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1912 Boston Red Sox season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1912 Boston Red Sox
World Series Champions
American League Champions
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkFenway Park
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record105–47 (.691)
League place1st
OwnersJohn I. Taylor
Jimmy McAleer
ManagersJake Stahl
StatsESPN.com
Baseball Reference
← 1911 Seasons 1913 →

The 1912 Boston Red Sox season was the 12th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. This was the first year that the team played its home games at Fenway Park. The Red Sox finished first in the American League (AL) with a record of 105 wins and 47 losses. The team set the franchise record for highest winning percentage (.691) in a season, which still stands; tied the franchise record for fewest losses in a season, originally set by the 1903 team; and set a franchise record for most wins, which was not surpassed until the 2018 club.[1]

The team then faced the National League (NL) champion New York Giants in the 1912 World Series, which the Red Sox won in eight games to capture the franchise's second World Series. One of the deciding plays in the World Series was a muffed fly ball by Giants outfielder Fred Snodgrass, which became known as the "$30,000 muff" in reference to the prize money for the winning team.[2]

Behind center fielder Tris Speaker and pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, the Red Sox led the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed. Speaker was third in batting and was voted league Most Valuable Player. Wood won 34 games, including a record 16 in a row. Although the pitching staff was satisfactory, the only star pitcher was Wood, while the only star in the starting lineup 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.

1912 Boston Red Sox team photo
Red Sox players in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for spring training in 1912

Offseason

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The Red Sox made several transactions during the 1912 offseason.[3] 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.[3] Later in the year, on November 25, Hugh Bradley was sold to the Jersey City Giants minor league baseball team of the International League.[3]

Transactions

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November 6, 1911: The St. Paul Saints announce the purchase of outfielder Joe Riggert from the Red Sox.[4]

January 6, 1912: The Red Sox trade players Harold Janvrin, Martin McHale, Walter Lonergan, Hap Myers, Jack Thoney, and Billy Purtell to the Jersey City Skeeters in exchange for catcher Forrest Cady.[5]

February, 1912: The Red Sox sell infielder Rip Williams to the New York Highlanders.[6] On February 23, the Highlanders sent Williams to the Washington Nationals.[7]

February 6, 1912: The Chicago White Sox announce the purchase of infielder Jack Fournier from the Red Sox.[8]

Regular season

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The new Red Sox home stadium, Fenway Park opened on April 20, the same day as Navin Field in Detroit opened.[9] It was supposed to be opened on April 18 (like Navin Field) but it rained in both cities on that day.[10] This first Major-League game played at Fenway Park pitted the Red Sox against the New York Highlanders, with the Red Sox winning by a score of 7–6, and New York's Harry Wolter being the first player to earn a hit in the park.[11]

On April 26, Hugh Bradley became the first player to hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park.[12] It was his only home run of the 1912 season, and one of only two he hit in his career, which spanned five seasons.[13]

Transactions

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June 25: The Cleveland Naps sell infielder Neal Ball to the Red Sox for $2500.[14]

Season standings

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 105 47 .691 — 57‍–‍20 48‍–‍27
Washington Senators 91 61 .599 14 45‍–‍32 46‍–‍29
Philadelphia Athletics 90 62 .592 15 45‍–‍31 45‍–‍31
Chicago White Sox 78 76 .506 28 34‍–‍43 44‍–‍33
Cleveland Naps 75 78 .490 30½ 41‍–‍35 34‍–‍43
Detroit Tigers 69 84 .451 36½ 37‍–‍39 32‍–‍45
St. Louis Browns 53 101 .344 53 27‍–‍50 26‍–‍51
New York Highlanders 50 102 .329 55 31‍–‍44 19‍–‍58

Record vs. opponents

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1912 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYH PHA SLB 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

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On April 11, 1912, the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 5–3 in an away game.[15]

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

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1912 Boston Red Sox
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Player stats

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= Indicates team leader

Batting

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Starters by position

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Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Bill Carrigan 87 266 70 .263 0 24
1B Jake Stahl 95 326 98 .301 3 60
2B Steve Yerkes 131 523 132 .252 0 42
SS Heinie Wagner 144 504 138 .274 2 68
3B Larry Gardner 143 517 163 .315 3 86
OF Duffy Lewis 154 581 165 .284 6 109
OF Tris Speaker 153 580 222 .383 10 90
OF Harry Hooper 147 590 143 .242 2 53

