|
|
JIMMIE FOXX'S MVP SEASON
... July 10, 1938 ... Ben Chapman made 27,000 fans hate him and then love him a few minutes later, when Lefty Grove, who was pitching one of the best games of the year and going for his 13th win, went from winning the game to losing the game. Grove was hooked up in a pitcher's duel with Lefty Gomez of the New York Yankees. The Red Sox were forced to come from behind at the beginning of the game, when the Yankees scored in the first inning. Frankie Crosetti reached on a base hit and was forced at second by Red Rolfe. Joe DiMaggio doubled home Rolfe with their first run. The Red Sox loaded the bases in the fourth inning on three singles by Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin and Mike Higgins. Ben Chapman lofted a fly ball to centerfield that scored Foxx with the first Red Sox run. The Yankees then bunched together three singles, with a couple of walks, to assume a 2 to 1 advantage in the third inning. Everything was moving smoothly until two Yankees had been mowed down in the sixth inning. Then things began to happen. Bill Dickey lined a single right and Jake Powell bounced a single off Mike Higgins' shins. Joe Gordon got the barrel of his bat on a low outside curve and the ball soared toward right-center field. Chapman and Doc Cramer broke simultaneously for the ball. It looked like it would be a sure third out. Most everyone in the park, including Cramer, thought Chapman had it easily. But he lost the ball in the sun and as he tried to readjust his glasses, the ball fell for a triple giving the Yankees a 3 to 2 lead. Gomez escaped some punishment in the sixth inning. He then fanned Cramer to start the seventh, but Joe Vosmik blasted a triple over the head of Joe DiMaggio. With Jimmie Foxx, who had three singles off Gomez in succession, coming up, the Sox seemed almost a sure bet to tie the ballgame. But he rolled weakly to Joe Gordon and then Joe Cronin dented the left-field wall on a three and two pitch, for a double that drove Vosmik home to tie the game. Mike Higgins then topped a slow roller along the third-base line and beat it out for a base hit, while Cronin scooted over to third. That brought up Ben Chapman, who took two balls and a strike. The next one was to his liking and he belted it toward left field. It appeared the ball had cleared the wall, but it bounced off the top and came back down on the field. Cronin scored easily and Higgins had to slide home with the second run. The Sox were ahead 5 to 3. In the eighth-inning the Yankees were able to get back one run when Lou Gehrig lined a triple to right and scored on Jake Powell's single. But the Red Sox retaliated and made up for that run in their bottom half of the inning. Gene Desautels singled, was sacrificed to second and beat Gomez's throw to Rolfe, after the Yankee shortstop fielded Cramer's slow bounder. He scored when Vosmik was thrown out at first on a slow roller to Frankie Crosetti. |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
