1922 All-Star Game: American League Routs Seniors In 11-2 Drubbing

AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUTS SENIORS

IN 11-2 DRUBBING

Junior Circuit Pounds Out 22 Safeties

Williams Homers, Named Outstanding Performer

PITTSBURGH, July 11.—The American League tallied in seven of nine innings today at Forbes Field and embarrassed the National League in front of 25,000 fans who were in full throat for the senior circuit before they realized early on the futility of their encouragement. By the time the dust settled, the Nationals had fallen to a crushing 11-2 defeat, their third straight loss in this mid-Summer classic. At the bat the seniors were well represented by the New York Giants, much to the chagrin of the locals—Dave “Beauty” Bancroft and Ross Young combined for four of the National League’s nine hits, and scored both runs. Both doubled and “Pep” also drew a walk. Pirates faithful cheered their NL rivals on, but not without some reticence.

The AL, on the other hand, had six batters who collected at least a brace of hits with Ken Williams leading the way with four, including a majestic drive in the sixth inning off the great Grover Cleveland Alexander that cleared the left-center field wall and then some. Williams’ blast gave Miller Huggins and the Americans a 7-1 lead and stole the collective breath of those who were six runs to the bad.

The contest was taut in the beginning, as “Gorgeous George” Sisler smote a two-bagger off Giants spitballer Phil Douglas to one of the deepest regions of the ball park and plated Ty Cobb, who had singled two batters before, to give the American League an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first frame. John McGraw’s men came roaring back in their half of the inning, parlaying a Bancroft double and a Zack Wheat single off Urban Shocker into a run of their own to knot the tilt at 1-1. “The Shuffler” was off his game, though, and the junior circuit swatters kept finding the dry side of the ball.

Larry Gardner singled to lead off the second and scurried home on a triple by Marty McManus to give the Hugmen a 2-1 edge. Another run was coined when Cobb shot a three-bagger to deep right field to plate McManus, and Douglas’ day was through. McGraw replaced his regular season ace with his reliable southpaw, Art Nehf, who quelled the threat by convincing Joe Sewell to line out to third baseman Milt Stock. From there it wasn’t a question of if the American League would score again, but when.

That posit was quickly answered in the top of the third when the AL Loaded the bases on singles by Sisler and Williams, a free pass to Harry Heilmann and a single by Tigers backstop Johnny Bassler that brought Sisler home. Williams tried to follow but was erased at the plate by a strong peg from Wheat to Eddie Ainsmith that ended the inning. The juniors struck again in the fourth, but not before heated words were exchanged between Nehf and Cobb that almost brought the men to blows.

With one out in the stanza Cobb dug into the box and all but dared the Giants southpaw to come inside with an offering. With two balls and two strikes on his ledger, Nehf went with a side-arm shoot and accidentally plunked Cobb in the back. “The Georgia Peach” forgot his southern “manners” and made sure the lefty knew that he’d just put his infielders in harm’s way and retribution would be sought at his earliest convenience. Nehf just stared back, but Rogers Hornsby dared Cobb to make good on his threat. Cooler heads prevailed and the Tigers star advanced around the bases on hits by Sewell and Sisler to make the score, 5-1.

“Old Pete” held the American League without a run in the fifth before surrendering Williams’ homer in the sixth, followed by hits by Heilmann and Riggs Stephenson that increased the Huggins’ lead to 8-1. Another parade of batters greeted Brooklyn portsider Dutch Ruether in the seventh that produced two more tallies on hits by Babe Ruth, Cobb and Chick Galloway, and the junior circuit reached double digits for the second straight year. Ruether’s Robins mound mate, Dazzy Vance, took the hill in the eighth and joined his senior loop brethren in the gift-giving affair.

Stephenson rapped out a one-out safety and should have been retired on a double play when McManus bounced back to the box, but Vance fumbled the ball and both runners were safe. A’s outfielder Bing Miller entered the fray in Red Faber’s stead and slapped a grounder to deep shortstop that Bancroft couldn’t turn into an out, and the bases were loaded for Cobb. Tyrus coaxed a base on balls that pushed across the juniors’ last run of the game.

Detroit righty Herman Pillette was called on to finish off the McGraw’s, but gave them a courtesy run in the bottom of the eighth to help salve their wounds. Young doubled with two outs and was sent plateward on a basehit by Babe Pinelli that cut the deficit to 11-2, but Pillette set them down in the bottom of the ninth to cap off the victory.

Shocker did a fine job in his starting role, and Faber and Pillette were efficient, but Walter Johnson was the king of the hill, allowing only a single to Jake Daubert in the fourth and tossing three scoreless frames. McManus was outstanding in the field and made several flashy plays, and Ken Williams finished with four hits in six trips to the dish and was named the game’s outstanding player.

* “Young” is Giants outfielder Ross Youngs, who was often called “Young” by contemporary reporters.

1922 All-Star Game Box Score
1922 All-Star Game Play-By-Play

_________________________________________________________________________________________

1922 Final Rosters
1922 All-Star Game National League Batting, Fielding and Pitching Averages
1922 All-Star Game American league Batting, Fielding and Pitching Averages

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The Midsummer Classic is Back!
Cast Your Vote For the 1923 All-Stars!

On Tuesday, July 10, at the gleaming behemoth that is the new Yankee Stadium, the throats of sixty thousand fans will thunder to the heavens in appreciation of the greatest baseball players on this or any planet arrayed before them, the best representatives of the Two Great Leagues battling each other to demonstrate the supremacy of the one League over the other!

Who will be the leading lights who will start this All-Star Game and put on the best possible display of baseball acumen for the pleasure of the baseball fans of the Bronx this year? Surely Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby and Grover Cleveland Alexander and Walter Johnson will be in the starting lineup, will they not? How about Harry Heilmann? Or Urban Shocker? Cy Williams? Or Stan Coveleskie? Only YOU, the intelligent fan, will have a say!

This year, the game will be broadcast for the first time by wireless on station WJZ, broadcaster of the first World’s Series game last year, so that all may have the chance to hear the action AS IT HAPPENS. Your vote has never counted so much as it does this year. So do your duty as a proud baseball fan and VOTE NOW!

Do not delay! Vote for the 1923 All-Star starters and pitchers today!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASG1923

Voting will be open until 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time on December 20, 2013. The managers will round out the rosters, the games will be played using OOTP 14, and the game account and box score will be posted on Seamheads.com.

(Learn more about the Retroactive All-Star Game Project hosted by SABR here.)

— Chuck Hildebrandt