate and getting a toehold for a crack at one of my fast ones. ‘This fellow hasn’t had a hit off you since you joined the league,’ might be his next remark and so on throughout the game.”

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Player #42A: Robert A. "Bob" Unglaub. Infielder for the Washington Senators in 1908-1910. 554 hits and 5 home runs over 6 MLB seasons. Debuted with the New York Highlanders in 1904. Managed the Boston Americans in 1907.

Unglaub's SABR biography reviews his time in Washington: In his two and a half seasons as a regular with the Senators, Unglaub was a valuable commodity to the club. He reported for 1909 with a new attitude (after squabbling with Cantillon over his salary following the midseason 1908 deal sending him from Boston to Washington), “It’s whatever Joe says,” he remarked, “If the team needs me anywhere at all, it is satisfactory to me, for I shall try and deliver the goods. I would, of course, prefer the infield, but if there is not room there, it is all the same to me.” (Washington Post, April 8, 1909)

During his tenure in Washington, Unglaub was alternately praised and criticized for both his hitting and his fielding. His managers (Cantillon and Jimmy McAleer) thought enough of his offensive abilities to often bat him third or clean up, and he was considered a clutch hitter. The local reporter said of him, “There is not a man on the local team more dangerous to the opposing pitchers when there are men on the bases than Bob Unglaub…when it comes to wielding the ash he fits in mighty nicely with the local aggregation…Unglaub is a batter whom any pitcher must fear, for when he hits the ball it usually goes on a long journey.” (Washington Post, April 17, 1909)

Despite some defensive shortcomings, Unglaub was considered valuable in the field for his versatility, experience, and leadership. He played third and first when Bill Shipke and Jerry Freeman struggled, and plugged the gaps at second and outfield when Jim Delahanty and Clyde Milan went down with extended injuries. He also saw significant playing time in right field. It was in the infield that Unglaub made the biggest difference: “…the fact that Unglaub is a valuable man to coach the infield as well as the pitcher gives him the preference.” (Washington Post, April 26, 1909)

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Player #43A: William D. "Dolly" Gray. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909-1911. 15 wins in 3 MLB seasons. Holds MLB record for walks allowed in an inning (8) and for consecutive walks allowed (7). In 1911, he threw the first pitch in Griffith Stadium.

Gray's SABR biography explains his place in the MLB record books: Southpaw pitcher Dolly Gray posted five 20-win seasons in the Pacific Coast League before coming to the Washington Senators (aka Nationals) in 1909. He literally walked into the record books on August 28 when he lost a one-hitter to the Chicago White Sox, 6-4. He walked seven consecutive batters (eight total) in the six-run second inning, then found his rhythm and finished the game. Billy Evans was the plate umpire for the game, and he opined in his sports column years later that Gray must have thrown at least 20 pitches in the inning that barely missed the plate. The only hit he gave up was a grounder to first base. Some fans and writers have suggested that it was really a no-hitter, because first baseman Bob Unglaub admitted he should have handled the grounder easily.

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How Walter Johnson became a National Hero (Part 6): Two days later, Johnson faced Rube Waddell of the St. Louis Browns. Waddell was baseball's real "rebel without a cause." A great pitcher, he drove managers insane wherever he played. Seemingly as innocent and erratic as a child, Waddell would miss time at the ballpark to chase fire engines or to just go fishing. Sportswriters would come to talk of Walter Johnson's fastball in the same breath as Waddell's, who had thrown very hard for Connie Mack's A's beginning in 1902. That is, he had until he injured his arm while horsing around with teammate Andy Coakley prior to the start of the 1905 World Series, which the A's lost in five games, mainly because of Christy Mathewson's "three golden eggs" --three shutouts in the first ever best-of-seven World Series.

Rube Waddell's arm was never quite the same after the fall of '05, but he still had plenty left when he faced the Senators in September '08. He struck out 17 Nats and was the winner over Walter Johnson, who struck out nine. The Big Train had pitched seven complete games for the Senators, with a save thrown in for good measure, within 17 days, and Joe Cantillon did not give him a break until the end of the campaign, which must not have come too soon for poor Walter. He had indeed earned his forthcoming salary increase of $800, to $3,500 for 1909.