Other batters

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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
Clyde Engle 58 171 40 .234 0 18
Hugh Bradley 40 137 26 .190 1 19
Hick Cady 47 135 35 .259 0 9
Les Nunamaker 35 103 26 .252 0 6
Olaf Henriksen 44 56 18 .321 0 8
Neal Ball 18 45 9 .200 0 6
Marty Krug 20 39 12 .308 0 7
Pinch Thomas 13 30 6 .200 0 5
All pitchers 154 468 101 .216 2 44

Pitching

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Starting pitchers

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Player G IP W L ERA SO
Smoky Joe Wood 43 344 34 5 1.91 258
Buck O'Brien 37 275+2⁄3 20 13 2.58 115
Hugh Bedient 41 231 20 9 2.92 122
Ray Collins 27 199+1⁄3 13 8 2.53 82
Charley Hall 34 191 15 8 3.02 83

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Larry Pape 13 48+2⁄3 1 1 4.99 17
Ed Cicotte 9 46 1 3 5.67 20
Ben Van Dyke 3 14+1⁄3 0 0 3.14 8
Casey Hageman 2 1+1⁄3 0 0 27.00 1

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Jack Bushelman 3 1 0 0 4.70 5
Doug Smith 1 0 0 0 3.00 1

Awards and honors

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League top five finishers

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Duffy Lewis

  • #2 in AL in RBI (109)[16]

Tris Speaker

  • MLB leader in on-base percentage (.464)[17]
  • AL leader in home runs (10)[17]
  • #2 in AL in runs scored (136)[17]
  • #3 in AL in batting average (.383)[17]
  • #3 in AL in slugging percentage (.567)[17]
  • #4 in AL in stolen bases (52)[17]

Smoky Joe Wood

  • MLB leader in wins (34)[18]
  • MLB leader in shutouts (10)[18]
  • #2 in AL in ERA (1.91)[18]
  • #2 in AL in strikeouts (258)[18]

World Series

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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 eight games, 4–3, having played the Giants to a tie in Game 2.

AL Boston Red Sox (4) vs. NL New York Giants (3)[19]

Game Score Date Location Att. Ref.
1 Red Sox – 4, Giants – 3 October 8 Polo Grounds 35,730 [20]
2 Giants – 6, Red Sox – 6 (11) October 9 Fenway Park 30,148 [21]
3 Giants – 2, Red Sox – 1 October 10 Fenway Park 34,624 [22]
4 Red Sox – 3, Giants – 1 October 11 Polo Grounds 36,502 [23]
5 Giants – 1, Red Sox – 2 October 12 Fenway Park 34,683 [24]
6 Red Sox – 2, Giants – 5 October 14 Polo Grounds 30,622 [25]
7 Giants – 11, Red Sox – 4 October 15 Fenway Park 32,694 [26]
8 Giants – 2, Red Sox – 3 (10) October 16 Fenway Park 17,034 [27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Boston Red Sox Year-by-Year Results". MLB.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  2. ^ "Fred Snodgrass drops ball and loses World Series". History.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "1912 Boston Red Sox Trades and Transactions". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "St. Paul Buys Riggert". The Gazette Times. November 7, 1911. p. 9. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "Boston Cast-Offs for Jersey City". The Providence Evening Tribune. January 6, 1912. p. 8. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Stanley, Todd (2017). They Wore Red Socks And Pinstripes: Players Who Went to the Enemy. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-7864-9751-5.
  7. ^ "Washington Gets Williams". The Pittsburgh Press. February 23, 1912. p. 25. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  8. ^ "Sporting Notes". Meriden Morning Record. February 7, 1912. p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ The Final Season, p.40
  11. ^ Frommer, Harvey; Frommer, Frederic J. (2014). Red Sox Vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 122.
  12. ^ 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
  13. ^ "Hugh Bradley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  14. ^ Nowlin, Bill, ed. (2012). Opening Fenway Park With Style: The World Champion 1912 Boston Red Sox. Phoenix, Arizona: Society for American Baseball Research. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-933599-35-9.
  15. ^ "Red Sox Opening Day History – 1912 – Boston Red Sox vs. New York Highlanders". Boston.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  16. ^ "Duffy Lewis History and Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Tris Speaker Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  18. ^ a b c d "Smokey Joe Wood Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  19. ^ "1912 World Series – Boston Red Sox over New York Giants (4–3)". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  20. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 4, New York Giants 3".
  21. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 6, New York Giants 6".
  22. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: New York Giants 2, Boston Red Sox 1".
  23. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 3, New York Giants 1".
  24. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 2, New York Giants 1".
  25. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: New York Giants 5, Boston Red Sox 2".
  26. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: New York Giants 11, Boston Red Sox 4".
  27. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Boston Red Sox 3, New York Giants 2".

Further reading

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