SHUT OUT.
An Unprecedented Victory in the League.
The Champions Retire the Giants Without a Hit or a Run -
Splendid Pitching by Lovett - Fine Team Work in Every Position.
Brooklyn Eagle, June 23, 1891
The contest between the champions and the Giants at Eastern Park yesterday afforded one of the
most striking illustrations of the difference between team work at the bat and the old rutty
method of slugging at the ball for home runs and fungo batting witnessed this season. If ever a
game was exclusively won by what is known as scientific batting, against mere record hitting,
it was yesterday at Eastern Park. The great difference between the two distinct methods of
batting was so palpable that even the ruttiest of old cranks could perceive it. The champions
won the game by skillful work at the bat, aided by sharp base running, and against first
class, strategic pitching, too, as not a run in the game was earned off the pitching, sacrifice
hitting and skillful base running alone earning every run scored. On the other hand, "the great
batting team of New York," the Giants, in the handling of the ash never faced better strategic
pitching than they did yesterday, and never before has a Brooklyn pitcher had better support
given him in the field, and especially behind the bat, than Lovett had yesterday.
The contest yesterday, too, presented another illustration of the Brooklyn team under the
command of one of the best captains of the league. This was shown in the last two Chicago teams
at Eastern Park in a very striking manner, but it was again practically illustrated yesterday.
It was a game of games to witness, and it delighted the Brooklyn cranks beyond measure, while
the New Yorkers present, though greatly disappointed by their own team's failure, could not,
in common justice, avoid giving the champions due meed of praise for the splendid exhibition of
scientific ball playing they gave the large crowd present yesterday.
It was a day of days for the game, and never before has the field been in such good order.
Moreover, while it was oppressively hot in the city, the seats on the grand stand at Eastern
Park were as cool and delightful as those at the Oriental Hotel, at Coney Island, with an
ocean breeze blowing in upon them, the southerly wind from Jamaica Bay blowing in on the crowd
in the grand stand most refreshingly. The game was witnessed by the largest Monday assemblage of
the season, and had such an exhibition of ball playing been expected thousands more would have
been there. But the impression prevailed that the champions would have no show to win when they
faced the Giants, and the visitors and their friends came over the river in the full expectation
of showing the champions how to play ball. The gathering of the Polo ground cranks in the
westerly portion of the grand stand, headed by big "Jedge" Cullum, were present to do lots of
"hollering" for New York, but to their intense disgust they did not have the least show given
them, not ever for a solitary yell of encouragement.
"Brother John" was in the box for New York, and it was certainly not his fault that his team
did not win. He kept the batsmen of the home team down to an average of a single hit to an
inning, and had he been properly supported they would not have scored more than a single run,
and that despite their base hits. The game was not won by batting so much as it was by a
combination of team work at the bat and sharp base running; while, on the other hand, it was
not lost so much by inferior battery work or fielding as it was by the utter absence of skill
in the handling of the bat by the visitors.
The Giants have been so lauded to the skies by the New York scribes for their home run
batting that they have got it into their heads that slugging at the bat for hits to the outfield
is the great feature of skillful batting, whereas there is not a particle of skill in it, as
any country bumpkin at the bat can make home runs against poor pitching, and it is against poor
boxwork that the Giants have achieved most of their success in the slugging business. It takes
years to get the players out of the old ruts of the game and still longer to train up the
"groundlings" of the crowd to the appreciation of really skillful batting: but it will come in
good time, and yesterday's contest at Eastern Park presented just the kind of exhibition
calculated to help the movement along.
THE GAME.
When the Giants were sent to the bat yesterday and Tiernan - one of their great home run hitters -
faced Lovett, the visiting crowd looked for an opening at the bat which would demoralize the
champions at the outset; but the best that Tiernan could do was give Collins an easy chance to
throw him out. Richardson then gave Ward an opportunity to judge a difficult foul ball and he
retired. Then came the mighty Gore, and the way this Giant slugged at the ball for a home run and
struck out was laughable. Now came Brooklyn's turn to bat, and Collins led off with a hot bounder
to Bassett, which he failed to hold in time, and the first error of the game was recorded. A good
steal to second on Clarke's throw to Richardson - the latter dropping the ball in the collision -
placed the runner at second, and then Ward's bunt sacrifice hit sent Collins to third, and on
Griffin's sharp bounder, which forced Bassett to throw the runner out, the sacrifice hit sent
Collins home with the first run of the game, Ewing wnding the inning by striking Burns out finely.
