The Beverly Pinch

If you casually perused the game log of the 1906 Western League Cup opener, you may have asked the same question I did:

“Why in the world did Cleveland pinch Constant Payne, the roadrunner of the Frontier, for hapless backup tortoise (and Catcher) James Beverly?“

The Short Answer is “injury.” But the detailed story is an interesting insight into risk vs. reward in an aggressive card-shuffling Manager with high stakes.

I get pretty excited for the LBL postseason, so here’s an unsolicited breakdown of the question “How in the world could Manager Roger Victors pinch one of the fastest runners in the LBL with objectively one of the slowest in extra innings playoffs?”

Let’s start with the card.

Who was available? 

3B Mike Thompson
SS Domingo Basnett

LF Frank Ball
RF Mckinley Huggler

RF Ulysses Turner
RF Kenneth White
C James Beverly

Pinch Hitter Breakdown

1. Frank Ball for Ansel Hawley in the 8th (Defensive Sub: Mckinley Huggler)

Frank Ball, a lefty, faced Gordon Maddock 5 times in 1906 and produced 3 hits. All three of these hits were on June 7th. He’s been called in twice since then vs. Maddock and failed to produce both times. Maddock has a pretty even split on both sides of the plate, and Hawley was 1-3. Cleveland’s defensive sub (Huggler) is just as bad (or worse) at 1B, so we’re left questioning the logic here, other than one really good game against Maddock in June. A risk, for sure–but that’s baseball. 

3B Mike Thompson
SS Domingo Basnett

LF Frank Ball
RF Mckinley Huggler

RF Ulysses Turner
RF Kenneth White
C James Beverly

2. Ulysses Turner for Price Warne in the 9th (Defensive sub Mike Thompson)

I wasn’t surprised to see Thompson moved from 3rd for Price Warne in Game 1. Warne’s not much of a glove, but he’s had a phenomenal year at the plate. Since Thompson’s not exactly an elite 3B himself, you figure roll the dice and see what happens.  

Gordon Maddock’s not known for his stamina, so I’m not surprised Cleveland went with two new batters in the 9th. Turner’s also had a great year against Maddock, batting .350 over 7 at-bats. But Turner’s got a habit of missing pitches, and it shows here and he’s gunned down. Thompson falls in to replace Turner next inning.

3B Mike Thompson
SS Domingo Basnett

LF Frank Ball
RF Mckinley Huggler

RF Ulysses Turner
RF Kenneth White
C James Beverly

3. Kennth White for Laurence Witt in the 9th (Defensive sub Domingo Basnett)

Here is where the guts really come in. 

Kenneth White is a good pinch hitter. He can manage at the corners as an outfielder, in a (literal) pinch. He’s got good Gap, and he only has two appearances this season below .300 (out of 11). He’s never faced Gordon Maddock.

Laurence Witt drew a walk from Maddock in the 5th–an intentional walk to bring up pitcher Charles Stewkley. So he’s not exactly having a good day against Maddock. White can’t play 2B, so they’re going to bring in Basnett, who had a fairly decent season as a bench player, to cover down. 

It works. White smacks a double off Maddock, then Stewkley reaches on an error. If not for the catastrophic squeeze attempt by Johnny Hyde (usually a great bunter), this strategy may have been heralded as brilliant.

3B Mike Thompson
SS Domingo Basnett

LF Frank Ball
RF Mckinley Huggler

RF Ulysses Turner
RF Kenneth White
C James Beverly

So now we’re in extras. Catcher James Beverly is the only guy left on the card. Cleveland’s maximized their pinch hitter strategy and it hasn’t cut the mustard.  But that’s okay, right? Just as long as—

Constant Payne strains his achilles hitting the bag at first. 

Payne is fast. Very fast. He is playing for his life, and dashes toward 1B after a weak (but awkward to field) grounder between 2B and the Pitcher. There’s clearly a miscue on who’s going to field the ball, because both Maddock and Joseph Bumble end up at the bag, and there’s a light collision as Payne tries to make it in time without running into the fielders and jolts off the corner of the bag. 

So Payne is safe, but injured, and the only person Cleveland has left is backup catcher James Beverly, who doesn’t even know how to play First Base. He pinch runs for Payne. Challis is due up next, and launches a LD to the outfield. So James Beverly, god bless him, forgets he has a Third Base Coach and sprints with all 25 of his baserunning rating for 3B. It’s not even close. He’s comically thrown out in his debut postseason appearance. 

SUMMARY 

Cleveland went big in the 9th to try and overcome a tiring Maddock, and it nearly worked. Manager James Victors is known for two things in his offensive strategy: aggressive pinch hitting and bunting. If not for the dual Watson errors, that strategy may have worked, even with the failed squeezes. Maybe Victors subscribes the Greek adage, “fortune favors the bold.” But in Game 1, he forgot about Achilles.