Mack, Grove and Foxx are ghosts trapped between worlds

Baseball loves to honor their ghosts.

The legends of Yankees past hover over the Bronx, even after they crossed the street.
Ted Williams’ legend is honored inside and out of Fenway.
Roberto Clemente … Gil Hodges… Ty Cobb… all are honored in their old cities.

Even some players who never played in their team’s new homes are honored by their transplanted franchise.

Fan bases that never knew Jackie Robinson, Christy Mathewson and Warren Spahn honored them all.

Most players are the team’s legends. Others are hometown favorites. But most of the all time greats are saluted in one-way shape or another.

Which makes the fate of Connie Mack, Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx so much stranger.

Each of them was a legend and one of the dominating forces in the game during their time.

Connie Mack?

This was a man who managed the Athletics to pennants in four different decades. A brilliant hands off manager, he stressed intelligence and fundamentals. He was a wonderful contrast to the volatile John McGraw and the New York Giants, whom Mack’s Athletics played 3 times in the World Series and beat them twice.

He went from the teams of Rube Waddell and Eddie Plank in the 1900s… to the $100,000 infield of Eddie Collins, Home Run Baker, Jack Barry and Stuffy McInnis in the 1910s… and finally the greatest Philadelphia team of all in the late 1920s and early 1930s with Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons… and of course Grove and Foxx.

Lefty Grove?

He was the best pitcher of his era… a time of big bats and big home run totals. He arrived after the deadball era and once the previous generation of superstar pitchers (like Grover Cleveland Alexander and Walter Johnson) had ended their careers.

Five times he lead the league in ERA as a member of the Athletics.
In his first seven seasons in the bigs, he led the league in strike outs every year.
He won 31 games in 1931 and won 20 or more for the Athletics six times.

He even led the league in saves one year.

And while Grove didn’t know it, he had the best ERA+ five times and the best WHIP three times while in Philadelphia.

And he was the 1931 American League MVP.

Jimmie Foxx?

The Beast became the premiere power source in baseball once Babe Ruth’s career started to wind down. He would hit 58 homers in 1932, missing Ruth’s mark by just two. He was a Triple Crown winner, won back to back MVPs for Philadelphia and drove in 115 or more runs each of his full seasons.

Don’t like stats like that?
He had the highest OPS three times for the A’s. Two times had the best WAR. Three times had the best run created, Adjusted OPS, Offensive Win Percentage and Adjusted Batting Runs. I am still figuring out what all of that means… but I get the sense it is impressive.

Most importantly of all, both Grove and Foxx both led Mack’s Athletics to three straight pennants and the 1929 and 1930 World Series titles.

Mack was one of the great managers in the game’s history.
Grove is an All Time legendary pitcher and Foxx one of the most feared sluggers.

Where are their numbers retired?
Where are their statues?

Not to disrespect anyone… but Harold Baines, Ron Guidry, Johnny Pesky and Randy Jones all have their numbers retired and they all are loved by their teams and fans. But none of them had the impact on their era the way that Mack, Grove and Foxx did.

But the A’s seem to only honor those who played for Oakland. And seeing they haven’t seen fit to honor Dave Stewart, an Oakland NATIVE who led the A’s to the promise land, the chances of them retiring the numbers of Philadelphia players are slim to none.

And the Phillies have their own history to honor. Besides, they are the team that DIDN’T leave Philadelphia!

Enough passing the buck. Someone should retire their numbers or erect a statue in their honor.

If the A’s ever get a new ballpark, have a concourse where the great Philadelphia Athletics are given their due and Mack, Grove and Foxx are honored.

Perhaps have it outside Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia… some sort of memorial that is separate from the Phillies and yet still honoring the city’s past.

Remember Mack used to have the biggest honor you could have in Philadelphia.
They named their stadium after him.

But these days, he’d have to change his name to a bank or an orange juice company to have another park Christened in his honor.

New York and Philadelphia... World Series rivals BEFORE 1950

If you read or listened to World Series coverage this year, you'd think this was the second time New York and Philadelphia squared off in the World Series.

And it is true, the Phillies and the Yankees only played each other one other time... the 1950 World Series.

But well before the Phillies became THE team in Philadelphia and the Yankees became the dominating force in baseball, Philadelphia and New York squared off three different times with great teams that were the class of the American and National Leagues.

When the World Series was formed in the beginning of the 20th century, John McGraw's Giants were a powerhouse in the National League. And Connie Mack's Athletics were quickly becoming the best team in the American League.

Now of course that would be a Bay Area rivalry, but back then the Giants were the best team in New York and the Athletics ruled Philadelphia baseball.

The Yankees were known as the Highlanders and were inconsistent in the standings.
The Phillies were mediocre non contenders.

But New York and Philadelphia would meet in the 1905, 1911 and 1913 World Series.

