1912 Boston Red Sox season

1912 Boston Red Sox
1912 World Series Champions
1912 American League Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
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 first 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
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:

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
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 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
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
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
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
Bushelman, JackJack Bushelman 3 1 0 0 4.70 5

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

Duffy Lewis

Tris Speaker

Smoky Joe Wood

World series

Main article: 1912 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]

GameScoreDateLocationAttendance
1Red Sox – 4, Giants – 3, October 8Polo Grounds35,730
2Giants – 6, Red Sox – 6October 9Fenway Park30,148
3Giants – 2, Red Sox – 1October 10Fenway Park34,624
4Red Sox – 3, Giants – 1October 11Polo Grounds36,502
5Giants – 1, Red Sox – 2October 12Fenway Park34,683
6Red Sox – 2, Giants – 5October 14Polo Grounds30,622
7 Giants – 11, Red Sox – 4October 15Fenway Park32,694
8Giants – 2, Red Sox – 3October 16Fenway Park17,034

References

  1. ↑ "Fred Snodgrass drops ball and loses World Series". History.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "1912 Boston Red Sox Trades and Transactions". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ 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
  4. ↑ The Final Season, p.40
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ "Hugh Bradley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Red Sox Opening Day History – 1912 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Highlanders". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Duffy Lewis History and Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tris Speaker Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Smokey Joe Wood Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ "1912 World Series – Boston Red Sox over New York Giants (4–3)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.

External links

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