Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

At this time, the concrete wall in rightfield at Griffith Stadium was raised to a 30-foot height. Reminiscent of the Green Monster, the left field wall at Fenway Park in Boston, Griffith's right field fence was seven feet shorter but five feet farther. It is recorded that Phil Todt, a young first baseman with the Boston Red Sox, hit the first home run over the Griffith fence, on May 1, 1925. By then, the A's were solidifying their hold on first place. On the 27th, Walter Johnson, the recipient of some extraordinary offensive support this season, beat the A's 10-9. It was Barney's seventh straight win, during which the Senators' bats had provided him with 60 runs. While the A's were still clinging to their lead for the time being, over the next three months the two clubs would trade places at the top of the standings.

(Washington pitchers) Johnson, Coveleski, and Ruether were winning with great regularity. On June 1, Babe Ruth returned to action against Johnson and the Senators at Yankee Stadium but went 0-for-2 in a 5-3 Nats win. Less conspicuous than Ruth and Johnson on this day was another future inductee of the Hall of Fame. Twenty-two-year-old Lou Gehrig was brought up to pinch hit against Fred Marberry and began his streak of 2,130 consecutive games. It is quite a coincidence that the skein Gehrig would eventually surpass, teammate Everett Scott's 1,307 straight games, had ended the day before, when Scott had been replaced in the lineup by Pee Wee Wanninger. Within 2 1/2 weeks, Scott would be purchased by the Senators.

On June 8, George Mogridge and catcher Pinky Hargrave were traded to the St. Louis Browns for another veteran bat off the bench, 34-year-old catcher Hank Severeid, who'd been in the league ten years before coming into his own and batting over .300 during the last four campaigns. Severeid would bat at a .355 clip in 50 games for the Senators over the remainder of the season as backup catcher. On the same day he was acquired, Goose Goslin hit three home runs, to tie the then American League record. The third shot brought in the winning runs in the 12th inning. Bucky Harris was particularly hot, and everyone in the lineup but Ruel was at better than .300.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682327859

[GeoPoto]

Later in the month, on June 26, the Nationals, never lower than second in the standings, pulled into a tie with the A's for the American League lead when Goslin unloaded on rookie Lefty Grove with a three-run seventh-inning homer in a 5-3 win. Walter Johnson had shut the A's out after the third inning, in the first of three career matches between the two Hall of Famers (Johnson would win all three). Four days later, Barney spun a 7-0 two-hitter, with no walks, at Griffith Stadium against the same dangerous Athletics. Johnson had now blanked the A's, a team which would hit .307 for the season, for 15 consecutive innings.

The Big Train also equaled the A's in hits on this day. In fact, Walter would hit .433 this season, his first time over .300. On one occasion, on April 24, a Johnson pinch-hit appearance resulted in a rule change. The Big Train was in the clubhouse in the ninth inning when Bucky Harris, who'd used up all of his righthanded bats, summoned him back. The game was delayed ten minutes before Walter laced Herb Pennock's first pitch for a two-run single to win the game. In June, league president Ban Johnson announced that only players on the bench or on the sidelines could be deployed in a ballgame.

Johnson's two-hitter was the fourth win in five games against the Athletics and put the Nats in first place for the first time since early May. Dutch Ruether and Stan Coveleski were both winning nearly every time out, but the Senators were barely keeping up with the A's. The Nats lost their RBI champion, Goslin, who was suspended for the better part of a week. The Goose had lost his temper with Cleveland pitcher Bert Cole, who he thought had been throwing at him. Much more detrimental was the fact that Walter Johnson had been hit with the flu bug and wasn't getting better. He was out the entire month of July.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682412824

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

Later in the month, on June 26, the Nationals, never lower than second in the standings, pulled into a tie with the A's for the American League lead when Goslin unloaded on rookie Lefty Grove with a three-run seventh-inning homer in a 5-3 win. Walter Johnson had shut the A's out after the third inning, in the first of three career matches between the two Hall of Famers (Johnson would win all three). Four days later, Barney spun a 7-0 two-hitter, with no walks, at Griffith Stadium against the same dangerous Athletics. Johnson had now blanked the A's, a team which would hit .307 for the season, for 15 consecutive innings.

The Big Train also equaled the A's in hits on this day. In fact, Walter would hit .433 this season, his first time over .300. On one occasion, on April 24, a Johnson pinch-hit appearance resulted in a rule change. The Big Train was in the clubhouse in the ninth inning when Bucky Harris, who'd used up all of his righthanded bats, summoned him back. The game was delayed ten minutes before Walter laced Herb Pennock's first pitch for a two-run single to win the game. In June, league president Ban Johnson announced that only players on the bench or on the sidelines could be deployed in a ballgame. Johnson's two-hitter was the fourth win in five games against the Athletics and put the Nats in first place for the first time since early May. Dutch Ruether and Stan Coveleski were both winning nearly every time out, but the Senators were barely keeping up with the A's. The Nats lost their RBI champion, Goslin, who was suspended for the better part of a week. The Goose had lost his temper with Cleveland pitcher Bert Cole, who he thought had been throwing at him. Much more detrimental was the fact that Walter Johnson had been hit with the flu bug and wasn't getting better. He was out the entire month of July.

Such a great photo, George!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

Such a great photo, George!

I agree, and with that form Walter looks like a position player batting, not a pitcher batting. Take away his first four years, and his career batting average would have been .250, instead of .235.


Brian

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

I agree, and with that form Walter looks like a position player batting, not a pitcher batting. Take away his first four years, and his career batting average would have been .250, instead of .235.
Brian

Walter could hit, no doubt about it!

[GeoPoto]

Thirty-five-year-old Stan Coveleski got a 13-game winning streak going until losing it to the White Sox in a blowout at the end of July. On August 2, Walter Johnson returned to the mound against the Tigers. His first appearance in over a month fell exactly on the 18th anniversary of his first big-league appearance, which had also involved Detroit. This time, though, unlike the first, Johnson won, allowing the Tigers, one of the league's stronger clubs, a measly two hits in a 5-1 Washington win.

On August 17, the Senators obtained the old Tiger outfield star, Bobby Veach, on the waiver wire from the Yankees. There can be no better indication of how good a team the Yanks were than the fact that Veach rang up a .353 batting average for them before they cut him adrift. Unfortunately, he only hit .243 for the Nats the rest of the way, and his career ended in Washington at age 37 with his career batting average resting ay a cozy .310.

The Senators stayed in second place for a month, but finally, on August 20, Tom Zachary and Firpo Marberry combined for a 12-inning 1-0 shutout of the Indians. That day, the Browns beat Philadelphia, and the Nats, as it would turn out, were on top for good. Washington lost 1-0 in 11 innings the next day, but the A's failed to capitalize, getting trounced 8-2 by Chicago. The Senators demolished Detroit 20-5 on the 22nd with nine extra-base hits, including a mammoth home run by Walter Johnson. They scarcely even gave Philadelphia an opportunity to get back on top over the next six weeks.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682501041

[Hankphenom]

Gorgeous pin!