The Retro Sheet
Official Publication of Retrosheet, Inc.
The annual meeting of Retrosheet, open to all interested
parties, will be held on June 22, 1997 at 9:00am in the Hyatt
Regency Hotel, Louisville , KY. The meeting, as always, will
be held during the SABR convention. Anyone wishing to suggest
an item for the meeting agenda should contact Dave Smith.
One of the reasons for the delay in getting this edition of The Retro Sheet out is that Dave Smith has moved. It is only a distance of five miles, but it puts Dave within walking distance of his office (about six minutes), whereas before he was about five miles away. Moving day was May 3 and everything was safely transported by Dave and three University of Delaware graduate students, including Retrosheet volunteer Jon Dunkle. Jon did the majority of the lifting in the moving of the Project Scoresheet archive files from the attic of the old house to the attic of the new one. Despite a steady rain Jon and the others completed the move of the Smith household in about 7 hours, taking two trips in the largest U-Haul truck, transporting 95 boxes of Retrosheet material and 7 filing cabinets. This will be the permanent address of Retrosheet, at least given the limited ability we have to control such things. The phone number for Retrosheet stays the same, 302-731-1570, and the new address is:
20 Sunset Rd.
Newark, DE 19711
No, this isn't an accidental repeat of the previous
header. This time we are referring to the electronic address
of Retrosheet on the Internet. Thanks to the generosity of the
people at Total Sports, the publisher of Total Baseball among
other things, we now have retrosheet.org as our permanent URL.
Mark Pankin, the Retro-webmaster, worked with the Total Sports
people to get everything transferred and we are up and running
at the new site. For a while the old Internet address will also
work, but please change your bookmarks to the new one at your
convenience. The complete new address is:
https://www.retrosheet.org
In the past five years Retrosheet volunteers have
done an extraordinary amount of work in entering games into the
computer, as is summarized in the Scoreboard of the Retro Sheet
each time. However, as we continue to increase the number of
computerized games, we have paradoxically created a new problem,
which has to do with the release of data files, usually by putting
them on our web page. The dilemma is the need to do some measure
of proofing of the files before they are made public. The situation
that I desperately want to avoid is to distribute "raw"
files that may have serious errors (incorrect lineups, for example)
which could give rise to misleading conclusions on the part of
users. Once a file has been released, it cannot be called back,
and no matter how many times we publish a correction, the flawed
file will very likely still exist on someone's computer. In order
to minimize the chance of such a dreadful scenario, I have always
insisted on completing a substantial degree of proofing and checking
before I send out a file. This all sounds fine, but the reality
has been that our rate of entering games has far exceeded the
rate of proofing. Since I control the balance between these two
activities, I must be the one to initiate changes. Therefore,
as important as data entry is, I am going to consciously shift
towards more rapid proofing, at least by comparison to a good
quality box score, such as those of The Sporting News. Of course,
we will continue to enter games, but it is important to remember
(for me as much as anyone) that our primary objective is the distribution
of our information, not just the computerization of it.
The following article is from the St. Louis Star
of August 22, 1925:
"American League umpires have been requested repeatedly to speed up the games," declared Umpire Clarence Rowland at Sportsman's Park yesterday. "We must make a report of every game that goes over two hours, naming the player or players who are delaying play, and if necessary, suspensions will be dealt out."
Oftentimes, according to Rowland, official scorers fail to clock the games correctly and games that do not last over two hours are recorded as longer. The result is that a controversy arises, when the umpires are asked why they did not report the reason for the length of those particular contests.
Now, a new ruling has been put in effect, in some
cities, at least, whereby the umpire keeps the time of the game
and announces it to the official scorer at the conclusion of the
day's activities.
The following is from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer
of July 7, 1925:
"Chicago, July 6 - Radio broadcasting is prohibited
from the parks of the American League. This was revealed today
when the Chicago Daily News station WMAQ was denied permission
to broadcast from the White Sox park. The club owners voted to
prohibit broadcasting presumably because they figured it would
affect patronage."
