| 1912 Boston Red Sox | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Series champions American League champions | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Ballpark | Fenway Park | |||
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |||
| Record | 105–47 (.691) | |||
| League place | 1st | |||
| Owners | John I. Taylor Jimmy McAleer | |||
| Manager | Jake Stahl | |||
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference | |||
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The1912 Boston Red Sox season was the 12th season in the franchise'sMajor League Baseball history. This was the first year that the team played its home games atFenway Park. TheRed Sox finished first in theAmerican League (AL) with a record of 105 wins and 47 losses. The team set the franchise record for highestwinning percentage (.691) in a season, which still stands; tied the franchise record for fewest losses in a season, originally set by the1903 team; and set a franchise record for most wins, which was not surpassed until the2018 club.[1]
The team then faced the National League (NL) championNew York Giants in the1912 World Series, which the Red Sox won in eight games to capture the franchise's second World Series. One of the deciding plays in the World Series was a muffed fly ball by Giants outfielderFred Snodgrass, which became known as the "$30,000 muff" in reference to the prize money for the winning team.[2]
Behind center fielderTris Speaker and pitcherSmoky Joe Wood, the Red Sox led the league in runs scored and fewest runs allowed. Speaker was third in batting and was voted leagueMost Valuable Player. Wood won 34 games, including a record 16 in a row. Although the pitching staff was satisfactory, the only star pitcher was Wood, while the only star in the starting lineup was Speaker. Little-known third basemanLarry Gardner was the next best hitter, while future Hall of FamerHarry Hooper had a poor offensive season.
The Red Sox made several transactions during the 1912 offseason.[3] The Red Sox sold two players to theChicago White Sox during the offseason:Jack Fournier on February 6 andEddie Cicotte on July 9.[3] Later in the year, on November 25,Hugh Bradley was sold to theJersey City Giantsminor league baseball team of theInternational League.[3]
November 6, 1911: TheSt. Paul Saints announce the purchase of outfielderJoe Riggert from the Red Sox.[4]
January 6, 1912: The Red Sox trade playersHarold Janvrin,Martin McHale,Walter Lonergan,Hap Myers,Jack Thoney, andBilly Purtell to theJersey City Skeeters in exchange for catcherForrest Cady.[5]
February, 1912: The Red Sox sell infielderRip Williams to theNew York Highlanders.[6] On February 23, the Highlanders sent Williams to theWashington Nationals.[7]
February 6, 1912: TheChicago White Sox announce the purchase of infielderJack Fournier from the Red Sox.[8]
The new Red Sox home stadium,Fenway Park opened on April 20, the same day asNavin Field in Detroit opened.[9] It was supposed to be opened on April 18 (like Navin Field) but it rained in both cities on that day.[10] This first Major-League game played at Fenway Park pitted the Red Sox against theNew York Highlanders, with the Red Sox winning by a score of 7–6, and New York'sHarry Wolter being the first player to earn a hit in the park.[11]
On April 26,Hugh Bradley became the first player to hit a home run over theGreen Monster at Fenway Park.[12] It was his only home run of the 1912 season, and one of only two he hit in his career, which spanned five seasons.[13]
June 25: TheCleveland Naps sell infielderNeal Ball to the Red Sox for $2500.[14]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 105 | 47 | .691 | — | 57–20 | 48–27 |
| Washington Senators | 91 | 61 | .599 | 14 | 45–32 | 46–29 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 90 | 62 | .592 | 15 | 45–31 | 45–31 |
| Chicago White Sox | 78 | 76 | .506 | 28 | 34–43 | 44–33 |
| Cleveland Naps | 75 | 78 | .490 | 30½ | 41–35 | 34–43 |
| Detroit Tigers | 69 | 84 | .451 | 36½ | 37–39 | 32–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 53 | 101 | .344 | 53 | 27–50 | 26–51 |
