On August 4, 1937, in a pinch hit appearance player/manager Frankie Frisch capped off a 16-hit attack with a game winning single in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Boston Bees 7-6. A pair of four hit days by Johnny Mize and Ducky Medwick put the skipper in position to win it, as Mize belted a home run, while Medwick rapped out four doubles in the tilt. The Birds were down 6-2 when the ninth rolled around, before the game winning rally began, that ended with Frisch coming to the dish with two outs, the bases loaded and the club trailing 6-5. Catcher Mickey Owen was the man due up to hit, but was called back by the Frisch who singled into right and pushed the tying and winning run into score. This was the 2,880th and final hit of Frisch's 19 year career on the big league diamond. He appeared in a game the next day, but failed to come through in one plate appearance. The man who guided the Gashouse Gang would managed the club the rest of that season, then most of the next before being replaced, and when that day came an era closed in the rich history of Cardinals baseball.Frisch's career in the game was far from over. In fact, he went onto manage the Pirates for seven seasons, and the Cubs for three. Forever a Cardinal, Frisch was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1947. You can read about the life and times of the man they called "The Fordham Flash" here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0bbf3136
Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193708040.shtml
No comments:
Post a Comment