Four managers came together once again for a face-to-face Season Ticket Baseball showdown, and this time we went WAY back in the time machine. To celebrate the release of the 1910-1917 season sets, we selected the four most closely-matched teams (by winning percentage) from that span - this turned out to be the Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates and Reds of the 1915 National League. So, it's off to the era of the first transcontinental telephone call, the escalation of World War I by the sinking of the Lusitania and Babe Ruth's first career home run, for a double round-robin FTF tournament with no playoffs - winner takes all!
| Manager | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Militello | 1915 Pittsburgh Pirates (73-81) |
| 2 | Joe Costa | 1915 Chicago Cubs (73-80) |
| 3 | Fred Steffens | 1915 Cincinnati Reds (71-83) |
| 4 | Scott Needle | 1915 St. Louis Cardinals (72-81) |
- 26-man roster, named prior to start of tournament
- Pitchers must have 15+ GS to start
- Position players with less than 150 AB may not start; they are eligible to PH at any time, but may only stay in the game (or enter as defensive replacement) in 6th inning or later, and pitchers may not pinch hit or pinch run unless they have a separate batting card
- Starting pitchers (i.e., no relief Stamina rating) who are not used to start may relieve with a relief Stamina equal to one-half their starting value (rounded down), but they can only be used (1) when the original starter hits a Fatigue of 4, or (2) the game is in extra innings
- Pitcher injuries will be ignored, and any other injuries are in force for the remainder of the current game ONLY; if a player is injured (or ejected), his replacement is not subject to limits specified above.
- Season Ticket “Season Play” pitcher fatigue rules (page 28 of the Rules) will govern usage and in-game Fatigue; the “Pitching on Short Rest” rule will be in effect for pitchers who qualify.
- Designated hitter rule in effect for home games of DH-era teams
- No zombie runner in extra innings
- Games tied after twelve innings are recorded as ties in the standings
Once the managers had arrived at the tournament site and the lineups had been considered, the rotations weighed, and the competition sized up, the dice rolling began . . .
Frank Snyder had two doubles and four runs batted in, three of which came in an eight-run 2nd inning that buried Mamaux and the Pirates at Robison Field. Dots Miller led off the inning with a triple to left-center and the next two batters singled to put the Cards ahead, but Mamaux recovered to retire the next two men and put himself on the brink on escape. But the next six batters reached safely, Miller singling in two and Snyder doubling across another pair as the roof caved in completely on the young Pittsburgh right-hander. There was little drama the rest of the way; the visitors finally got on the board in the 7th on Bill Hinchman's two-out RBI double, and Mamaux kept the rest of the PIT staff fresh by laboring all the way to the close (41 BF, 15 h, 10 er) and even retiring twelve in a row at one stretch. St. Louis 10-15-2, Pittsburgh 1-8-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Frank Snyder led the St. Louis attack with five total bases and four RBI |
The Reds overcame an early deficit with four 7th-inning runs, and then used a 10th-inning bunt to squeeze out a one-run victory in Chicago. The game was scoreless through four innings, the Cubs leaving the bases loaded with just one out in the 2nd, before Toney was the first to blink in the 5th. Free passes to the eighth and ninth hitters in the Cub lineup set up the top of their order, but a failed sacrifice and a groundout left it up to Cy Williams to deliver a two-run single with two outs. Vaughn had his own lapse of command in the top of the 7th, walking Tommy Leach to start the inning, and Bill Rodgers followed immediately with a run-scoring two-base hit. A bunt, infield hit and sacrifice fly tied the score and sent Vaughn to the showers in favor of Larry Cheney, but he walked pinch-hitter Ivey Wingo and then allowed a two-run single to Fritz Mollwitz that got Cincinnati on top of the game. Toney departed after seven solid innings, and King Lear couldn't hold the advantage - a walk and two singles after two were out in the 8th cut the lead to one, and a crucial error by Leach in the bottom of the 9th allowed Vic Saier to drive the sacrifice fly that tied the game at the last gasp. Pete Standridge took the mound to start the 10th for Chicago, and was greeted by Wingo's double; the runner moved to third on a groundout to the right side and then Red Killefer dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt along the first-base line which allowed no play at home on the go-ahead run. Lear wobbled again in the bottom half, putting two on with one out, but he got the first two batters in the Cub order to sky the ball to right field and preserve the come-from-behind win. Cincinnati 5-11-1, Chicago 4-11-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Red Killefer's squeeze bunt in the 10th won the game for the Reds |
