The Dumb and Dumber Chances of a Baltimore Orioles Collapse
Jul 11, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; The National League emblem on the on deck batting circle during batting practice prior to a game between the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
CRASH ANNIVERSARIES
Two of the biggest crashes have their 50th and 100th anniversaries this season.
The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies Phold
The Phillies hovered throughout the first three months of the season within one or two games of either having the league lead or being just behind; and in August they built a lead to a peak of 7.5 games on August 23rd. Four weeks later on September 20th they were still 6.5 games ahead. But then they lost 10 straight—the final three to the Cardinals who surpassed them for the championship. The franchise took years to really recover—years that felt to Phillies fans like the Baltimore Orioles’ recent 14-year drought.
I realize how difficult it will be for you to believe that I can actually remember this as among my earliest memories of professional baseball. I grew up in New Jersey in the Philadelphia TV market in the days of just three network stations. A children’s program out of Philly that I liked had the hostess talking about how the Phillies players assured her that they were going to pull it out and that it was going to be alright. Yes, I never trusted an adult after that!
The 1914 New York Giants
This Giants team featured the famous pitcher Christy Mathewson, who was 24-13 for this season 100 years ago. But he wasn’t even the statistically-best hurler, as Jeff Tesreau was 26-10 with a 2.37 ERA.
On August 12th the Giants peaked with a 6.5-game lead, but a 26-30 finish the rest of the way ended them in second place, 10.5 games behind the Boston Braves. But honestly, the Braves had the most to do with the final result. They were 34-43 for the first half of the season, but in the second half went 60-16! That is impressive! Not surprisingly, they swept the Philadelphia A’s in the World Series. And no, I don’t personally remember that.