The indispensable Play Index tool at Baseball-Reference.com has recently been updated to include game log data for the 1913 season.
After the jump, I’ll look at a few of the more unusual game feats from that season.
Batting
In the height of the dead ball era, there wasn’t a lot of heavy hitting happening, with only two player games of 10 or more total bases. The odd thing was both of those games were played on the same day.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Fisher | 1913-08-16 (2) | BRO | STL | W 14-5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 7 | SS |
| 2 | Heinie Zimmerman | 1913-08-16 (2) | CHC | PHI | W 8-3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3B |
Fisher’s game of multiple home runs plus a triple is the only one in the AL or NL from 1913 to 1919. There have been 214 such games since 1920, with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig leading the way with four apiece, followed by Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio with a trio of such games. Mays and DiMaggio are joined by someone who is a bit of a surprise: Ryan Howard also has three such contests, despite only 21 career triples.
Fifteen players had a two home run game in 1913, including one (Harry Wolters) who had no more home runs in 126 other games that year, and another (Hal Janvrin) who had three home runs in 87 games in 1913, and three more in 663 games over the rest of his career. Twenty-three players had home runs in consecutive games, but none in three straight contests.
Eight players turned in a 5 hit game in 1913, led by Rabbit Maranville and Beals Becker, each with a pair of such contests.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beals Becker | 1913-05-15 | CIN | BSN | W 11-5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | LF |
| 2 | Beals Becker | 1913-09-08 (1) | PHI | BSN | W 13-0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | CF | |
| 3 | Eddie Collins | 1913-04-10 | PHA | BOS | W 10-9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2B | |
| 4 | Gavvy Cravath | 1913-05-21 | PHI | CIN | W 12-0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | RF |
| 5 | Les Mann | 1913-07-03 | BSN | BRO | W 17-4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | CF | |
| 6 | Rabbit Maranville | 1913-09-11 | BSN | CIN | L 11-12 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | SS |
| 7 | Rabbit Maranville | 1913-07-12 | BSN | PIT | L 4-6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SS |
| 8 | Red Murray | 1913-07-11 | NYG | CHC | W 14-4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | RF |
| 9 | Rebel Oakes | 1913-08-27 | STL | PHI | W 15-4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | CF |
| 10 | Jeff Sweeney | 1913-06-19 | NYY | SLB | W 10-4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | C |
Those are two of 166 player seasons since 1913 with multiple 5 hit games. Of those 166 seasons, Becker’s is the only one having the two (or more) 5 hit games for different teams. Becker’s first 5-hit game for the Reds is one of only 16 since 1913 with a player getting a hit and scoring in each of 5 or more PAs. Al Simmons is the only player to record two such games.
| Rk | Player ▴ | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Simmons | 1929-06-21 (1) | PHA | NYY | W 11-1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | LF |
| 2 | Al Simmons | 1930-06-23 (2) | PHA | CHW | W 17-9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | LF |
The longest hitting streaks of 1913 were modest streaks of 23 and 22 games, by Nap Lajoie and Tris Speaker respectively. The longest oh-fer was 35+ consecutive hitless ABs for pitcher Cy Falkenberg. The longest by a non-pitcher was 28+ ABs for Ward Miller (who made up for his swoon by drawing 13 walks). Note that the game log data do not include PBP data, so can’t say “exactly” how long these streaks were; the AB totals are for the longest streak of games without a hit. Possibly, one of the other players on the list below had a longer oh-fer run.
| Rk | Name | Strk Start | End | Games | AB ▾ | R | RBI | SO | BB | SB | Tm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ward Miller | 1913-05-19 | 1913-05-29 | 8 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 3 | .317 | CHC |
| 2 | Art Devlin | 1913-05-27 | 1913-06-07 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .100 | BSN |
| 3 | Jack Lapp | 1913-04-30 | 1913-05-20 | 8 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .036 | PHA |
| 4 | Jimmy Sheckard | 1913-06-12 | 1913-06-25 | 8 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .071 | STL |
| 5 | Red Murray | 1913-04-30 | 1913-05-10 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .037 | NYG |
| 6 | Dan Howley | 1913-07-09 | 1913-08-23 | 13 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .107 | PHI |
| 7 | Art Wilson | 1913-05-14 | 1913-08-05 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .138 | NYG |
Home Run Baker scored in 14 straight games with a PA, while Ted Easterly went 55 games between runs, scoring in his first game of the season on April 12th and not again until Sep 27th. Cardinal player/manager Miller Huggins walked in 11 straight games as did future manager Burt Shotton, while Bill Killefer, another future manager, went 60 straight games with a PA and no walks. Jack Barry delivered a sacrifice hit in 4 straight games, while George Burns went 98 games between sacrifices. Clyde Milan stole a base in 9 straight games.