One effort that we have mentioned here before is
the completion of all Baltimore Orioles games (the 1954-present
version, not the 1901-1902 crowd). Jim Herdman has finished the
1954 season for the Birds, while Dave Lamoureaux has completed
1955 and is nearly done with the last of 1957 (Jim Wohlenhaus
did several from the start of that season). Tim Cashion is working
on 1958 and Luke Kraemer has the 1956 squad in his sights. Wayne
Townsend has finished off a number of games from 1969-1974, so
the 1950s contests are all that remain. At this time there are
two games for which we don't have accounts: a doubleheader played
by the Orioles in Philadelphia on August 31, 1954.
With the acquisition of the last Mets-Padres games
for 1982, that season has been completed. Thanks to great help
from Pete Palmer, John Jarvis and David Vincent, both leagues
have been proofed and the event files are posted on our web site.
Pete is also working on the 1981 and 1980 AL, while John will
soon begin on the 1981 NL and Jay Wigley has spent a lot of time
on the 1980 NL. This all means that we have completed the computer
entry for all games played after 1979 for both leagues. We have
also finished the 1979 and 1978 AL along with all the NL games
we have for those seasons (we still need accounts for 20 NL games
from 1978 and 30 from 1979).
The AL work has been done by several people, most
notably Greg Beston, Doug Burks and Jon Dunkle. Greg is plowing
through the 1977 AL now, with a probable completion of this season
to take place this summer.
Bill Disney has completed work on the Big Red Machine
of 1975 and 1976, although we are missing two of their games from
September, 1975 against the Braves. Bill is now processing the
1974 Reds.
Scott Fischthal has finished the 1967 and 1968 Mets
and, since the 1969 season for this team was done some time ago,
has turned to the 1970 team.
Christopher Chestnut completed the 1969 Pilots, a
team of some notoriety.
Before tackling the Orioles, Dave Lamoureaux completed
the 1965 AL, except for the three games (Boston at California)
that we are missing.
Arnie Braunstein did a few hundred Orioles games
from the 1960s and 1970s and has now turned his attention to computer
entry of the games of the 1940 Indians which Brad Sullivan transcribed
from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. This set includes the opening-day
no-hitter by Bob Feller.
David Vincent continues his time-trip through 1925.
At press time, 678 games have been input from the total season
of 1,227 games (55% of the season).
There are several developments under this heading,
but one of the most satisfying is the completion of 1982 National
League season. You may recall that we were missing a three games
series between the Mets and Padres, played in San Diego in April
of that year. Chris Leible works in the PR department of the
Mets and he turned his attention to our problem, since he was
determined that, in his words, the Mets weren't going to be an
obstacle to our work. Chris called around to sportswriters who
covered the Mets in 1982 and struck paydirt in the person of Dan
Castellano, who wrote for the Newark Star Ledger at that time.
Dan was willing to let us have the information, but he was reluctant
to loan his scorebooks for copying. Chris then volunteered to
have Dan read all the plays from his scorebook, which Chris wrote
down on a fresh scoresheet and then FAXed them all to Dave Smith
(the second game in the series went 15 innings). Here is a strong
Retro-salute to Chris Leible of the Mets for his crucial contribution
to our collection efforts.
Frank Phelps is a SABR member who attended his first
Major League game in New York in 1927, watching the Yankees beat
the Tigers for their 106th win of the season. We sent him a play
by play account and expanded box score of the game, which he appreciated
very much. He then loaned to Joe Dittmar his entire personal
collection of scorecards from games he attended up through the
1940s. Joe copied them and sent them along to us.
Joe Dittmar also loaned us some audio tapes of a
few games that we didn't have, but which are commercially available
from a company called Danrick Enterprises. Dave Smith also purchased
the tapes for two more games from the same company.
