Washington DC Baseball

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Player #70B: J. Joseph "Joe" Boehling. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1912-1916. 56 wins and 4 saves in 7 MLB seasons. His career ERA was 2.97. His best season was 1913 with Washington as he posted a 17-7 record with a 2.14 ERA in 235.1 innings pitched. He finished his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1916-1917 and 1920.

Joe Boehling pitched seven years in the majors. In his best year, he went 17-7 for the 1913 Washington Senators. He was three years younger than Hall of Fame teammate Walter Johnson. Boehling makes the list of the top ten Twins/Senators pitchers with the lowest ERA (minimum 500 innings since 1900). Joe was remembered in 2015 when the 2015 Brewers and 2015 Reds were poised to send rookie starting pitchers against each other for all three games of an upcoming series. MLB said the last time that happened was in 1913 when Joe was one of the rookie starters.

The 1915 season saw Boehling pitch a career high number of games with 40, 32 of them starts. After a 14–13 record in 1915 and a 9–11 record the following season, the Senators traded Boehling. On August 18, 1916, Boehling was traded along with Danny Moeller to the Cleveland Indians for Elmer Smith and Joe Leonard.

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Player #72B: Charles A. "Chick" Gandil. First baseman for the Washington Senators in 1912-1915. 1,176 hits and 151 stolen bases in 9 MLB seasons. 1917 World Series champion. He led AL first baseman in fielding percentage 4 times. He debuted with the Chicago White Sox in 1910. His best season was 1913 with Washington as he posted a .363 OBP with 72 RBI's and 22 stolen bases in 603 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1917-1919. He is best known as the "ringleader" of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

Gandil's SABR biography talks to his involvement in the game-fixing scandal: Prior to his infamous involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, Chick Gandil was one of the most highly regarded first basemen in the American League, both for his play on the field and his solid work ethic. In 1916 a Cleveland newspaper described Gandil as “a most likeable player, and one of excellent habits.” From 1912 to 1915 the right-handed Gandil starred for the Washington Senators, leading the club in runs batted in three times and batting .293. In the field Gandil paced American League first sackers in fielding percentage four times and in assists three times.

He continued his strong work with the Chicago White Sox from 1917 to 1919, helping the club to two American League pennants before forever tarnishing his legacy by helping to fix the 1919 World Series. Yet Gandil may have been the only banished player who gained more than he lost from the fix. After the 1919 World Series, the first baseman retired from major-league baseball, reportedly taking $35,000 in cash with him.

No one knows the full story of the Black Sox Scandal — few of the participants were willing to talk, and the whole plot was confused and poorly managed. But by all accounts Gandil, who claimed to be furious with Comiskey’s miserly ways, was one of the ringleaders. Most accounts agree that it was Gandil who approached gambler Sport Sullivan with the idea of fixing the Series, and that he also served as the players’ liaison with a second gambling syndicate that included Bill Burns (a former teammate of Gandil’s) and Abe Attell. Chick was also the go-between for all payments, and reportedly kept the lion’s share of the money. Though none of the other fixers took home more than $10,000 from the gamblers, Gandil reportedly pocketed $35,000 in payoffs.

It’s interesting to note that Gandil had a reasonably good Series. Although he hit only .233, that was the fourth best average among White Sox regulars. He was second on the team with five RBIs, and he had one game-winning hit. However, he made several suspicious plays in the field, and all but one of his seven hits came in games the fixers were trying to win, or in which they were already losing comfortably. Rumors of a Series fix began to circulate, with Gandil’s name prominently mentioned.

The next spring Gandil demanded a raise to $10,000 per year. When Comiskey balked, Gandil and his wife decided to remain in California. Flush with his financial windfall from the Series, Gandil announced his retirement from the majors, instead spending the season with outlaw teams in St. Anthony, Idaho, and Bakersfield, California. Thus Gandil was far away from the scene as investigations into the 1919 World Series began during the fall of 1920.

This thread will now experience a brief pause. Expected restart: 22 October.

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Player #28H: Clark C. "The Old Fox" Griffith. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1912-1914. Debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1891. 237 wins and 8 saves in 20 MLB seasons. Was 1898 MLB ERA leader. Managed the Chicago White Stockings (1901-1902), the New York Highlanders (1903-1908), the Cincinnati Reds (1909-1911), and the Washington Senators (1912-1920). Was principal owner of the Washington Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955. In 1946, was inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame.