For the second day in a row, the Reds used some late-game magic to win, this time in front of the home fans. The Cardinals scored single runs in the 2nd and 4th (RBI singles from Bruno Betzel and Frank Snyder) to take a 2-0 lead and Bill Doak pitched hitless base ball for four innings. But Cincinnati got a run in the 5th, and only Owen Wilson's throw to nab Tommy Leach at the plate preserved the St. Louis lead. Leach was in the middle of affairs again in the 7th when he hit a deep fly ball to left that allowed Schneider to tag and score the game-tying run. Doak's early-game dominance was now a thing of the past, and he ran out of gas in the 8th as base hits by three of the first four Reds to bat in that frame scored two runs to give Cincinnati their first lead of the game. Frank McKenry relieved Schneider with one on and one out in the 9th and proceeded to load the bases, but Wilson tapped one weakly to Fritz Mollwitz at first base for the final out. Ivey Wingo had three hits for the Reds, two of which came in their late scoring rallies. Cincinnati 4-9-1, St. Louis 2-8-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Ivey Wingo had three hits, two of which fueled the Red's comeback |
A late Cubs rally went for naught when Doc Johnston singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th at Forbes Field. The Pirates got things moving quickly when they scored twice in the 1st on Zip Collins' two-out, two-run single and the home team led 4-1 through eight innings behind the strong pitching of Harmon and two Chicago errors that led to insurance runs. But the visitors' bats awoke in their final regulation opportunity as two singles and a two-run double off the bat of Wilbur Good started the inning - and ended Harmon's afternoon - with Pittsburgh clinging to what was now just a one-run lead. Carmen Hill came on in relief, but "Specs" couldn't stop the bleeding quickly enough, as PH Eddie Mulligan laced a game-tying single off of Hill's first delivery and only a timely 643 double play prevented Chicago from taking the lead. That brought in Pete Standridge to pitch for the Cubs, looking to erase the taste of his 10th-inning loss to Cincinnati and, well, that didn't happen - Bill Hinchman led off with a double (his fifth hit of the day), pinch-runner Paddy Siglin stole third base, Johnston lined a hit into left field and, just like that, it was over. Pittsburgh 5-12-1, Chicago 4-9-2. [box] [pbp]
| Bill Hinchman piled up five hits against Chicago |
Once again, the Reds dominated the late innings, this time breaking open a tie game with a torrent of runs to win going away in the Steel City. For the first time in the tournament Cincinnati scored first, with the help of two Pittsburgh errors, on RBI singles from Red Killefer and Ivey Wingo. But the Pirates got even with singletons in the 4th and 5th before Killefer quickly broke the tie with an RBI double in the 6th. While Babe Adams wasn't sharp to his usual standard on the hill for the Pirates, he got generally poor support behind him and this was true again in the 7th; Adams allowed four hits to the first six Cincinnati hitters in the inning, but Honus Wagner's error kept the inning going long enough for the visitors to put up three runs and take control of the contest. Joe Conzelman got steamrolled in the 8th, walking three batters and seeing two of them score in another three-run inning, and Gene Dale calmly finished off the complete-game win by allowing just one run over the final four innings. Four different Reds had two hits apiece, three of them also knocking in a pair, while Bill Hinchman continued his hot hitting for the Pirates with two singles and two RBI. Cincinnati 9-12-0, Pittsburgh 3-8-3. [box] [pbp]
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| Fritz Mollwitz had two hits and two RBI for the Reds |
For the third straight day the Cubs collapsed in the late going to lose in their opponents' final at-bat, this time watching the Cardinals score four times in the 8th to rouse the home fans. It was all St. Louis in the early going, as they scored three times in the 4th and once in the 6th to give Robinson a nice cushion, and he held the Cubs without a score on just four singles through the first six innings. But, after two Chicagos were out in the 7th, Cardinal pitching fell to pieces - Robinson allowed two hits to score the first Cubs run and then Dick Niehaus surrendered safeties to all four men he faced, the last a two-run triple from "Wildfire" Schulte that finished off a six-run outburst. Larry Cheney pitched a scoreless 8th for the visitors and then ran into trouble in the 9th when two bases on balls helped to load the sacks with Cards with just one out to go. That out never came - Frank Snyder singled home two to tie the game, Tom Long drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit, and pinch-hitter Cozy Dolan knocked across a fourth run against Pete Standridge. Fred Lamlein, who had fanned the side in the 8th, stayed on for STL in the 9th and hit the leadoff batter before getting three straight infield outs to seal the deal for St. Louis. Owen "Chief" Wilson had three hits for the Cardinals, while Snyder had four RBI. St. Louis 8-11-2, Chicago 6-11-0. [box] [pbp]
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| Chief Wilson had three hits and scored twice for St. Louis |
After the rest day, the action continued . . .
