1919 AL - Ruth's chase for the all-time home run record


PlayerYearTeamGPHR
Ruth, Babe1919Boston AL10129
Williamson, Ed1884Chicago NL10727
Freeman, Buck1899Washington NL15525
Pfeffer, Fred1884Chicago NL11225
Cravath, Gavvy1915Philadelphia NL15024
Dalrymple, Abner1884Chicago NL11122
Anson, Cap1884Chicago NL11221
Schulte, Frank1911Chicago NL15421
Thompson, Sam1889Philadelphia NL12820

1919 AL - Games of Wednesday, 27 August

Red Sox 7, Athletics 1: Babe Ruth homered in the 1st inning and Boston never looked back as they brushed aside Philadelphia at Fenway Park. Ruth's 29th four-base hit of the season scored Frank Gilhooley ahead of him with two outs in the opening stanza and was followed two batters later by an RBI double from Roxy Walters, and Boston led 5-1 after four innings before padding the lead with two 7th-inning runs on Stuffy McInnis' two-run double. Waite Hoyt (7-3) allowed only one unearned run, which came in the 5th after McInnis had mishandled two consecutive ground balls. In addition to his homer, Ruth doubled and walked, and took over the League lead in RBI with 97. [box]

1919 AL - Games of Tuesday, 26 August

White Sox 4, Browns 3: The White Sox came to St. Louis for a two-game set, with the Browns running out of chances to make a dent in a pennant deficit threatening to reach double digits. The home team made a quick start at taking advantage of the opportunity, when Joe Gedeon doubled with one out in the bottom of the 1st and George Sisler singled him home to give SLA the early lead. It stayed that way until the 5th, when the White Sox made their first inroads against Allan Sothoron. With two outs and Swede Risberg at first, Ray Schalk drove an RBI double and Dickey Kerr followed with a base hit that put Chicago in front by a score of 2-1 and silenced the Sportsman's Park crowd. The quiet was short-lived, however, as St. Louis rallied in the 7th; with two outs and no one aboard, Sisler and Earl Smith singled and Jack Tobin walked to load the bases. Kerr could not wriggle free, as Wally Gerber doubled to center to score two runs and jump the Brown back into the catbird seat. In the home 8th, they threatened to salt the game away as they put runners at the corners with two outs. Kid Gleason decided to walk Hank Severeid intentionally to load the bases in order to face Sothoron and Jimmy Burke left his ace in to swing the bat. A routine ground out to short followed, and this passage of play would be the subject of much discussion in the local saloons after the game. Sothoron came out for the top of the 9th and immediately put Risberg on via the free pass, then Schalk again doubled him home and the game was tied once again. One out later, Nemo Leibold also doubled and Schalk crossed the plate with the go-ahead run. The home 9th was uneventful as Kerr got the first two outs without the ball leaving the infield and then retired Baby Doll Jacobson for the final out on a nice running grab by Leibold in right field. Schalk had three hits and Sisler went 4-for-4, but the looks on the faces of the Brown players at the end of the game spoke more loudly than did the boxscore. [box]

1919 AL - Games of Monday, 25 August

Tigers 7, Red Sox 6: Detroit withstood a late Boston charge and took victory at the final hurdle when Eddie Ainsmith singled home Chick Shorten with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Tigers took an early 6-1 lead behind a double, triple and four RBI from Harry Heilmann, but Stuffy McInnis tripled home a run in the 6th and singled home two more in the 7th as the Sox rallied to tie the score. With one out in the last of the 9th Heilmann (4-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and a triple) singled but was caught stealing, Shorten walked, and Bob Jones singled to move Shorten to third. Ainsmith then grounded a base hit into center field to win it for the home team. [box]

1919 AL - Games of Sunday, 24 August

Red Sox 4, Tigers 3: Stuffy McInnis' third hit of the game sent Babe Ruth home from second with the go-ahead run in the 11th inning as Boston edged Detroit. The Sox trailed 2-1 going into their final at-bat, but McInnis followed an intentional pass to Ruth with two out and Harry Hooper on second with a double to center field that scored both men. The Tigers, however, got a pinch-hit home run from Ira Flagstead with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to stave off defeat, albeit temporarily. With two away in the 11th, Ruth doubled and McInnis singled him home and Bob McGraw (1-2) then finished off 2.1 innings of scoreless relief work by retiring Cobb for the final out with the Ty-ing run at first base. [box]

1919 AL - Games of Saturday, 23 August

Indians 15, Athletics 5: Cleveland scored all fifteen of their runs in just the first five innings of the game and used twenty-one hits (eight for extra bases) to bury Philadelphia. Consecutive RBI hits by Tris Speaker, Joe Harris and Larry Gardner got things rolling in the bottom of the 1st, and Speaker knocked in two more in a three-run 2nd. Elmer Smith then homered in both the 3rd and 5th innings as the Indians pummeled Jing Johnson (7-11) and Jimmy Zinn for nineteen hits in the first five frames. Speaker ended the day with five hits, four runs scored and four RBI while Gardner drove in five. Stan Coveleski (12-14) wasn't sharp, but went the distance to earn full benefit from the support. [box]