Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #119A: Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1932-1935. 117 wins and 13 saves in 12 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 1926-1932. His best season was 1927 with Chicago as he posted a 19-16 record with a 2.98 ERA in 307.2 innings pitched. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1937.

Thomas' SABR biography explains his exploits before reaching the big leagues: The Baltimore Orioles were coming off two consecutive International League pennants when Thomas joined the club in 1921. Tommy posted a record of 24-10 in his first year with the Birds, complimenting an already solid mound corps of Jack Ogden (31-8), Lefty Grove (25-10), Harry Frank (13-7), and Jack Bentley (12-1).

The Orioles dominated the circuit that year, winning 119 games, the second highest total in minor league history. However, injuries to Ben Egan, Jack Bentley, Joe Boley, Max Bishop, Merwin Jacobson, and Otis Lawry contributed to a disappointing loss to Louisville in the Little World Series that fall.

The high-flying Birds captured four more flags in a row with Tommy featured as one of the mainstays of the Baltimore pitching rotation. Thomas thrived under the tutelage of the Orioles’ owner-manager Jack Dunn, a former major league pitcher who knew how to get the most out of his young players.

Tommy held out for a better contract in 1925, and the issue wasn’t resolved with Dunn until the middle of April. The layoff didn’t affect his pitching in any way, as he went on to have his best season as an Oriole. The hard-throwing right-hander led the league with 32 wins, 268 strikeouts, 28 complete games and 354 innings pitched.

Jack Dunn, always knowing the right time to consummate a deal, sold Tommy to the Chicago White Sox at the end of the 1925 season for a reported $15,000. Thomas won 105 games while losing only 54 during his five years with Baltimore. He appeared in the Little World Series with Baltimore four times, going 4-4 in post-season play. Thomas’ lifetime pitching record in the International League was a stellar 138 wins, 85 losses and a 3.30 earned run average.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1686993566

[GeoPoto]

The 1927 Washington Senators won 85 games, lost 69, and finished in third place in the American League. They were managed by Bucky Harris and played home games at Griffith Stadium.

Walter Johnson made his first appearance of the 1927 season on Memorial Day. He was pleased to find that he still had good speed, and upon his return, like on so many of his first starts of previous years, he was superb, allowing just three hits, walking no one, and blanking Boston 3-0 at Griffith Stadium. This was the 11th and final time that fewer than 30 batters (29 in this instance) came up to the plate to face him in a complete game.

More significant than all of the above, however, may have been the fact that Barney struck out just one batter. He fanned six in his next start, a 5-3 loss to the Browns, but was then bombed 7-1 by Cleveland in a outing where no speed was evident. Johnson was held back from a couple of turns in mid-June, and when he did come back, he was the victim of an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of the Athletics.

Walter Johnson had been in the major leagues for 20 years, and August 2, 1927, was the precise anniversary date of his big-league debut. Coincidentally, he would be facing the Tigers on this day as well. Tributes were delivered by both clubs at Griffith Stadium -- Walter was handed the day's receipts of $14,476.05, and gifts from fans included over $1,500 in cash. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg spoke before the crowd of 20,000 and declared that the name Walter Johnson exemplified what was best about sports. The man stood as a shining beacon whose example the youth of America could follow.

Unfortunately, on this day, the Big Train surrendered four runs in the fifth on the way to a 7-6, incomplete-game loss. The defeat was debited from reliever Garland Braxton, although under modern rules Walter would have been the pitcher of record. This was poetic justice in the sense that his first loss, 20 years earlier, would not have been charged to him under the revised rules. The end came quickly for Walter Johnson in 1927, given his 31 decisions the previous year. His ERA ballooned to a surreal 5.10, and as a result his workload diminished to just 107.2 innings. That was it.

Tris Speaker, five months younger than Johnson, whose career was very nearly over, did earn his 30 grand, upping his average to .327 in 1927. It was to be his only year in Washington -- Spoke's final year in the majors would be spent in the company of Ty Cobb with the Philadelphia A's in 1928. Goose Goslin, still only 26, hit .334 in '27, as he had in the Nats last pennant-winning year, and tied for third in ribbies behind the Yankees' fearsome Ruth-Gehrig tandem. These were the highlights for a club, not far removed from a position at the top of the baseball world, which won 85 games. Regrettably, these Senators were at the same point in the continuum of time and space as were the 1927 New York Yankees.