Joe also obtained the 1921 Chicago Daily News on
microfilm and copied all the play by play accounts they had for
the White Sox and Cubs. Although a complete set for the season,
there are a lot of "new" games for us. Many thanks
to Joe for always keeping Retrosheet in mind. Joe and Lyle Spatz
continue to make copies of game accounts that they encounter during
their research efforts, which are very helpful to us.
Luke Kraemer obtained some scorebooks for Philadelphia
games in the 1940s (and some earlier) via an auction through Sports
Collectors Digest. Luke has begun copying these games and sending
them to Dave Smith, helping us with an era and a city that have
been very difficult for us. Luke also obtained a 1946 Boston
Braves scorebook via auction. Let's hope there are more of these
waiting for us out there in someone's attic.
During the winter Dave contacted several sportswriters
in Atlanta and Houston, trying to get scorebooks for the many
games we need involving the Braves and Astros (many of them against
the Expos). He was able to borrow books from Wayne Minshew in
Atlanta and Joe Heiling in Houston and we obtained accounts for
several games that we were missing. Unfortunately, neither of
these writers had all the games we needed, but the search continues.
Our collection of Dodger games was improved, thanks
to the help of Gordon Verrell, a writer for the Long Beach Press
Telegram. Gordon began covering the Dodgers in 1969 and had all
the games we were missing from 1975, 1978, and 1979. We are still
missing five Dodger games from 1968 in order to complete our Los
Angeles Dodger collection. Of course, the irony is that, thanks
to Allan Roth, we have all Brooklyn Dodger games from 1947-1957.
Dick Bresciani is the Vice-President for Public Relations
for the Red Sox. In February Dick sent to Luke Kraemer some scorecards
of Red Sox games in the early 1950s that he kept as a boy. Slowly
but surely we are expanding our holdings in the period 1945-1955
which has proved so difficult for us.
One of the more interesting Retrosheet discoveries
is the inconsistency between different scorers at the same game.
Most of the differences are not major, but it does mean that we
have less than complete confidence about things such as fielding
totals. Here a few examples:
Stuart Shea entered the following comment for a 1969
game: "Davis play confused; Hunter says K23; Padres say K/C
and Dodgers say 7/F!!! Check this please!!!". So much for
the expected value of having three different sources for a single
game! Doug Burks is also very good at finding differences between
scoresheets. Doug recently checked in with a play that was scored
53 by one scorer and K by the other.
Speaking of scorers not paying attention, Jon Dunkle
came across a 1978 Oakland game in which the A's scorer added
three plays beyond the end of the game. We had a scoresheet from
the opposition for this game and the two agreed on the rest of
the game; the A's just kept going. In an unrelated note, Jon managed
to persuade his wife Liz to do the input on a game. Maybe this
is the start of a family trend for Retrosheet!
Retrosheet continues to get favorable mentions in
various sources. The Mets and White Sox gave us acknowledgements
in their media guides for work that we did for them this winter.
Bill Arnold of the San Francisco Chronicle mentions us in his
column very often as we uncover little tidbits for him. January
saw the publication of the Baseball Time Line, edited by Burt
Solomon. Retrosheet provided a number of items for Burt we received
a nice acknowledgment for the effort. There is a Brooklyn Dodgers
web page which has posted most of the data about the 1955 Dodgers
that Dave Smith prepared for the New York Daily News in 1995.
The Dodgers also have a web page with a special Jackie Robinson
section that displays a lot of Retrosheet data. The March issue
of Baseball Digest had several quotes from Dave Smith about baseball
records and history. In early April Dave and Lyle Spatz attended
the Jackie Robinson conference at the Brooklyn campus of Long
Island University, a gathering which was attended by Jackie's
gracious widow, Rachel, and for which Roger Kahn was the keynote
speaker. Dave and Lyle both presented papers and flew the Retro-flag
in the process. Clem Comly made a presentation at the Philadelphia
regional SABR meeting on May 10, giving the results of a study
that relied on Retrosheet data. In the Mets' April 15 media notes,
Chris Leible included many Jackie Robinson pages, with statistical
information provided by and credited to Retrosheet.