We begin Deveaux's summary of how the Washington lineup evolved prior to the 1915 season: Clark Griffith himself got a new contract prior to the opening of the 1915 baseball season, although it wasn't the five-year term he'd been seeking. It was for a reported $10,000 a year for three years, an increase from $7,500 a year. On the ballfield, he was contemplating changes. Chick Gandil was irresponsible, but got his hitting back on the beam with .291. But Griffith had been patient long enough with Howard Shanks and Danny Moeller in the outfield. On a scouting trip to Buffalo in search of some help, Griff made a discovery that would instead bolster the infield for a long time to come. He was at first only interested in Charlie Jamieson, an outfielder who in fact turned out to be a blue-chipper, except not before the Senators let him get away on waivers in 1917.

The Buffalo owner, David Harum, was talked not only into giving up Jamieson, but throwing in a first baseman named Joe Judge for an extra $500. . . . (We will return to this account very soon.) (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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Player #54F: Walter P. "Barney" Johnson. "The Big Train". Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1907-1927. 417 wins and 34 saves in 21 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. 1913 and 1924 AL Most Valuable Player. 3-time triple crown. 6-time AL wins leader. 5-time AL ERA leader. 12-time AL strikeout leader. He had a career ERA of 2.17 in 5,914.1 innings pitched. He pitched a no-hitter in 1920. He holds the MLB record with 110 career shutouts. MLB All-Time Team. Inducted to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1936. One of his best seasons was 1913 as he posted a record of 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA in 346 innings pitched.

We go back to pick up Deveaux's account of Johnson's contract developments before the 1915 season: There was only one thing to do (renege on his contract with the Chicago Federals and accept an offer from Washington), according to Clarke (Fred, Pittsburgh Pirates owner, Kansas resident, and Griffith emissary), and he soon had Walter in tears. It was arranged that he would meet Clark Griffith summarily. At that meeting, Johnson agreed to sign for Minor's $12,500. Walter got the Old Fox's word that he would do everything in his power to get the best pitcher in baseball a big increase after that. This is what happened, and Johnson was very satisfied the following year to sign a five-year agreement, good through the 1920 season, at $16,000 per.

For the moment, however, there was still for Clark Griffith the problem of paying Walter Johnson the $6,000 bonus he had been promised by the Chicago Federals. To match that, Griff approached Ban Johnson and tried to sell him on the importance of retaining Walter Johnson in the American League. The league's "emergency fund" had grown to nearly a half a million dollars, and surely, Grifith pleaded, this was an emergency. Despite the league's healthy resources, Ban Johnson initially turned him down.

Charles Comiskey was reportedly with Ban Johnson while the league prexy discussed the matter with Griffith over the telephone. Johnson, exasperated, asked to confer with Comiskey. Griffith impressed upon the tightwad owner that if Walter Johnson headed for Chicago, that would be formidable opposition for his White Sox. Then Comiskey agreed to cover the $6,000, and the deal was finally done. Johnson turned the bonus over to his brother Earl, who wanted to buy a garage back home in Coffeyville, Kansas.

The squabble over the contract was humiliating for Walter Johnson, as was related in the April 1915, issue of Baseball Magazine. In the detailed article, the letter Johnson had received from Nationals president Ben Minor was reprinted in its entirety. In the ten pages it took to explain why he had signed with the Federals, Walter admitted he had broken his contract with the Chicago outfit only because he felt that that would be less serious than the harm he would do to baseball in Washington, D.C. Damned if he did, and damned if he didn't, he had been humbled more than he ever could have been by actually playing the game he excelled at.

It is worth noting that it was at this time that the nickname Big Train originated. Bud Milliken wrote in the Washington Post that the "Big Train" had been prevented by "a storm" from getting to spring training on time, an allegorical reference to the pitcher's absence. Milliken reintroduced the moniker a couple of weeks later, and it got picked up by other writers. Still, it would be nearly a decade before it would be universally adopted. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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Player #73A: Joseph I. "Joe" Judge. First baseman with the Washington Senators in 1915-1932. 2,352 hits and 71 home runs in 20 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. In 1924, as Washington won the AL pennant and the World Series, he had one of his better years as he posted a .393 OBP with 71 runs scored and 79 RBIs in 593 plate appearances. He finished his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1933-1934. He may have been the basis for the character of Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees, whose author dated Judge's daughter in the 1940's.