The '27 Yankees are considered by many to have been the best team ever. They won 110 games and left the Nats in third place, but groveling in the dust, a full 25 games out of a pennant position. On July 4, 74,000 had turned up at Yankee Stadium for a doubleheader which the Yankees swept from the Nats by embarrassing 12-1 and 21-1 scores. Babe Ruth went 5-for-7 and Lou Gehrig hit two homers on the day, enabling him to pass Ruth momentarily in the home-run derby. The previous day, back in Washington, Ruth had hit what came to be considered for years as the longest drive ever seen at Griffith Stadium. The Babe had, quite naturally, tipped his cap for the fans while rounding the bases with the little steps he took.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1687079592
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1687079595

[GeoPoto]

Player #117B: Nicholas "Nick" Altrock Part 1. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909, 1912-1915, 1918-1919, 1924, 1931 and 1933. 83 wins and 7 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. At 42 years 1912-1953), he is the longest-tenured coach for one franchise (Washington Senators). He debuted for the Louisville Colonels in 1998. His best season was 1905 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a 23-12 record with an ERA of 1.88 in 315.2 innings pitched. A 1906 arm injury stunted his career as a pitcher. He pitched very little after 1908 but continued making sporadic pinch hit appearances, including one in 1933 at the age of 57. He became a coach with Washington in 1912 and was known for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" for a dozen years performing comedy routines on baseball fields and on the vaudeville stage.

Altrock's SABR biography: . . . Nick took his 1912 release from Kansas City in stride because he already had an offer from manager Clark Griffith to join the Washington Senators as a “comedy coacher.” The Senators already enjoyed the services of Germany Schaefer, one of the most colorful eccentrics ever to play baseball. However, in his first few days with the club Nick was buried deep on the bench. Then one day the Senators were losing to a strong Cleveland pitcher named Vean Gregg. Griffith turned to his rubber-faced acquisition and said, “What good are you?”

Nick said seriously, “I’m the king’s jester.” Then he asked, “Do you really want to win this game?”

Griffith said, “With your pitching I suppose?”

Altrock said, “No. With my coaching.” Altrock talked Griffith into sending him to the first base coaching box. The next time Griffith looked out to the field he saw Nick in a heap on the ground finishing a pantomime of a man who spiked himself with his own shoe. Gregg was laughing so hard he started heaving the ball over the middle and the Senators started hitting. Altrock morphed the routine into a full wrestling pantomime, pinning himself for a victory. Finally, home plate umpire Silk O’Loughlin, himself doubled over with laughter, ordered him to stop.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1687164671
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1687164675

[GeoPoto]

Player #117B: Nicholas "Nick" Altrock Part 2. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909, 1912-1915, 1918-1919, 1924, 1931 and 1933. 83 wins and 7 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. At 42 years 1912-1953), he is the longest-tenured coach for one franchise (Washington Senators). He debuted for the Louisville Colonels in 1998. His best season was 1905 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a 23-12 record with an ERA of 1.88 in 315.2 innings pitched. A 1906 arm injury stunted his career as a pitcher. He pitched very little after 1908 but continued making sporadic pinch-hit appearances, including one in 1933 at the age of 57. He became a coach with Washington in 1912 and was known for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" for a dozen years performing comedy routines on baseball fields and on the vaudeville stage.

Continued from previous post: Naturally the newspapers reported this strange behavior and more fans started to turn out for Senators games. American League President Ban Johnson attended one of Nick’s early games, and decided to allow his antics so long as they didn’t interrupt play. Nick was funny enough by himself, but his routines really began to soar when he added a partner. At first he did routines with Schaefer, until Schaefer signed with Newark of the Federal League in 1915. Then Altrock teamed with reserve Carl Sawyer for two seasons, then worked solo for two seasons until 1919, when the Senators acquired another washed-up pitcher, Al Schacht.

