Washington DC Baseball

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Player #95A: Roger T. Peckinpaugh. Shortstop for the Washington Senators in 1922-1926. 1,876 hits and 205 stolen bases in 17 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. His best season at the plate was probably 1921 as he helped the New York Yankees reach the World Series and posted a .380 OBP with 128 runs scored and 72 RBIs in 694 plate appearances. He debuted with the Cleveland Naps in 1910 and finished his playing career with the Chicago White Sox in 1927. He managed the New York Yankees in 1914 and the Cleveland Indians in 1928-1933 and 1941.

Deveaux explains how complex (and expensive) Griffith's acquisition of Peckinpaugh was Part 2: It was Griff's inside knowledge which ultimately enabled him to get Peckinpaugh for the Senators. The A's had a fine young third baseman named Joe Dugan who had begun showing decent power as a 24-year-old the previous season. But there was a problem with Dugan, for which he had earned the nickname of "Jumping Joe". He often got homesick and would jump the ballclub, without notice, to return to his hometown of Boston to visit family and friends. Now if Griffith could get Dugan from Connie Mack, he could probably turn right around and send him home for good.

Clark Griffith's complex strategy to acquire Roger Peckinpaugh succeeded, but it cost him dearly. Griffith surrendered three players, including incumbent shortstop Blackie O'Rourke, and infielder Edmund "Bing" Miller who had hit .288 with the Senators in '21, his only season in Washington. In Miller's case, Washington made a mistake. Over the next nine years, his lowest batting average as a regular in Philadelphia would be .299. But at the time of the trade, what hurt Griffith the most was the $50,000 check he ultimately had to write Frazee in order to get Peckinpaugh for his ballclub. . .

. . . The new Peckinpaugh-Harris-Judge combination would become one of the most lethal rally-killing trios in history. As Clark Griffith so succinctly put it, whenever the ball was hit in the direction of any one of these guys, everybody was out. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #96: Thomas G. "Big Tom" Phillips. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1921-1922. 8 wins in 4 MLB seasons. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1915.

According to an April 12, 1929 newspaper obituary "He broke into professional baseball with Wilkes-Barre in 1914, where his work attracted Connie Mack. During his best years he was a member of the [Philadelphia] Athletics, St. Louis [Browns], Cleveland [Indians] and Washington [Senators] in the American League. He was also with Little Rock and New Orleans of the Southern Association, pitching the latter team to a pennant in 1924. In 1925 Washington sent him to Minneapolis. The Millers recently sent him to Des Moines, in the Western Association, while he was ill at home in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. He was about 38 years of age, and had lived here nearly all of his life. His best feat was a no-hit, no-run game while with New Orleans in 1924.

Big Tom Phillips, of Phillipsburg, PA., died at the Phillipsburg state hospital after a lingering illness from diabetes.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #83B: Valentine J. "Val" Picinich. Catcher with the Washington Senators in 1918-1922. 743 hits and 26 home runs in 18 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1916-1917. His most productive season was 1928 with the Cincinnati Reds as he posted a .343 OBP with 35 RBIs in 357 plate appearances. His last season was 1933 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

We go back to Picinich's SABR biography as he winds up his Washington career: . . . Senators fans knew Gharrity was the better player on offense so when Gharrity was rested in the second game of a doubleheader (in 1920) and Picinich managed to say something that caused umpire Billy Evans to eject him, the Washington fans cheered. Gharrity had an even better year in 1921, hitting .310. Picinich did, too; he caught 43 games, improving at the plate to .277.

By this time, Picinich was seen as a reliable backup catcher to Gharrity and so it was again in 1922, with Picinich sometimes entering later in games. In one instance, on July 26, it worked the other way around – Picinich was ejected from a game in the eighth, and Gharrity came in and hit a home run to win the game on the first pitch he saw in the ninth. Gharrity caught in 96 games and Picinich in 76. He hit .229, with 19 RBIs.

It was said that in his years with the Senators, he caught all but two games pitched by Walter Johnson.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #74G: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

Carroll takes us through Rice's 1922 season Part 1: Even early on, there were signs that Rice might not be in shape to put up the kind of season Washington fans had grown accustomed to. After spending much of the winter back home hunting in Indiana, he was a few pounds overweight when he showed up to negotiate his contract. By the time he returned again in March for spring training, Rice was still carrying a few extra pounds (to his credit, he did arrive a week before he was required).

Rice had encountered difficulty picking up ground balls to the outfield in the past, but new Washington manager Clyde Milan thought his star was a little bit too nonchalant for his taste when a ball rolled through his legs during a late March relay throw drill, singly the star out in the newspapers. . . .

. . . Rice's fielding difficulties may have been good for a little laugh during Spring training, but when the bad habit of not getting down on base hits to the outfield cost the Senators runs in the regular season, it wasn't so funny anymore. Rice made a key error on such a chance in an early-season loss to the Yankees, Washington's fifth consecutive defeat and their eighth in nine games on the young season. The Post, begging for Griffith to retain Rice just months before (as Rice and Griffith haggled over his contract), blasted him for the gaffe.

"It was none other than Sammy Rice, the outfielding star of the troupe," Senators beat writer John A. Dugan reported, "who pulled what is becoming an almost daily stunt with him of allowing a ball to roll through his legs."