In the second inning, after Lovett had given Connor his base - two strikes having been previously
called on him - O'Rourke tried to bat him round, but instead he popped up a foul ball and retired.
Bassett could do no better, a fungo hit to Pinkney sending him to the bench; and then Whistler was
finely pitched out on strikes by Lovett, and Connor was left at first base. On the part of the
champions in this inning O'Brien led off with a safe bunt and beat the ball; Pinkney was hit on
the shoulder by a pitched ball, and both were forwarded by Foutz's sacrifice bounder. O'Brien
previously stealing home on a throw to second, Ewing then struck out both Daly and Lovett, and the
second inning ended with the score at 2 to 0 in favor of the champions, and when the figures were
recorded on the New York bulletin boards shortly after an ominous silence prevailed, while cheers
went up in from of the EAGLE office board in the city.
O'Brien,
Burns, Collins
In the third inning, after the visitors had been finely thrown out by Pinkney, Lovett, and Collins,
the champions began to fill the bases, but not until Ewing had struck Collins out, Brother John
pitching in good form in th egame. Ward then sent a hot bounder past Whistler and earned his
base, and then Griffin followed with a pretty bounder to right field which sent Ward to third.
With one man out and two men on bases another run looked promising, but on Burns' hit to the
infield both runners were caught between the bases, but they skillfully escaped, owing to
Griffin's sharp play in running and Ward's judgement; but on Griffin's attempt to steal second,
so as to send Ward in from third, the latter was caught between the bases by Clarke and Ewing,
Griffin getting safely to second on the play. With two men out and Griffin on second and Burns
on first, Pinkney hit an apparently safe bounder to short left field and two runs in looked
sure, but Whistler made a splendid stop of the ball and by a fine long throw to Connor ended the
inning for a blank, it being the best piece of fielding on the New York side, as it undoubtedly
cut off a couple of runs.
In the fourth inning the visitors were retired by three of the finest catches of the season,
O'Brien running in and catching Tiernan's low liner splendidly, while Collins took in Gore's
fungo ball finely and Pinkney Connor's foul fly, the great home run hitter of the Giants narrowly
escaping striking out twice. On the other side in this inning, despite a passed ball by Clarke
on a third strike hit, the champions failed to score, and so the fourth inning ended with the
figures still at 2 to 0.
In the fifth inning Darby O'Brien tapped a ball to short left field which O'Rourke ran in well
to catch, but James could not get under the ball and Darby earned second by the hit. On a wild
pitch he went to third, and, after Ward had been thrown out in a manner which prevented a
sacrifice hit, Darby stole home on Griffin's sacrifice fly to Tiernan, the latter making a fine
catch and a good throw in, the ball being dropped at home base in the collision there. Burns
was then thrown out, and now the score at 3 to 0 in favor of the champions at the end of the
fifth inning, with Brooklyn stock way up in the market and "Jedge" Cullum's party awfully quiet
in their box.
Ward,
Pinkney
Brother John opened the sixth inning by striking out, and then occurred a noteworthy play in
the game in which Ward's tactics in strategic points came prominently into view. Tiernan was
given his base on balls after two strikes had been called, and when Richardson hit to short
right field Tiernan ran for second, thinking the ball safe. As he reached second Ward, who saw
a chance for a double play, stood at second base clapping his hands for Daly to throw him the ball,
and then it was that Tiernan lost his head, and he only realized that the fact that Ward had
tricked him into holding at second base when Collins, after reaching the ball from Richardson's
bat, had effected a double play by throwing Tiernan out at first, thereby ending the inning for
the sixth successive blank. On the other side in this inning O'Brien led off a safe bounder to
left field, reached second and third on sacrifice hits made by Pinkney and Foutz, and he came
home on Daly's safe liner to center, technically earning a run, although not off the pitching,
Lovett being caught out by Richardson, leaving Daly at first base. This left the score at 4 to 0
in favor of the champions, and it was now only a question as to whether the Giants would be
"chicagoed," as all hope of a victory on their side had vanished. Moreover, there was another
matter in abeyance, and that was as to whether they would make a hit in the game. Thus far
they had not succeeded in making even a scratch hit or sacrifice, and the contest was watched
with special interest on this account.