Altrock and Schacht became the Martin and Lewis of baseball comedy. They created a series of pantomimes that they performed at games, including bowling, juggling, golf tricks, rowing boats during rain delays, mocking umpires, and other tricks. The two of them regularly headlined vaudeville bills, and became part of the eagerly anticipated entertainment for the World Series and All-Star games. Altrock made more money at his peak in the 1920s than almost any other ballplayer. His salary from all his various appearances was reported in the $180,000 range.

Ironically, in the midst of this success Altrock and Schacht stopped speaking to each other in 1927. Although Altrock never spoke about the specific reasons for it, their rift was often attributed to a fake prizefight routine that got a little too real. The story is that Schacht thought it would be funnier if he actually hit Nick and so punched the older comic unexpectedly and knocked him to the ground. Altrock got revenge a few days later during a routine where he would normally fire a hard baseball at Schacht for him to dodge and follow it with a soft baseball that Schacht took on the head. Altrock switched the baseballs, and Schacht took a hard blow to the skull and hit the turf.

We will now pause -- expected restart date 29 June.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1687250147

[GeoPoto]

Player #111B: Stanley A. "Stan" Coveleski. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1925-1927. 215 wins and 21 saves in 14 MLB seasons. 1920 World Series champion. 1923 and 1925 AL ERA leader. 1920 AL strikeout leader. Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. 1969 inducted to MLB Hall of Fame. He debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1912. He was one of 17 "grand-fathered" spit-ball pitchers. One of his best seasons was 1918 with Cleveland as he posted a 22-13 record with a 1.82 ERA in 311 innings pitched.

Covey's SABR biography sums him up and then details the second half of his career, which included time in Washington: With one of the finest spitballs in baseball history, Stan Coveleski baffled American League hitters from the final years of the Deadball Era into the 1920s. To keep hitters off balance, Coveleski went to his mouth before every pitch. “I wouldn’t throw all spitballs,” he later explained. “I’d go maybe two or three innings without throwing a spitter, but I always had them looking for it.” Though he led the American League in strikeouts in 1920, Coveleski prided himself on his efficient pitching. “I was never a strikeout pitcher,” he recalled, “Why should I throw eight or nine balls to get a man out when I got away with three or four?” The right-hander often boasted of his control, once claiming he pitched seven innings without throwing a ball; every pitch was either hit, missed, or called a strike. During his 14-year career, Coveleski ranked among the league’s top ten in fewest walks allowed per nine innings pitched seven times. . . .

. . . On August 17, 1920, tragedy again struck the Cleveland Indians, with the death of shortstop Ray Chapman following a beaning at the hands of New York pitcher Carl Mays. Coveleski, who had been the opposing pitcher in the game, later recalled that he did not think Mays was purposely trying to hit Chapman but “at that time if we saw a fellow get close to the plate, we’d fire under his chin.”

Despite these tragic circumstances, both Coveleski and the Indians persevered to narrowly win the American League pennant. Once again, Coveleski was a big reason for the Tribe’s success, winning 24 games, finishing second in the league with a 2.49 ERA and leading the league with 133 strikeouts. His best work he saved for that year’s best-of-nine World Series against the Brooklyn Robins, pitching three complete-game victories, including a shutout in the series-clinching Game Seven. Covey posted a 0.67 ERA for the series, while walking only two batters in 27 innings.

From 1921 through 1924 Cleveland gradually fell out of contention as ownership did little to improve the ball club. In 1921 Covey won 23 games: his fourth straight year of at least 22 victories. Although his win totals declined thereafter as the fortunes of the team waned, Coveleski continued to pitch well, winning his first ERA title in 1923.

After a sixth-place finish in 1924, the Indians traded Coveleski, coming off a subpar year (15-16, 4.04 ERA) to the world champion Washington Senators. Despite having spent nine years of his career there, Coveleski had no regrets about leaving Cleveland behind. “I never did like Cleveland,” he later explained. “Don’t know why. Didn’t like the town. Now the people are all right, but I just didn’t like the town.” He even admitted that his dissatisfaction with his surroundings had come to affect his performance. “You know I got to a point where I wouldn’t hustle no more,” Covey remembered. “See, a player gets to be with a club too long. Gets lazy, you know.”