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[GeoPoto]

Player #74G: Edgar C. "Sam" Rice. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1915-1933. 2,987 hits and 34 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1920 AL stolen base leader. He was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 1963. Led the Senators to three AL pennants (1924,1925, and 1933). Best known for controversial "over the fence" catch in the 1925 World Series. He had many excellent seasons, but one of his best was 1930 as he posted a .407 OBP with 121 runs scored in 669 plate appearances. He had 63 stolen bases in 1920. He last played in 1934 with the Cleveland Indians. His early life was marred by tragedy when his wife, two daughters, parents, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

Carroll takes us through Rice's 1922 season Part 2: . . . The '22 season was a struggle. Even when things went well, they were overshadowed. During a May series against the Yankees, Rice reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances, including two home runs (one inside-the-park). But even the hometown Washington Post gave top billing in the next morning's paper to Babe Ruth's temper tantrum in the game that drew a threat of suspension from the league. With the Yankees coming to town the next afternoon, the Post argued vehemently that suspensions should be outlawed in baseball because they hurt the fans who take great pains to attend ballgames (the suspension was lifted after just one game in favor of a $200 fine).

By objective standards, Rice didn't have a terrible season at the plate in 1922, but it was certainly a step backward for him. His thirty-seven doubles and thirteen triples put him among the league leaders in both categories. And a year after being forced out of the lineup for a couple of weeks with a nagging ankle sprain, Rice was back to playing in all 154 games -- plus, in a league-leading 633 at-bats, he struck out just thirteen times. Among American League regulars, only Cleveland veteran Stuffy McGinnis, with a remarkable five strikeouts in 537 at-bats, whiffed less frequently. McGinnis, a man who would finish his career with three World Series rings, 2,405 hits and a career batting average of .307, wasn't horrible company to keep. But just two years earlier, Rice had spent the summer putting his name alongside guys like Ruth, Sisler and Jackson as one of the American League's top hitters.

Rice's .295 mark wasn't bad, especially since it was a steady .295, with few prolonged slumps or hot streaks throughout the course of the 1922 season. But it wasn't close to the pace he had set the previous two years. And he was playing in a league in which Ty Cobb batted .401, yet still failed to win his thirteenth batting title. That honor went to Sisler, who hit .420. (Sam Rice by Jeff Carroll.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #97A: Earl L. "Sheriff" Smith. Outfielder/Third baseman with the Washington Senators in 1921-1922. 429 hits and 9 home runs in 7 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1916. His most productive season was 1920 with the St. Louis Browns as he posted a .336 OBP with 55 RBIs in 378 plate appearances.

"Sheriff" Earl Smith played seven seasons in the big leagues, getting over 1,500 at-bats, mostly for the St. Louis Browns. He appeared at all three outfield positions as well as playing third base.

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[GeoPoto]

Player #98A: J. Thompson "Tom" Zachary. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1919-1925 and 1927-1928. 1924 and 1928 World Series champion. 186 wins and 23 saves in 19 MLB seasons. He debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1918. In Washington's World Series-winning 1924 season, he posted a 15-9 record with a 2.75 ERA in 202.2 innings pitched. In 1949 with the New York Yankees, he went 12-0, an MLB record that still stands for most wins without a loss in one season. He also gave up Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927. He finished his career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1936.

Zachary's SABR biography: Tom Zachary pitched in the majors from 1918 through 1936, logging 186 victories. The Guilford College star — who took part in one of the greatest collegiate pitching duels ever waged — never played a minor league game, a rare occurrence in those days. He picked up three World Series checks and was on the World Champion Senators in 1924 and Yankees in 1928. In the postseason he had a lifetime 3-0 mark with a 2.86 ERA. In his most impressive regular season, he posted a 12-0 mark with the Yankees in 1929. No major leaguer has won more without a defeat in a season. However, with all those accomplishments, he is best remembered for delivering a low, inside fastball that Babe Ruth drove into the right field seats for his 60th home run in 1927. . . .

. . . Zachary joined the Senators’ rotation in 1920 and compiled a 15-16 record with three shutouts. He led his team in wins and complete games and was second to Johnson in ERA. The following season Washington added lefty George Mogridge to the staff. The threesome of Johnson, Mogridge and Zachary would lead the team to the World Series in 1924.

The 1924 Senators sputtered early in the season and entered June under the .500 mark. They swept the Yankees in four games June 23-25 to move into first place. They faltered in early August but scratched their way back to the top and finished the season ahead of New York.

In the World Series Walter Johnson started Game 1 and fell victim to the Giants, 4-3. Zachary pitched eight strong innings in the next game but needed relief from Firpo Marberry when he tired in the ninth. Zachary had allowed two runs to tie the game when Marberry came in with two outs and fanned Travis Jackson to close the frame. The Senators pushed across a run in the bottom half for a 4-3 victory.

The game was exciting but free of disputes. It was what happened postgame that created a stir in the baseball community. The win was originally granted to Marberry and appeared that way in early box scores and in The Sporting News. After the game, noted sportswriter Frederick G. Lieb, who was chief scorer, “posted notice at press headquarters” that Zachary deserved the win based upon his strong eight innings. The decision was met with strong discussion throughout the nation’s press, but the decision stood, and Zachary was given the win. (We will pick up this account when Zachary next surfaces in our progression.)

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