1913 Walter Johnson is wondering what the big deal is.
The Big Train came out in Game 5 of the Monsters vs Terribles series and pitched a no-hitter, the second of the young season for the Monsters. Not only that, he contributed with the bat. Johnson went 2 for 5 with a homerun and four rbis. ‘27 Lou Gehrig and ‘21 Babe Ruth also hit homeruns in the 18-0 game. After five games, Ruth now has five homeruns and 16 rbis. Gehrig’s homer in the fourth was a grand slam.
‘63 Jim Duckworth who pitched respectably in Game One, fell apart in the third inning when the Monsters scored eleven runs.
|
Game #5 |
R |
H |
E |
|
Tuesday Terribles (0-5) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Monday Monsters (5-0) |
18 |
16 |
0 |
WP- ‘13 Johnson (1-0), LP- ‘63 Duckworth (0-2) HR- ‘13 Johnson (1), ‘27 Gehrig (1), ‘21 Ruth (5)
Monsters Highlights: Not only did ‘13 Walter Johnson pitch a no-hitter but he faced only 28 batters. Johnny Bench who walked in the top of the 8th inning, was the only baserunner. Johnson also went 2 for 4 with a homerun and 2 rbis… ‘21 Babe Ruth went 2 for 3 with a homerun… ‘82 George Brett was 2 for 3 with a double and a triple plus 4 rbis…’27 Lou Gehrig went 2 for 3 with a grand slam homer.
Terribles Highlights: ‘67 Johnny Bench was the only baserunner when he walked in the eighth inning. ‘85 Matt Young allowed just one in three innings in relief.
Around the dugout
‘05 Offa Neal isn’t pointing fingers after the Terribles’ got no-hit for the second time in four game. However, it’s rumored that he’s a little frustrated after being benched after his rough start in the first four games (0 for 9, 6 Ks). “All I’m saying, is that 66-8 on ‘66 Jackie Hernandez in the third inning would have been a hit for me. Would have been nice to save this team the embarrassment”.
Have the rest of the Monsters squad gotten tired of the squabble between ‘11 Ty Cobb and ‘22 Rogers Hornsby? Maybe so but Game 5 might tone them down a bit. Between the two of them, they went 2 for 12 for the game.
Mayve the Terribles found their new starter in ‘85 Matt Young. Nothing is definite but Young pitched two 1-2-3 innings in row in Game 5 and retired eight batters in a row. His 13.00 ERA is tops among qualifiers on the team.
By the numbers (through 5 games)
| Team |
Runs |
Avg. |
HR |
| Monsters |
91 |
.427 |
14 |
| Terribles |
2 |
.058 |
1 |
Next up
It’s ‘73 Steve Blass’ turn on the mound for the Terribles in Game Six. For the Monsters, ‘05 Christy Mathewson who in retrospect, gave up an astonishing six hits in Game One, will get a chance to redeem himself.
Hey Tom!
This is INCREDIBLE!..Two batblazin’no hitters!…bats..ash piled! …I believe
we fans’re viewing one of the most unique, and, interesting series of all time!
All the best!
Jim
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With an updated “zz” rating, Johnson may very well have had a perfect game. This, of course, is like shooting fish in a barrel for the Monsters. But that’s the fun of it, isn’t it.
ha, I didn’t know about the ZZ.
Yeah, “shooting fish in a barrel” is an apt term. But boy, it’s thrilling when they do get a hit, or a walk, or get on base by an error, ANYTHING!
Actually, it was kinda cool to see Young retire 8 in a row. I’ll have to go back and check but I think in Games 1-4 the Monsters have gone down 1-2-3 just twice.
So the Terribles have been no hit twice and one hit twice. How the heck did they manage 6 hits in the first game?
’67 Johnny Bench for Terribles MVP! Doesn’t he now have a HR and a walk to break up Walter Johnson’s perfect game?
(Of course it must be pretty hard for a guy/card like Bench to be ona team named the Terribles.)
Don’t feel bad about the “zz” thing. Frankly,I’m not sure an actual official
APBA “ZZ card exists for Johnson but since
their standard for passing out “zz”‘s is roughly “less than 2 walks per 9 innings and since ’13 Big Train went 346 innings with a ridiculous 38 walks (that’s less than 1 walk per 9)then if he’s not entitled to a “zz” what’s the point.
Since the introduction of the “zz”, I’ve upgraded some of the old cards I use in my league (eg. Walsh, Joss, Young, Alexander
and a few more that escape me at the moment).
Any enjoy. Maybe The Train will do better next time.