True to form, Coveleski rebounded strongly for the Senators in 1925, finishing the season with a 20-5 record and capturing his second ERA title with a 2.84 ERA, though he lost both of his starts in Washington’s World Series defeat against Pittsburgh. After turning in another good year in 1926, Coveleski came down with a sore arm in 1927 and the Senators gave him his unconditional release. Covey caught on with the Yankees for the 1928 season, but pitched poorly and was released in August.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688024257
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688024261

[GeoPoto]

Player #90D: Leon A. "Goose" Goslin. Left fielder for the Washington Senators in 1921-1930, 1933, and 1938. 2,735 hits and 248 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. 1936 All-Star. 1924 and 1935 World Series champion. 1928 AL batting champion. 1924 AL RBI leader. 1968 inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. He drove in the game-winning, walk-off run to win the 1935 World Series for the Detroit Tigers. With Gehringer and Greenberg, was one of the Detroit "G-Men". In 1936 he had an inside-the-park HR when both outfielders (Joe DiMaggio and Myril Hoag) collided and were knocked unconscious. He had one of his best seasons for the WS-winning Washington Senators in 1924 as he posted a .421 OBP with 100 runs scored and 129 RBIs in 674 plate appearances.

Goslin's SABR biography jumps over 1926 and 1927: The 1926 season saw Washington drop to fourth, with Goose contributing 109 RBIs, 17 homers, and a .354 average. The 1927 Senators finished third; Goslin knocked in 120 runs and hit .334. He swung from his heels and his left-handed power was complemented by an exaggerated closed stance in which he turned almost 180 degrees completing his swing. His stroke was fun to watch, whether he homered or struck out. We will pick this up again when Goose comes along next.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688116797
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688116800
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688116803
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688116807
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688116810

[GeoPoto]

Player #83H: Stanley R. "Bucky" Harris. Second baseman for the Washington Senators in 1919-1928. 1,297 hits and 167 stolen bases in 12 MLB seasons. 1924 and 1947 World Series champion. In 1975, inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame. Named player-manager of the Washington Senators in 1924 at age 27. "The Boy Wonder" led Washington to World Series victory as "rookie" manger. Managed Washington Senators in 1924-1928, 1935-1942, and 1950-1954. Managed the Detroit Tigers in 1929-1933 and 1955-1956. Managed the Boston Red Sox in 1934. Managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. Managed the New York Yankees in 1947-1948, including winning the 1947 world Series. Served as the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox in 1959-1960.

Smiles points out that Bucky was a member of a dying breed -- player-managers: There was a changing of the guard among baseball managers in 1927. Superstar player-managers were out. Sisler, Speaker, Cobb and Collins all retired as managers after the 1926 season. Jack Hendricks, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, predicted their retirements meant the beginning of the end for player-managers. In seven seasons as player-manager, Cobb had never finished higher than third and was sixth in 1926. Eddie Collins tried it for three years and finished sixth, fifth and fifth. Sisler also lasted three years. He had one season over .500, in 1925, but dropped all the way to seventh in 1926. Speaker won a pennant and World Series in his first full year as player-manager in 1920, but nothing since.

Rogers Hornsby was the player-manager with the N.L. and World Series champion Cardinals in 1926 but was traded to the Giants for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring after the season. Though Hendricks was right in his prediction, it would take some years for player-managers to fade away. In 1927 there were seven, including Bucky. Dave Bancroft was a player-manager with the Boston Braves but was released in 1927 following a second consecutive seventh-place finish. Ray Schalk was player-manager for the White Sox in 1927 but was fired in July 1928 when he appeared in only two games as a player. Bob O'Farrell took over for Hornsby with the Cardinals in 1927, his only full year as a manager, and was also the backup catcher. Hornsby managed the Giants for the last 33 games, filling in for the ailing McGraw. Stuffy McInnis was officially a player-manager in 1927, his one and only season as a major league manager, but he appeared in just one game with the Phillies, who lost 103 games. In 1928 Bucky and Hornsby, who had moved on to the Boston Braves, were the only active player-managers. (Bucky Harris by Jack Smiles.)

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688203014
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1688203017