THE SHAME AT SHIBE

UNRELENTING BATTING ATROCITIES DO IN TIGERS IN PHILLY OPENER

By Calvin J. Butterworth
Detroit Free-Enterprise

May 14, 1924

PHILADELPHIA, PA—There are days in a baseball scribe's life where he prefers to be in a dentist chair having a molar extracted with pliers rather than sitting in a press row watching two hours of agonizing futility below. Such a day was today.

In the first five innings of their opening game at Shibe Park against the last -place Athletics and their notoriously inept twirler Sam Gray, the Tigers managed to put 13 of their hitters on the bases and score exactly one of them. It was no surprise, then, when Ed Wells' sterling performance was later rendered meaningless and the Detroiters had settled back into a perfectly mediocre .500 record.

Cobb singled and Rigney walked to open the game, but Bassler hit into a twin killing. Pratt singled with one out in the 2nd, but O'Rourke hit into a twin killing. With the bases filled and two outs in the 3rd, Manush grounded weakly to first. After singles from the recently activated Lu Blue and Pratt in the 4th, Blue was pegged at home on O'Rourke's feeble grounder, and Wells hit into a twin killing. Bassler finally singled in the first run of the game in the 5th, but with all the sacks occupied and just one out, Blue and Pratt skied out.

Two singles and a walk to start the Athletics' 7th knocked out a tired Wells and brought in Dauss. Ripping rookie Al Simmons lofted a fly to left, and Max Bishop was shot down by Manush trying to score. Bing Miller then smoked a doubled off the left fence to tie the game, but Chick Galloway was out trying to score on Cobb's arm. The Detroit attack, meanwhile, degenerated into a something less dangerous than a child's cap gun. Against Gray and reliever Roy Meeker, the last 14 Tiger hitters faded in and out of the batting box with hardly a peep.

It was left to Galloway to supply the happy heroics for the home crowd. Perkins singled to begin the bottom of the 9th, Bishop was plunked, Meeker bunted them along and Chick knocked one between Heilman and Cobb for the winner.

Mr. Cobb was in no mood to reason, discuss, or explain today, shoving the knocked-over sandwich table in front of the visiting club house door so none of us could enter, and attempts to hear sharp words from within with our rolled-up scorecards pressed to the door and wall proved fruitless.

DET 000 010 000 - 1 6 2
PHA 000 000 101 - 2 9 0

Other American League contests:

at RED SOX 7-18-0, WHITE SOX 6-12-0 (11 innings)
In the first entanglement of hosiery this year, Boston returns from an early 5-run deficit and a late 6-4 one to tie the game in the 9th on a Denny Williams single off McWeeny, then win it in extra frames on two singles off Ted Lyons and a Joe Harris double.

at YANKEES 8-6-1, BROWNS 4-7-1
Early homers from Pipp and Ruth pump the Yanks to a 6-1 lead, but Sad Sam Jones has to weather a fierce storm from then on, and the Browns nearly catch the New Yorkers a half dozen times before succumbing.

at SENATORS 10-12-1, INDIANS 1-8-0
Luther Roy turns in one of the more pitiful pitching outings in memory, giving the Nats four doubles, two hit batters, a walk and 3-run Goslin homer before being extracted for mankind's benefit with two outs in the second inning. None other than Firpo Marberry gets the complete win, and the Tribe will have to contend with the Big Train next. Washington's win puts them back on top of the heap by a scant margin over Chicago.

EXTRA STATISTICAL NUMBERS!

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEAM OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE RUNS:

AL:
+57 Washington
+49 New York
+26 St. Louis
+25 Detroit
+23 Chicago
+19 Cleveland
–18 Philadelphia
–27 Boston

NL:
+67 Brooklyn
+53 Cincinnati
+49 Pittsburgh
+27 New York
+08 Chicago
zero St. Louis
–11 Philadelphia
–34 Boston

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Tuesday, May 14
Washington Senators	19	11	.633	—
Chicago White Sox	17	11	.607	1
New York Yankees	17	12	.586	1.5
Detroit Tigers	14	14	.500	4
Boston Red Sox	13	15	.464	5
St. Louis Browns	13	16	.448	5.5
Cleveland Indians	12	18	.400	7
Philadelphia Athletics	11	19	.367	8