We pick up Deveaux's account prior to the 1915 season: . . . Griffith thought Judge could hit, and that he was obviously a great fielder -- a natural ballplayer. A son of Irish immigrants and raised in one of the roughest sections of New York City, Judge would be a regular in the Washington lineup for 15 years. Nineteen fifteen was quite a remarkable year for players breaking into the major leagues --most noteworthy were Rogers Hornsby, George Sisler, Joe Judge, and another Washington player who would become another piece of a championship puzzle for the Nationals.

An industrious businessman, Clark Griffith had cultivated friendships with baseball men everywhere, and he kept an eye on developing minor-leaguers. He formed allegiances with owners, and in the spring of 1915, he loaned some money to the Petersburg club of the Virginia League. That loop folded, and in lieu of cash, Griffith was persuaded to take a promising young pitcher instead. (Again, we will return to this account very shortly.) (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)

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[GeoPoto]

Player #39G: J. Clyde "Deerfoot" Milan. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1907-1922. 2,100 hits and 495 stolen bases in 16 MLB seasons. 1912 and 1913 AL stolen base leader, including a then record 88 in 1912. His career OBP was .353. Managed the Washington Senators in 1922. His best season was probably 1911 for the Washington Senators as he posted a .395 OBP with 58 stolen bases and 109 runs scored in 705 plate appearances.

Milan's SABR biography takes us back to his earliest days in baseball: In 1905 Clyde traveled several days to join a semipro team in Blossom, Texas, after reading an advertisement that the manager of the club was looking for players. There was a great rivalry that year between Blossom and the neighboring town of Clarksville. “Dode Criss, now with St. Louis, was the star pitcher and batter of the Clarksville team, and he surely was some hitter,” Milan told a reporter in 1910. “Well, we played Clarksville and I not only hit Criss hard, but in the ninth inning, with the bases full, I guess I made the most remarkable catch off of his bat that I have ever made in my life. I don’t know today how I ever got near the ball, but I nailed it and was a hero in Blossom thereafter.” Milan ended up joining Blossom’s rivals, but he wasn’t with the Clarksville team very long before the North Texas League disbanded in mid-July due to an epidemic of yellow fever. Milan then finished up the season in the Missouri Valley League, with the South McAlester Miners in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). . . .

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Player #74A: 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, mother, and two sisters were all killed by a tornado in Indiana.

We again pick up Deveaux's account prior to the 1915 season: . . . The pitcher, Edgar Charles (Sam) Rice, would be converted into an outfielder without much power, but who could place the ball and who had the speed and instinct to steal bases and cover an enormous amount of real estate. Sam Rice would be good enough to make the Hall of Fame. He and Joe Judge would be teammates for 18 years, a record which would stand until broken in 1996 by Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers.

Sam Rice was already 25 1/2 years old by the time he first appeared in a game for the Nats on August 7, 1915. (He relieved in a 6-2 loss to Chicago, one of his nine appearances before the idea of his pitching was abandoned the following year. The right fielder behind him in his debut was Walter Johnson, subbing for the injured Danny Moeller.) The reason for Rice's late start in baseball remained a secret for 70 years. The truth was that he had shown up for a tryout three years earlier at Galesburg, Illinois, leaving a wife and two children behind in Indiana. A number of days later, while Rice's wife and children were visiting his parents in Morocco, Indiana, a tornado struck their farm. His wife, children, parents, and sisters were all killed.

Rice drifted for about a year after that, and then joined the navy. He became a star pitcher and, after seeing actual combat in Mexico, returned to pitch for Petersburg of the Virginia League during furloughs. He did so well that Clark Griffith thought it fit to accept his contract from the Petersburg owner as repayment of the old debt. Edgar Rice got a new name right then. Clark Griffith forgot Rice's given name and told a newspaper reporter that he thought it was Sam, and the name stuck. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.) (Note: This account of Rice acquiring his nickname is not universally accepted. There is evidence that the nickname existed prior to Rice joining Washington.)

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