The 20-year-old destined to become the greatest righthander of all time had truly arrived. Just out of his teens, Johnson was already getting about 60 letters a day from fans across the country. He was answering all of them, succinctly explaining to reporters who asked that if there were folks who were kind enough to write him, then the least he could do was write them back. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

Another example of how Walter came to enjoy the off season. The caption on the reverse reads: Walter Johnson. Two Out, and the Bag's Full. -- Walter Johnson, veteran ball player, strikes out a couple of wild turkeys in Florida. Daytona Beach, Fla. -- Photo Shows: Walter Johnson former pitcher for the Washington Senators and now manager of the Newark Bears, with two wild turkeys he bagged near here.

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Player #44A: Robert "Bob" Groom. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909-1913. 119 wins and 13 saves in 10 MLB seasons. For the St. Louis Browns in 1917, he pitched a no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader after pitching 2 innings of no-hit relief in the first game. With Koob, only teammates to pitch no-hitters on consecutive days. His best season was 1912 as he went 24-13 with a 2.62 ERA and Washington finished second in the American League. In 1909, his 7-26 record included 15 consecutive losses, during which his 42-110 Senator teammates mustered a total of 19 runs. Walter Johnson's record that year was 12-25.

Groom's SABR biography covers his transition to the big league: The 1908 (West Coast League) Beavers fared much better (than they did in 1907), in large part because of Groom. Finishing second with a 95-90 record, Portland led the league as late as July 5, and Bobby was the Beavers’ star pitcher, recording a league-leading 29 wins versus 15 losses and 2 ties. After an early July flirtation with Cleveland and nationally-published rumors that Groom would soon join Addie Joss on the Naps’ pitching staff, it never came to pass. Instead, Washington bought him from Portland at the end of the season for $1,750. Walter McCredie, who would develop a reputation for sending important players to the majors, often called Groom “the best pitcher to go East” from the Pacific Coast League.

As a pitcher, Groom was fast and intimidating, and his demeanor generally serious and inscrutable. His ball movement was extraordinary, occasionally so extraordinary that inexperienced backstops had trouble catching him. In recalling Groom, American League umpire Billy Evans noted, “He was plenty fast and inclined to be wild,” but Evans described his curve as “magnificent and sweeping.” Building on a youthful fast ball, Groom developed a repertoire that included the curve Evans admired, a change of pace, and an occasional spitball moistened with tobacco juice. Evans believed that Groom never received full credit for his ability. “He happened to be on the same team as Walter Johnson, who overshadowed the whole staff,” said Evans. “If he had been with some other club, I dare say Groom would have been regarded as a speed marvel.” Evans also recalled Groom as a man with great confidence. “When he walked out to the rubber, you got the idea that he thought he was a pretty good pitcher. I agreed with him.”

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Player #45A: Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer. Infielder for the Washington Senators in 1909-1914. 972 hits, 9 home runs, and 201 stolen bases in 15 MLB seasons. His "steal" of first base prompted rule making it illegal. Popular as a baseball "trickster" and "on-field clown", often in tandem with Charley O'Leary and, later, with Nick Altrock. Altrock eventually perfected the art with Al Schacht.

Big Ed Delahanty's brother Jim had a bad year at the dish (in 1909), following up a .317 season with .232 before being sent to Detroit for Germany Schaefer, a reliable hitter and accomplished baserunner, in an exchange of second baseman. A regular player with the great Tiger teams since 1905, Schaefer, who like Rube Waddell was one of baseball's more renowned zany characters, had once caused a change in baseball's rules. After stealing second with a man on third, he was not able to coax a throw from Cleveland catcher Nig Clarke. So on the next pitch, Schaefer went back to first so that he could try again. He did, this time drawing a throw which allowed the winning run to score. As a result of Scheafer's unexpected maneuver, it would become illegal to run in the wrong direction on the basepaths. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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