Pitching
There were no no-hitters in 1913, but eight one-hitters, two of them by 21 year-old Earl Hamilton.
| Rk | Player | Age | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | UER | GSc | BF | HBP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lefty Tyler | 23.263 | 1913-09-03 | BSN | NYG | W 2-1 | CG, W | 9.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 31 | 0 |
| 2 | George Suggs | 31.043 | 1913-08-19 (2) | CIN | BSN | W 2-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 28 | 0 |
| 3 | Earl Hamilton | 21.361 | 1913-07-15 | SLB | NYY | W 3-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 29 | 1 |
| 4 | Reb Russell | 24.124 | 1913-07-14 | CHW | BOS | W 8-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 30 | 2 |
| 5 | Willie Mitchell | 23.217 | 1913-07-06 (2) | CLE | CHW | W 7-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 33 | 0 |
| 6 | George Pierce | 25.163 | 1913-06-22 | CHC | STL | W 6-0 | SHO, W | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 19 | 0 |
| 7 | Earl Hamilton | 21.306 | 1913-05-21 | SLB | NYY | W 5-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 30 | 0 |
| 8 | Art Fromme | 29.243 | 1913-05-04 | CIN | PIT | L 0-1 | CG, L | 9.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 32 | 0 |
Since Hamilton, Bob Feller (twice), Wally Bunker and Vida Blue are the only younger pitchers to record a season with a pair of CGs allowing one hit or less.
The longest scoreless innings streak was 55.1+ IP by Walter Johnson. Johnson allowed a run to the Highlanders in his season’s first inning of work on April 10th but didn’t allow another until May 14th. Johnson started the year 10-0 at which time he had pitched 70 innings and allowed 3 runs. Johnson also had the season’s second longest scoreless innings streak of 37+ IP from June 27th to July 13th. He finished the year with 346 IP, a 36-7 record and 1.14 ERA.
Johnson and Jim Scott turned in the highest single game strikeout totals, though neither would win the game.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Johnson | 1913-07-25 | WSH | SLB | T 8-8 | 11.1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 42 | ||
| 2 | Jim Scott | 1913-06-22 (1) | CHW | SLB | L 0-2 | CG, L | 9.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 87 | 33 |
| 3 | Jim Scott | 1913-09-27 | CHW | SLB | W 6-2 | CG, W | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 80 | 35 |
The next pitcher after Scott to lose a 9-inning game in which he struck our 15 batters was not until 1956 when Paul Foytack went the distance for the Tigers and lost to the Senators by a 6-5 score.
These pitchers turned in the highest game scores of the 1913 season.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Fisher | 1913-05-14 | NYY | CLE | T 2-2 | CG | 15.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 58 |
| 2 | Ad Brennan | 1913-07-19 | PHI | CIN | W 3-2 | CG, W | 16.0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 103 | 55 |
| 3 | Ray Collins | 1913-07-03 | BOS | WSH | L 0-1 | CG, L | 15.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 98 | 52 |
| 4 | Walter Johnson | 1913-08-28 | WSH | BOS | L 0-1 | CG, L | 10.2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 96 | 35 |
| 5 | Rube Marquard | 1913-09-01 (2) | NYG | BSN | W 2-1 | CG, W | 14.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 94 | 51 |
| 6 | Lefty Tyler | 1913-05-10 | BSN | STL | T 1-1 | CG | 12.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 94 | 45 |
| 7 | Chief Bender | 1913-06-13 | PHA | CLE | W 2-1 | CG, W | 13.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 93 | 50 |
| 8 | George Suggs | 1913-08-19 (2) | CIN | BSN | W 2-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 92 | 28 |
| 9 | Christy Mathewson | 1913-04-29 | NYG | BRO | W 6-0 | SHO, W | 13.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 45 |
| 10 | Boardwalk Brown | 1913-07-19 (2) | PHA | CHW | W 3-1 | CG, W | 12.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 91 | 41 |
| 11 | Eddie Plank | 1913-04-25 | PHA | NYY | W 4-0 | SHO, W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 91 | 29 |
| 12 | Bill James | 1913-04-24 | BSN | BRO | W 1-0 | SHO, W | 12.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 91 | 46 |
The 16 innings by Ad Brennan on July 19th (no. 2 above) was the longest start of the year, while Carl Weilman‘s 14.2 IP on July 25th was the longest relief appearance.
