EIGHTH GAME.
Boston, Oct. 16, 1912.
Boston 3; New York 2 (ten innings.)
Hits—Off Bedient 6, Wood 3; Mathewson 8.
Struck out—Bedient 2, Wood 2; Mathewson 4.
Bases on balls—Bedient 3, Wood 1; Mathewson 5.
Attendance 16,970.
On the following day, before the smallest crowd of the series, the final game was played in Boston. Many Boston fans, disgruntled at the manner in which some of them had been seated, deliberately remained away. The air was cold and bleak and in addition to all the rest the enthusiasts of Boston had given up the fight. Which merely goes to show the uncertainty of Base Ball. The New York players unquestionably had the championship won for nine and one half innings of the final game and then, by the simplest of errors, overturned all of the good which they had accomplished in their wonderful rally of the two days preceding. After outplaying the Bostons in a manner which showed some thing of the caliber of the teams when both were going at top speed, the New York team stopped short. As one wit dryly put it: "Boston did not win the championship, but New York lost it."
Mathewson pitched for New York and Bedient for Boston until the end of the seventh inning.
With two out for the Giants in the first Snodgrass was given a base on balls, but Murray was retired. Two were out for Boston when Speaker hit for a single to right field, but Lewis struck out. Again in the second two were out for New York when Meyers was safe on Speaker's muff. Fletcher singled over second, but Mathewson flied out.
Hooper began the third with a base hit, but was left. Devore started for New York with a base on balls. Doyle and Snodgrass were out in succession, Devore advancing, and then Murray doubled to center field and Devore scored. In the fourth Herzog started with a two-bagger and if the ground rule had not been changed he would have had an easy triple, and ultimately a run, which would have changed all the outcome of the game. As it was, he did not score. In the fifth Devore began with a single and was out stealing second after Doyle had flied out and Hooper had made the most wonderful catch of the series, reaching over the right field fence to get the ball with his bare band. Snodgrass singled and Murray fouled out.
In the sixth Meyers received a base on balls with two out but did not score. With one out Yerkes singled to right field and Speaker got a base on balls but no run followed.
In the seventh Mathewson began with a single and was forced out by Devore, who was left on bases while two batters were retired. For Boston, with one out, Stahl hit safely to center field. It was a pop fly, which fell between three men, Fletcher, Murray and Snodgrass. Wagner was given a base on balls and Cady was an easy out. Henriksen, batting for Bedient, with two strikes against him, drove the ball on a line toward third base. In fact, it hit third base. It bounded so far back that Stahl scored the tieing run of the game.
No runs were scored by either team in the eighth or the ninth innings. In the tenth, with one out, Murray lined a double to left field and scored on Merkle's hard single over second. That put the Giants in the lead, with Merkle on second. Herzog struck out and Wood threw out Meyers. The ball had been batted so hard by Meyers to Wood that it crippled the pitcher's hand and compelled him to cease playing. It was fortunate for Boston that the hit kept low. So much speed had been put into it by the stalwart Indian catcher that had the ball got into the outfield it would have gone to the fence. It was the undoing of Wood, but it really led to the victory of Boston.
Engle batted for Wood in the tenth. He rapped a long fly to center field which was perfectly played by Snodgrass, but the center fielder dropped the ball. Engle went to second base.
On top of his simple muff Snodgrass made a magnificent catch of Hooper's fly, which seemed to be good for three bases. Mathewson bent every energy to strike out Yerkes, but the batter would not go after the wide curves which were being served to him by the New York pitcher and finally was given a base on balls.