For a time, a courtesy runner was allowed for a player
if that player had been injured and at the moment couldn't continue.
That courtesy runner then was replaced defensively by the original
player. Here are the known instances of this event from our files:
04/23/1925 (Reds at Cardinals)
- In the bottom of the third inning, Rogers Hornsby was hit in
the head by a pitch from Dolph Luque. Hornsby dropped to the
ground and eventually went to first base, even though he was groggy.
However, before the next play, Hornsby was replaced from the
bench by Specs Torporcer by consent of the Reds manager Jack Hendricks.
Hornsby returned to his position at second in the
top of the fourth but had problems. He was replaced in the field
by Torporcer at the start of the sixth inning and went to the
hospital. The doctor reported a slight concussion. Hornsby returned
to the lineup on 4/28 after missing two games.
08/07/1925 G1 (Indians at Athletics)
- In the top of the first, Pat McNulty singled to the first baseman.
Jack Quinn, in covering the bag on the play, stepped on McNulty's
toes and by permission of Manager Connie Mack, Luke Sewell ran
for McNulty while McNulty's wounds were dressed. McNulty returned
to the game and Sewell did not appear in the official record.
Cliff Lee pinch hit for McNulty in the eighth inning.
04/17/1926 (Dodgers at Phillies)
- In the bottom of the third inning, Clarence Huber was hit by
a pitch and replaced by Heinie Sand, who was already in the lineup
playing shortstop. In the top of the fourth, Sand returned to
short and Huber went back to third base. However, Huber left
the game at the start of the fifth inning and was replaced by
Russ Whitestone at third.
06/14/1949 (Indians at Red Sox)
- In the top of the first inning, Joe Gordon hit a grand slam
off Joe Dobson to make the score 5-0 with no outs. As usual for
that time, Dobson hit the next batter, first baseman Lou Boudreau.
Boudreau was replaced as a runner by Ken Keltner who was already
in the lineup as the third baseman. (Keltner had just scored
on the slam.) Dobson walked the next batter and left the game
without retiring anyone. Keltner scored another run on a single
to right by Bob Feller. In the bottom of the first, both Keltner
and Boudreau take the field at their assigned spots.
07/02/1949 (Browns at Indians)
- In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ray Boone was hit on the
arm by a pitch from Karl Drews. Jim Hegan, already in the lineup
catching, ran for Boone and scored. Since this inning was the
end of the game, the players do not return to their defensive
positions.
A complete list will be published in the next issue.
From Doug Burks:
On September 18, 1980 the White Sox beat the Mariners
in Seattle. The bottom line was 9 pitchers, 10 pinch-hitters,
4 pinch-runners, and 41 total players. Doug's comment: "I
hope the overheating managerial brain cells did not detract
from seeing this taut 54 game in person. Only 4293 know
for sure".
From Jim Wohlenhaus:
In the game of June 14, 1974, Boston at California,
Luis Tiant pitched a complete game of 14.1 innings and lost, while
Nolan Ryan went 13 innings and struck out 19. Cecil Cooper was
0 for 8.
From Stu Shea:
Stu found an odd play in the San Diego at Philadelphia
game of August 23, 1969. Rick Joseph of the Phillies was retired
on play scored as K53. Yes, you read that correctly. Newspaper
research does not reveal any details, but the fielding credit
for the day in two box scores makes it seem that K53 is correct.
From Joe Dittmar:
The first game in Ebbets Field was played on April
9, 1913. The Philadelphia Evening Telegraph noted that the park
was still receiving "finishing touches", and said: "The
diamond is covered with grass, but the outfield is as bare as
Mother Hubbard's cupboard. This should make the handling of hard-hit
grounders in the outfield very difficult".