Four pitchers had starts with negative game scores, including one who did so in a complete game, and one (George Suggs) who recorded a one-hitter in his next start.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Comstock | 1913-09-12 | DET | BOS | L 5-18 | GS- , L | 3.1 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | -10 | 24 |
| 2 | Lefty Williams | 1913-09-23 | DET | PHA | L 8-21 | GS- , L | 2.0 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 20 |
| 3 | George Suggs | 1913-08-11 (2) | CIN | PIT | L 1-13 | GS- , L | 4.1 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 27 |
| 4 | Ray Caldwell | 1913-10-03 (1) | NYY | PHA | L 10-13 | CG, L | 8.0 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 47 |
The lowest game score by a pitcher earning a W was 16 by Rube Marquard on May 14th, and 17 in a CG by Hub Perdue on July 7th.
Oldest and Youngest
Clark Griffith and Jack Ryan had some fun on the last day of the season and formed the oldest battery on record, with a combined age exceeding 88 years. Heinie Peitz, seven years removed from his last game appearance, was the next oldest player to see action. The 42 year-old got into 3 games for the Cardinals, including a start on June 1st in which he tripled and scored; since then only two older catchers have had a three-base hit.
| Rk | Player | Age | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BOP | Pos Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlton Fisk | 44.210 | 1992-07-23 | CHW | MIL | W 6-2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | C |
| 2 | Walker Cooper | 42.224 | 1957-08-20 (2) | STL | NYG | W 3-2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | C |
| 3 | Heinie Peitz | 42.185 | 1913-06-01 | STL | CHC | L 2-4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | C |
The youngest player to appear in the 1913 season was the Cuban-born Merito Acosta who debuted just 17 days after his 17th birthday. In 12 games, Acosta recorded a two-hit game, had a triple and finished the season on a four game hit streak. Since Acosta, no younger player has hit a triple and only Tommy Brown has recorded a multi-hit game at a younger age.
The Tigers had 21 players make their career debuts in 1913, while the Phillies had just five. The most making their debut in the same game were 5 for the Braves on April 17th, and the most making a debut start were 4 for the Athletics on Sep 29th.
Team Superlatives
The longest team winning streaks were 15 games (May 27th to June 10th) by the season’s World Series champion Athletics and 14 games (June 26th to July 9th) by the NL champion Giants. The longest losing streaks were 11 games (May 26th to June 6th) by the Highlanders and 10 games (July 3rd to 12th) by the Superbas. The Highlanders were shut out 22 times during the season and the two St. Louis clubs twenty times each. The Indians had the fewest blankings with only three.
The Indians scored in 89 straight games while the Highlanders allowed runs by their opponents in 73 straight contests. The Senators (twice) and Indians pitched three consecutive team shutouts, while the Browns were shutout in 4 consecutive games and, surprisingly, the Athletics were held scoreless in three straight contests.
The Senators (twice), Reds and Athletics all stole a base in 16 straight games while the Athletics also had a streak of 7 games without a steal. The Indians, Browns, Reds, Red Sox and White Sox all sacrificed in 11 straight contests, while the Cubs (twice) and Superbas went 8 games without a sacrifice. The Tigers drew a walk in 74 straight games while the Reds went three games without one.
There were 45 1-0 games in 1913 (and three 0-0 ties) and 6 games in which both teams score 10+ runs. The highest scoring game was on Sep 23rd when the Athletics beat the Tigers 21-8. The longest game was on May 28th when the Cubs beat the Cardinals 8-7 in 17 innings (played in a tidy 3 hours, 45 minutes) with Larry Cheney pitching the last 11 innings for the win and apparently delivering the game-winning RBI (he was the last batter of the game) off tough luck loser Bob Harmon who had pitched 8.2 scoreless frames before allowing the walk-off run.