Four games, four late comeback wins, as the Reds score once in the 9th to tie and then win it with a pair of 10th-inning runs. There was a lot of action on the basepaths in the early innings, as the Cardinals scored four times in the first four innings, and Cincinnati answered with three of their own. After an exchange of runs in the 7th left the score 5-4 in favor of the Redbirds the relief corps took over, and both teams pitched around an 8th-inning baserunner. In the 9th, though, a one-out single by Tommy Griffith was chased in by Bill Rodgers' double to knot the score and Curly Brown somehow survived a hit batsman, walk and single in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings. The Reds jumped right on new hurler Charlie Boardman to start the 10th - Fritz Mollwitz walked, Tommy Leach ripped a triple over the head of Chief Wilson for the tie-breaking run, and Heinie Groh singled in an insurance marker two batters later. Curly made quick work of the Cards in the bottom half and Cincinnati had four in a row in heart-pounding fashion. Griffith had a huge day with five hits and four runs scored. Cincinnati 7-16-2, St. Louis 5-11-2. [box] [pbp]
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| Tommy Griffith scored four times on five base hits |
Pittsburgh pounded out thirteen hits and George McQuillan held Chicago to seven as the visitors brushed aside the winless Cubs. It was still a ballgame through four innings, as Cy Williams' solo homer - the first of the tournament - made it a 2-1 game in the Pirates' favor. But Zip Zabel, who had been skating on thin ice in the early innings, cracked in the 5th allowing three straight singles and then booting a comebacker before walking in a second run to make it 4-1. The Pirates would add on in the 6th and 9th but wouldn't need to do so, as McQuillan stifled Chicago on two hits over the final five innings and retired ten of the final twelve. Max Carey scored twice and Zip Collins drove in two for the Pirates. Pittsburgh 6-13-1, Chicago 1-7-3. [box] [pbp]
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| George McQuillan was too much for the Cubs |
The tables are turned at Redland Field as this time it's Cincinnati who get stung by the tail, as Pittsburgh score three runs late in the game to snatch a road victory away from the Reds in one of the roughest displays of defensive acumen you'll ever witness. A pitchers' duel between Kantlehner (pressed into service due to Mamaux's fatigue from his Round 1 beating) and Toney was only interrupted briefly by Doc Johnston's RBI single in the 3rd, bringing around Honus Wagner after he had reached on a fielder's choice and stole second. Through five innings the two clubs had a combined seven base hits, but the Reds got rolling in the 6th. With two outs and nobody on base, Red Killefer singled and raced home on Tommy Griffith's three-base hit, and then Tommy Clarke singled Griffith home to give CIN the lead. After a Fritz Mollwitz hit sent Clarke around to third, Tommy Leach hit a high bouncer to second which Jim Viox couldn't get out of his glove cleanly; the error allowed Clarke to score the third Reds run. Two batters later, Heinie Groh threw away a ground ball to third allowing Leach to come home to tie the game. The visitors' half of the 7th saw more fielding follies as Zip Collins reached second on Toney's throwing error and scored on Viox's base hit. Not to be outdone, Kantlehner made two errors in the bottom half of the inning, allowing Buck Herzog to reach and then throwing away a pickoff throw to compound his mistake, but the Reds failed to capitalize. In the top of the 8th, the camel's back was finally broken from defensive ineptitude; Doc Johnston reached when the ball scooted under Ivy Olson's glove with one out, took third on Max Carey's base hit, and scored on Collins' medium fly ball to right field. Kantlehner shook off his adventurous 7th and "Peanuts" retired the last six Reds in order to hand Cincinnati its first loss of the tournament. There were a total of ten errors in the contest, with Viox, Kantlehner and Clarke each committing a pair. Pittsburgh 4-5-4, Cincinnati 3-8-6. [box] [pbp]
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| Doc Johnston scored the winning run after stealing second base in the 8th |