| New York Highlanders | 50 | 102 | .329 | 55 | 31–44 | 19–58 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYH | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 16–6–1 | 11–11–1 | 15–6 | 19–2 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 12–10 | |||||
| Chicago | 6–16–1 | — | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9–2 | 9–13 | |||||
| Cleveland | 11–11–1 | 11–11 | — | 13–9 | 13–8–1 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 4–18 | |||||
| Detroit | 6–15 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | — | 16–6 | 9–13 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 2–19 | 9–13 | 8–13–1 | 6–16 | — | 5–17 | 13–9 | 7–15 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7–15 | 10–12 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 17–5 | — | 16–6 | 13–7–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 5–17 | 9–13–2 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 6–16 | — | 8–14–1 | |||||
| Washington | 10–12 | 13–9 | 18–4 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 7–13–1 | 14–8–1 | — | |||||
On April 11, 1912, the Red Sox defeated theNew York Highlanders 5–3 in an away game.[15]
| Harry Hooper | RF |
| Steve Yerkes | 2B |
| Tris Speaker | CF |
| Jake Stahl | 1B |
| Larry Gardner | 3B |
| Duffy Lewis | LF |
| Heinie Wagner | SS |
| Les Nunamaker | C |
| Buck O'Brien | P |
| 1912 Boston Red Sox | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bill Carrigan | 87 | 266 | 70 | .263 | 0 | 24 |
| 1B | Jake Stahl | 95 | 326 | 98 | .301 | 3 | 60 |
| 2B | Steve Yerkes | 131 | 523 | 132 | .252 | 0 | 42 |
| SS | Heinie Wagner | 144 | 504 | 138 | .274 | 2 | 68 |
| 3B | Larry Gardner | 143 | 517 | 163 | .315 | 3 | 86 |
| OF | Duffy Lewis | 154 | 581 | 165 | .284 | 6 | 109 |
| OF | Tris Speaker | 153 | 580 | 222 | .383 | 10 | 90 |
| OF | Harry Hooper | 147 | 590 | 143 | .242 | 2 | 53 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Engle | 58 | 171 | 40 | .234 | 0 | 18 |
| Hugh Bradley | 40 | 137 | 26 | .190 | 1 | 19 |
| Hick Cady | 47 | 135 | 35 | .259 | 0 | 9 |
| Les Nunamaker | 35 | 103 | 26 | .252 | 0 | 6 |
| Olaf Henriksen | 44 | 56 | 18 | .321 | 0 | 8 |
| Neal Ball | 18 | 45 | 9 | .200 | 0 | 6 |
| Marty Krug | 20 | 39 | 12 | .308 | 0 | 7 |
| Pinch Thomas | 13 | 30 | 6 | .200 | 0 | 5 |
| All pitchers | 154 | 468 | 101 | .216 | 2 | 44 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Joe Wood | 43 | 344 | 34 | 5 | 1.91 | 258 |
| Buck O'Brien | 37 | 275+2⁄3 | 20 | 13 | 2.58 | 115 |
| Hugh Bedient | 41 | 231 | 20 | 9 | 2.92 | 122 |
| Ray Collins | 27 | 199+1⁄3 | 13 | 8 | 2.53 | 82 |
| Charley Hall | 34 | 191 | 15 | 8 | 3.02 | 83 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Pape | 13 | 48+2⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 4.99 | 17 |
| Ed Cicotte | 9 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 5.67 | 20 |
| Ben Van Dyke | 3 | 14+1⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 3.14 | 8 |
| Casey Hageman | 2 | 1+1⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Bushelman | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.70 | 5 |
| Doug Smith | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 |
The 1912 World Series was played between theNew York Giants of the NL and the Red Sox of the AL. The Red Sox won in eight games, 4–3, having played the Giants to a tie in Game 2.
AL Boston Red Sox (4) vs. NL New York Giants (3)[19]
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Att. | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Sox – 4, Giants – 3 | October 8 | Polo Grounds | 35,730 | [20] |
| 2 | Giants – 6, Red Sox – 6(11) | October 9 | Fenway Park | 30,148 | [21] |
| 3 | Giants – 2, Red Sox – 1 | October 10 | Fenway Park | 34,624 | [22] |
| 4 | Red Sox – 3, Giants – 1 | October 11 | Polo Grounds | 36,502 | [23] |
| 5 | Giants – 1,Red Sox – 2 | October 12 | Fenway Park | 34,683 | [24] |
| 6 | Red Sox – 2,Giants – 5 | October 14 | Polo Grounds | 30,622 | [25] |
| 7 | Giants – 11, Red Sox – 4 | October 15 | Fenway Park | 32,694 | [26] |
| 8 | Giants – 2,Red Sox – 3(10) | October 16 | Fenway Park | 17,034 | [27] |
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