From Rick Elliott:
On September 7, 1953 (second game), Billy Hoeft struck
out the side on 9 pitches. The Chicago victims were Jim Rivera,
Mike Fornieles, and Chico Carrasquel.
Tiger manager Fred Hutchinson plays himself at first
base the last three innings to end the season (September 27, 1953).
This was the only game in his career that he appeared at a position
other than pitcher.
June 15, 1955, New York at Detroit: "The game
was delayed 23 minutes due to an airraid alert test. There's
a piece of Americana for you".
From Dave Smith:
How about a strikeout with the batter being retired
767? In the game of April 25, 1970, Tiger pitcher Earl Wilson
struck out to end the seventh inning in the Twin Cities. Or so
it appeared to everyone except Detroit third base coach Grover
Resinger. He saw that Twins catcher Paul Ratliff trapped the
pitch in the dirt, did not tag Wilson and rolled the ball to the
mound. Resinger told Wilson to start running as most of
the Twins entered the dugout. Earl got to first easily and headed
for second. Since no one interfered with him, he started for
third. By this time, Brant Alyea, who was trotting in from left
field, heard Resinger shouting at Wilson. Alyea hustled to the
mound but had trouble picking up the ball.
Wilson headed for home where Twins Leo Cardenas and
Ratliff had returned. Alyea finally picked up the ball and threw
to Cardenas. Wilson turned back to third but was tagged out by
Alyea for a K767. Rookie catcher Ratliff was charged with an error.
After the game, Detroit catcher Bill Freehan said "If Alyea
had been hustling, Earl might have made it [home]. Tell him [Alyea]
to start coming in and off the field a little quicker."
The aftermath of the story is that Wilson pulled
a hamstring muscle running the bases and had to leave the game.
From David Vincent:
May 15, 1925, Cardinals at Dodgers: (From The
New York Evening World account of the top of the fifth)
"The game was delayed while Umpire Sweeney directed
Rickey to keep all but the next 2 batters on the bench. It was
a thrilling argument and served only to delay what was already
a very slow game. After several minutes Sweeney went to consult
with Unpire O'Day about the rules regarding the occasion. Apparently
Sweeney won the argument as only Bottomley and Bell were allowed
to stand alongside of the bench while Hornsby was hitting."
July 18, 1925, Senators at Indians: In the top of
the sixth with Washington ahead 11-4, Bert Cole's first pitch
sailed near Goose Goslin's head. Goslin walked towards Cole with
his club raised but Umpire Connolly grabbed him by the arm and
led him back to the batter's box. Goslin then knocked four pop
fouls and grounded out (31). As Goslin neared the bag, he jumped
on Cole and knocked him down; when Cole got up he rushed Goslin.
Umpire Evans got between them and both benches emptied. As Goslin
returned to the bench he was greeted with a shower of pop bottles;
police went to the left field stands to quiet the crowd. Connolly
ejected Goslin, who was escorted from the park by police. Nothing
like a nice day at the ballpark!
August 30, 1925, Indians at Red Sox: In the bottom
of the fifth, Val Picinich doubled. Pitcher Paul Zahniser followed
him to the plate and hit a "come-backer" to the pitcher.
Picinich was run down (1654) and Zahniser was doubled trying
for second (438) with Indians' center fielder Tris Speaker sneaking
in to make the put-out.
The following data files are available at our Web
site:
1967 AL
1982 AL/NL
1983 AL/NL
We follow the practice of publishing a short version
of the scoreboard in this issue. We publish a complete version
once a year. The current summary for regular-season games is
as follows:
Total Games in Computer (All Years before 1984) 38,623 Games Entered since last Report 5,820 Days since last Report (12/17/96 to 5/17/97) 151 Games Entered per Week (21 weeks and 4 days) 244.8 Games Entered per Day 34.9
The smallest number of games input in a single week
during this period was 72 and the highest was 1311.
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Page Updated: 6/2/97
Copyrighted: Retrosheet, 1997