The first tie in Showdown history came to pass after St. Louis and Chicago could not be separated by twelve innings of regulation base ball. Sallee and Vaughn dominated the first half of the afternoon's play, as the teams had only seven combined hits through seven innings, but the Cubs led 1-0 on Cy Williams' RBI single in the 3rd inning. The Cardinals finally touched Vaughn in the 8th, scoring twice on n RBI double from Tom Long and a single by Miller Huggins that brought Long across the dish, but Chicago got level again in the bottom half after Huggins' error set the table for Frank Schulte's run-scoring single. The game went into extra frames, and each club had once chance with multiple baserunners - in the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs got two on with two out thanks to Art Butler's error, but Cy Williams could only loft a routine fly to right; in the 11th, a fumble by pitcher Pete Standridge put two Cards on base with one away, but the red-hot Frank Snyder bounded into a fielder's choice and Butler hit one to the deepest part of left field where it came to rest in Schulte's glove. The Chicago left-fielder had a fine afternoon with three hits in six trips to the plate. St. Louis 2-7-2, Chicago 2-8-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Frank "Wildfire" Schulte had a hot day with the stick - three base hits |
All it took for Chicago to get off the schneid and win their first game of the Showdown was a dominant pitching performance, as Jimmy Lavender threw a five-hitter at the Reds and his teammates turned ten hits into three runs. The Cubs took an early lead when Cy Williams hit his second home run of the tournament (the only two circuit clouts of the Showdown), but Cincinnati equalized in the 3rd when Buck Herzog's fly ball scored Schneider from third. The Cubs broke the game open against Schneider in the 6th when Vic Saier reached on a Bill Rodgers error and scored on Wilbur Good's double, and Jimmy Archer's bounding ball two batters later allowed Good the time to score from third base. It was then up to Lavender, and he blew the Red s away in the late innings, setting down eleven of the last twelve men to face him including two whiffs. Chicago 3-10-0, Cincinnati 1-5-3 [box] [pbp]
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| Jimmy Lavender made the Reds see purple, tossing a five-hitter |
The Cardinals had thirteen hits, including four doubles, and raced to an early lead which they turned into a late runaway at Forbes Field. The score was tied at one run apiece after the first two innings, but St. Louis erupted for four scores in the 3rd - Frank Snyder and Ham Hyatt had RBI doubles, and Bob Bescher and Dots Miller run-scoring singles. Harmon recovered after that, but was forced to leave after seven innings and the Cards took advantage of the second line of the Pirate staff, putting up three hits and two runs in the 8th, and turning two walks, a hit batsman and a Honus Wagner error into two more in the 9th. Bill Doak went the route for the visitors, allowing only four hits and working effectively around inconsistent command (five BB). Snyder and Tom Long had three hits each for the Cardinals. St. Louis 9-13-1, Pittsburgh 2-4-1. [box] [pbp]
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| Bill Doak sliced through the Pirates for nine innings |
Final Standings
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | GB | RDiff | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 Cincinnati Reds | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.667 | 0.0 | 8 | 1-2 | 3-0 |
| 1915 St. Louis Cardinals | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.583 | 0.5 | 14 | 2-1 | 1-1-1 |
| 1915 Pittsburgh Pirates | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.500 | 1.0 | -15 | 1-2 | 2-1 |
| 1915 Chicago Cubs | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0.250 | 2.5 | -7 | 0-2-1 | 1-2 |
The Reds got the hits when they mattered most, winning four times in the late innings and earning the title when the Cardinals couldn't find a way past the Cubs in their twelve-inning affair. Cincinnati had trouble catching the ball at times (thirteen errors), but they allowed the fewest runs nonetheless and were second in scoring to the Cardinals, who tallied 19 runs against Pittsburgh and 17 against everyone else. Pittsburgh and Chicago struggled to score, and the latter became everyone's favorite late-inning patsy on their way to just one win despite only being outscored by seven runs. The defense was exactly what you'd have expected from a 1915 tournament - 39 errors in twelve games for a .961 fielding percentage (.964 real-life for the four teams) - with four players making three errors in their six games. [Tournament stats]
1B: Dots Miller, 1915 Cardinals (4)
2B: Heinie Zimmerman, 1915 Cubs (4)
SS: Art Butler, 1915 Cardinals (3)
3B: Bruno Betzel, 1915 Cardinals (3)
Cardinals C Frank Snyder was the lynchpin of the Showdown's highest-scoring offense. The 21-year-old backstop hit .435/.481/.565, lapped the field with 11 runs batted in, and was among the leaders in almost every offensive category. He had the game-winning RBI in two of the three STL games, and scored the game-winning run in the third.
Showdown History
Showdown 5: 2000 National League
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