Along with their larger than life manager, McGraw, the Giants featured Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, Roger Bresnahan, Joe McGinnity and Rube Marquand.

Connie Mack, who was the very symbol of Philadelphia baseball for half a century, played future Hall of Famers Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, Frank "Home Run Baker" and Eddie Collins.

A pretty impressive array of talent in the pre-Babe Ruth era.

The Giants won the 1905 World Series, 4 games to 1. Christy Mathewson threw three complete game shutouts in six days. Safe to say he wasn't on a pitch count.

In 1911, the Athletics finally got to Mathewson in a dramatic Game 3. Frank "Home Run" Baker earned his nickname with a game tying homer with one out in the 9th inning off of Matty. The Athletics would score the eventual winning run on an error in the 11th.

The Giants would have some late inning heroics of their own in Game 5. One out from elimination, Doc Crandall hit an RBI double and Josh Devore singled him home to tie the game. Fred Merkle would drive in the winning run in the 10th.

But the Athletics would win big in Game 6 behind Chief Bender, 13-2.

Two years later, it would again be New York versus Philadelphia. In Game 2, Mathewson faced another future Hall of Famer, Eddie Plank.

Mathewson threw a 10 inning complete game shutout, driving in the winning run himself in the 10th.

But the Athletics won every other game and took the series in 5. Hall of Famer Eddie Plank out pitched Mathewson in the Game 5 finale.

So taking those three series and the 1950 World Series, Philadelphia and New York are now tied 2 series apiece.

They are playing the rubber match.

Hey look at that! I found a little MORE drama for the Philadelphia/New York match up!

The Real Winner Winner Last Night? THE 1929 A'S!

The Red Sox comeback was the second biggest comeback in playoff history, second only to the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics comeback in game 4 of the World Series.

The aftermath of last night’s game was, among other things, a chance to tip your cap to the 1929 A’s… who like the Red Sox did two things:

They came back from a huge deficit in a post season game.

They won a huge comeback the same year the stock market collapsed.

1929 was a long time ago… it was so long ago it was a period of time when the Cubs actually won National League Pennants and it didn’t seem shocking.

But it’s worth going over that amazing game…
The A’s were playing the Cubs and there were Hall of Famers a plenty on both sides.

The Cubs were managed by Joe McCarthy and their lineup featured Hack Wilson and Rogers Hornsby.

Connie Mack’s A’s countered with Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Jimmy Foxx and Al Simmons in the heart o their lineup and Lefty Grove was the Ace of the staff

The A’s took a 2-1 lead in the series but the Cubs were cruising in game 4, up 8-0, breaking the game open with a 5 run 6th inning.

Cubs pitcher Charley Root (who would later become famous for being the pitcher that Babe Ruth supposedly called his shot against in the 1932 World Series) was cruising.

And then it happened…
Al Simmons homered to make it 8-1.
No big deal.

Jimmie Foxx singled, then Bing Miller singled, then Jimmy Dykes singled in Foxx... 8-2.
Joe Boley then singled home Dykes.

At this point I think even Grady Little would have warmed someone up.

Pinch hitter George Burns came up.
No not THAT George Burns... but for the record, the George Burns you are thinking of was 33 years old during the 1929 World Series.

The George Burns who played was 36 years old and winding down his career that included an MVP with the 1926 Indians.

They might as well have sent up the comic because Burns popped up... but Max "Camera Eye" Bishop singled home another run to make it 8-4.

McCarthy brought in Art Nehf to pitch to Mule Haas.
(Camera Eye? Mule? Man, baseball needs to get back to nicknames!)

Haas hit a flyball that Cubs centerfielder Hack Wilson lost in the sun.
Now I know this is strange to read for some of my younger readers... but yes, he lost it in the SUN!
They were playing the game in the day, not at a 8:30 PM start on the East Coast.

Well the ball dropped in and Boley, Camera Eye and Mule all came home in what was mercifully called an inside the part homer.

Now it's 8-7, Cubs... but there's one out and the bases are empty.

Nehf walked future Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane and was pulled for Sherrif Blake.
(SHERRIF BLAKE! How awesome are these names?)

Simmons got his second hit of the innings as did Foxx who drove in the tying run (nice job Sherrif.)

Pat Malone, without a cool nickname hit Bing Miller to load the bases and Dykes doubled home Simmons and Foxx to give the A's the lead. Malone struck out the next two batters, but by then the 8-0 lead had become a 10-8 deficit.

Mack brought in Hall of Famer Lefty Grove who got the Cubs in order in the 8th and 9th.

The A's took a 3-1 lead and then won the World Series the next day when they scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th against Pat Malone.

But there you have it... an amazing come back, albeit helped by the sun.

Evidently both NBC and CBS broadcasted the game with Graham McNamee and Ted Husing calling the game.
Please tell me someone out there has a recording of it.