In the seventh inning Gore and Connor fungoed out in the old rutty style, and then Daly ended
the inning with one of the finest catches of a foul ball ever seen on the field, the ball being
held near the easterly stone wall of the grand stand tower. On the other side, Collins opened
with a safe hit, stole second handsomely, and he also stole third, but unluckily overran the
base, and as the next two were easily caught out a blank was scored.
In the eighth inning Bassett and Whistler fungoed out after slugging for home runs, and Daly
ended the inning with a fine catch of a spinning fly tip. On the part of Brooklyn, after Burns
had been fielded out by Connor, O'Brien hit a bounder to left field for two bases, but could
not be brought round by the two after him, so the eighth inning ended with the score at 4 to 0
in runs and 8 to 0 in base hits.
Now came the ninth inning, and the question was: "Will the Giants score a single hit in the
game?" and the reply was No, as they were easily retired in the order in which they went to the
bat, Daly ending the game with another pretty fly tip catch.
"Well, well! Shut out without a hit!" was the melancholy refrain of the visiting cranks as they
made a funeral march for the train. On the other side, however, there was nothing but smiles
and congratulations. Even Charley Byrne, whose smiles have been very scarce this year, and the
austere Charley Ebbets were lively over the result.
It was their first chicago defeat of the season, and really the most signal defeat they have
sustained this year. The result fully explodes the idea of their great skill in batting. They
are undoubtedly champion sluggers for home runs against poor pitching, but when it comes to
team work at the bat, the majority of their players "are not in it." The thoroughly impartial
umpiring of Mr. McQuade was quite a feature, and his excellent judgement was plainly apparent.
The full score below gives the complete figures:
NEW YORK. BROOKLYN.
R. 1B. PO. A. E. R. 1B. PO. A. E.
Tiernan, r.f........0 0 1 1 0 Collins, 2b.........2 2 2 4 0
Rich'dson, 2b.......0 0 3 2 0 Ward, s.s...........0 1 2 0 0
Gore, c.f...........0 0 2 0 0 Griffin, c.f........0 1 1 0 0
Connor, 1b..........0 0 10 0 0 Burns, r.f..........0 0 4 0 0
O'Rourke, l.f.......0 0 0 0 0 O'Brien, l.f........2 3 1 0 0
Bassett, 3b.........0 0 1 1 0 Pinkney, 3b.........0 0 2 1 0
Whistler, s.s.......0 0 0 4 0 Foutz, 1b...........0 0 7 0 0
Clarke, c...........0 0 6 1 1 Daly, c.............0 1 8 0 0
J. Ewing, p.........0 0 1 3 1 Lovett, p...........0 0 0 1 0
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Total ............. 0 0 24 12 2 Total ............. 4 8 27 6 0
SCORE BY INNINGS.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
New York..........0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0--0
Brooklyn..........1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 ..--4
Runs batted in by base hits- Daly, 1.
Runners forwarded by base hits- Griffin, 1; Daly, 1.
Sacrifice hits- Ward, 1; Griffin, 2; Foutz, 1; Pinkney, 1.
Stolen bases- Collins, 3; Ward, 1; Griffin, 1; O'Brien, 2.
Battery errors- Brooklyn, 3; New York, 3.
First base by errors- Brooklyn, 2.
Left on bases- Brooklyn, 6; New York, 2.
Chances for catches- Brooklyn, 7; New York, 17.
Double play- Collins and Foutz.
Bases on balls- by Lovett, 3.
Struck out- by Ewing, 4; by Lovett, 4.
Base hits- off Ewing, 8.
Hit batsman- by Ewing, 1.
Wild pitch- by Ewing, 1.
Passed ball- Clarke, 1.
Umpire- Mr. McQuade.
Time of game- 1 hour and 35 minutes.
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