It's over in the bottom of the first. O'Brien retires two of the first three Giants and there is a runner on first.
And then:
- Murray singles. Runners at first and third.
- O'Brien balks. Runner on third goes home and runner on first to second.
- Fred Merkle doubles driving in another run.
- Herzog doubles driving in Merkle.
- Chief Meyers singles. Runners on first and third.
- The Giants pull a double steal. Buck Herzog is safe at home and Meyers ends up on third when the throw to second is wild.
- Art Fletcher lays down a surprise bunt along the third base line and beats it out with Meyers scoring on the play.
Order is finally restored when O'Brien picks Fletcher off first base.
Giants lead 5-0. O'Brien does not come out to pitch the second inning.
The Sox pick up two runs in the third and for a moment look like they'll make it a contest in the 4th. Stahl singles and then Heine Wagner hits a drive to the deepest part of centerfield in the Polo Grounds (483 feet) but Fred Snodgrass runs it down making a spectacular catch.
The Giants win 5-2. The Sox still lead the Series 3-2 with one tie. We go back to Fenway for Game 7.
BUT the real story of this game is off the field. The details are still shrouded in mystery a century later and they impact not just this game but very likely Game 7. It is impossible to tell what the truth is but I'll lay out what a lot of informed observers thought at the time.
On the prior day, as the Sox took the train to New York, the players were overflowing with confidence that they'd wrap up the series the next day according to Fred Lieb (one of the best sportswriters of that age and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame). Joe Wood would make his third start of the Series and even though he would pitch on two days rest again he'd dominated the Giants so far. But Wood was not to be the starter.
The Red Sox owner was Jimmy McAleer, a former ballplayer and not independently wealthy. In those days the players got their share of World Series revenue based on the first four games. The owners received 35% of the revenues for those games with the rest going to the players. After the first four games the owners got 90% of the receipts. McAleer saw the chance to get the series back to Boston for another game and a big box office. He ordered manager Jake Stahl to start Buck O'Brien instead of Wood which Stahl did after arguing with his boss.
(Stahl & McAleer)
This move, in turn, created a new set of problems:
The Sox players believed that McAleer pulled this for his personal gain. The players were already upset (on both teams) because after the tie in Game 2 baseball's National Commission ruled that the gate from that game would not be part of the player's share since it was a tie so the players would only get the gate from three games instead of four.
It may also have been that a number of Sox players, confident of victory in Game 6, laid down substantial bets on themselves and ended up losing money. Certainly Fred Lieb and Tim Murnane (The Boston Globe sportswriter) believed this.
Finally, O'Brien did not know he would be starting until the morning of the game and had gone out drinking the night before after arriving in New York and was heavily hungover.
So the Red Sox went into the game with a pitcher who felt terrible backed up by a crew of disgruntled players.
They were still disgruntled when they took the train back to Boston that night.
Game Summary from Baseball-reference.com
Monday, October 14, 1912 at Polo Grounds V (New York Giants)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Boston Red Sox 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
New York Giants 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 5 11 1
PITCHERS: BOS - O'Brien, Collins (2)
NYG - Marquard
WP - Rube Marquard
LP - Buck O'Brien
SAVE - none
HOME RUNS: BOS - none
NYG - none
In fairness the truth is unkown, but it sure resembles "follow the money" issues. dm
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