1912 Boston Red Sox season
1912 Boston Red Sox | |
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1912 World Series Champions 1912 American League Champions | |
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Other information | |
Owner(s) |
John I. Taylor Jimmy McAleer |
Manager(s) | Jake Stahl |
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The 1912 Boston Red Sox was the 12th season of interleague play for the franchise. The Red Sox finished 1st in the American League with a record of 105–47. Behind center fielder Tris Speaker and pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, they led the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed. Speaker was third in batting and was voted league MVP. Wood won 34 games, including a record 16 in a row.
The Red Sox defeated the New York Giants in 8 games in the 1912 World Series to win the franchise's Second World Series. One of the deciding plays was a muffed fly ball by Giants outfielder Fred Snodgrass (known as the $30,000 muff; the 30,000 referring to the prize money for the winner).[1]
Although the pitching staff was satisfactory, the only star pitcher was Wood. The only star in the starting lineup that season was Speaker. Little-known third baseman Larry Gardner was the next best hitter, while Future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper had a poor offensive season.
Offseason
The Red Sox made several transactions during the 1912 offseason.[2] In February 1912, Rip Williams was sold to the New York Highlanders, although the exact date of the transaction is currently unknown.[2] The Red Sox sold two players to the Chicago White Sox during the offseason: Jack Fournier on February 6 and Eddie Cicotte on July 9.[2] Later in the year, on November 25, Hugh Bradley was sold to the Jersey City Giants minor league baseball team of the International League.[2] The only purchase made by the Red Sox that offseason was their purchase of Neal Ball from the Cleveland Naps on June 25 for $2500.[2]
Regular season
The new Red Sox home stadium, Fenway Park opened on April 20, the same day as Navin Field in Detroit opened.[3] It was supposed to be opened on April 18 (like Navin Field) but it rained in both cities on that day.[4]
On April 26, Hugh Bradley became the first player to hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park.[5] It was his only home run of the 1912 season, and one of only two he hit in his career, which spanned five seasons.[6]
Season standings
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Boston Red Sox | 105 | 47 | 0.691 | — | 57–20 | 48–27 |
Washington Senators | 91 | 61 | 0.599 | 14 | 45–32 | 46–29 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 90 | 62 | 0.592 | 15 | 45–31 | 45–31 |
Chicago White Sox | 78 | 76 | 0.506 | 28 | 34–43 | 44–33 |
Cleveland Naps | 75 | 78 | 0.490 | 30½ | 41–35 | 34–43 |
Detroit Tigers | 69 | 84 | 0.451 | 36½ | 37–39 | 32–45 |
St. Louis Browns | 53 | 101 | 0.344 | 53 | 27–50 | 26–51 |
New York Highlanders | 50 | 102 | 0.329 | 55 | 31–44 | 19–58 |
Record vs. opponents
1912 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
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Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NY | PHI | STL | WSH | |||||
Boston | — | 16–6–1 | 11–11–1 | 15–6 | 19–2 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 12–10 | |||||
Chicago | 6–16–1 | — | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9–2 | 9–13 | |||||
Cleveland | 11–11–1 | 11–11 | — | 13–9 | 13–8–1 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 4–18 | |||||
Detroit | 6–15 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | — | 16–6 | 9–13 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
New York | 2–19 | 9–13 | 8–13–1 | 6–16 | — | 5–17 | 13–9 | 7–15 | |||||
Philadelphia | 7–15 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 17–5 | — | 16–6 | 13–7–1 | |||||
St. Louis | 5–17 | 9–13–2 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 6–16 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
Washington | 10–12 | 13–9 | 18–4 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 7–13–1 | 14–8–1 | — |
Opening Day lineup
On April 11, 1912, the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 5–3 in an away game.[7]
Harry Hooper | RF |
Steve Yerkes | 2B |
Tris Speaker | CF |
Jake Stahl | 1B |
Larry Gardner | 3B |
Duffy Lewis | LF |
Heinie Wagner | SS |
Les Nunamaker | C |
Buck O'Brien | P |
Roster
1912 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
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Pitchers | Catchers
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Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
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3B | Gardner, LarryLarry Gardner | 143 | 517 | 163 | .315 | 3 | 86 |
OF | Speaker, TrisTris Speaker | 153 | 580 | 222 | .383 | 10 | 90 |
OF | Hooper, HarryHarry Hooper | 147 | 590 | 143 | .242 | 2 | 53 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bradley, HughHugh Bradley | 40 | 137 | 26 | .190 | 1 | 19 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Wood, Smoky JoeSmoky Joe Wood | 43 | 344 | 34 | 5 | 1.91 | 258 |
Bedient, HughHugh Bedient | 41 | 231 | 20 | 9 | 2.92 | 122 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Cicotte, EddieEddie Cicotte | 9 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 5.67 | 20 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Bushelman, JackJack Bushelman | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.70 | 5 |
Awards and honors
League top five finishers
- #2 in AL in RBI (109)[8]
- MLB leader in on-base percentage (.464)[9]
- AL leader in home runs (10)[9]
- #2 in AL in runs scored (136)[9]
- #3 in AL in batting average (.383)[9]
- #3 in AL in slugging percentage (.567)[9]
- #4 in AL in stolen bases (52)[9]
- MLB leader in wins (34)[10]
- MLB leader in shutouts (10)[10]
- #2 in AL in ERA (1.91)[10]
- #2 in AL in strikeouts (258)[10]
World series
The 1912 World Series was played between the New York Giants of the NL and the Red Sox of the AL. The Red Sox won in 8 games 4–3, tying the Giants 6–6 in Game 2.
AL Boston Red Sox (4) vs. NL New York Giants (3)[11]
Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
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1 | Red Sox – 4, Giants – 3, | October 8 | Polo Grounds | 35,730 |
2 | Giants – 6, Red Sox – 6 | October 9 | Fenway Park | 30,148 |
3 | Giants – 2, Red Sox – 1 | October 10 | Fenway Park | 34,624 |
4 | Red Sox – 3, Giants – 1 | October 11 | Polo Grounds | 36,502 |
5 | Giants – 1, Red Sox – 2 | October 12 | Fenway Park | 34,683 |
6 | Red Sox – 2, Giants – 5 | October 14 | Polo Grounds | 30,622 |
7 | Giants – 11, Red Sox – 4 | October 15 | Fenway Park | 32,694 |
8 | Giants – 2, Red Sox – 3 | October 16 | Fenway Park | 17,034 |
References
- ↑ "Fred Snodgrass drops ball and loses World Series". History.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "1912 Boston Red Sox Trades and Transactions". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ↑ The Final Season, p. 5, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, An imprint of St. Martin's Press, New York, 2001, ISBN 0-312-29156-6
- ↑ The Final Season, p.40
- ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 263, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ↑ "Hugh Bradley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ↑ "Red Sox Opening Day History – 1912 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Highlanders". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Duffy Lewis History and Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tris Speaker Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "Smokey Joe Wood Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ↑ "1912 World Series – Boston Red Sox over New York Giants (4–3)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
External links
- 1912 Boston Red Sox at Baseball Reference
- 1912 Boston Red Sox season at Baseball Almanac