"You know, young fellow, I have played here before!"
"No kidding, Babe." I answered back.
"No... NO... I mean in real life! In 1916! Pitched 14 innings against the Dodgers. Beat Sherry Smith 2-1. Knocked in a run in that game to tie it. Then pitched until the cows came home. So did Sherry. He battled us hard right to the end."
"Damn! That's right, Babe! Didn't you win 23 that year?" The Babe grinned.
"NOW you're startin' to wake up. But thanks for remembering that, son. And by the way... do you remember who played in the outfield for Brooklyn?"
"Zach Wheat?"
"Well yeah. You are right. But I wasn't thinking about him. I was thinking about a long-talkin' sonovagun named Stengel. Remember him?" The Babe grinned again.
"Sonofagun yourself, Babe! That's RIGHT!"
"Yeah. Casey kept asking us what our loser's share was gonna be. But we licked them four outta five, so I still don't know!" THe Babe roared with laughter. But when he settled back down he continued. "That Casey... he knew what he was doing. He hit two homers against us in the '23 Series. One of them a 1-0 game winner. He was good."
"No kidding, Babe." I answered back.
"No... NO... I mean in real life! In 1916! Pitched 14 innings against the Dodgers. Beat Sherry Smith 2-1. Knocked in a run in that game to tie it. Then pitched until the cows came home. So did Sherry. He battled us hard right to the end."
"Damn! That's right, Babe! Didn't you win 23 that year?" The Babe grinned.
"NOW you're startin' to wake up. But thanks for remembering that, son. And by the way... do you remember who played in the outfield for Brooklyn?"
"Zach Wheat?"
"Well yeah. You are right. But I wasn't thinking about him. I was thinking about a long-talkin' sonovagun named Stengel. Remember him?" The Babe grinned again.
"Sonofagun yourself, Babe! That's RIGHT!"
"Yeah. Casey kept asking us what our loser's share was gonna be. But we licked them four outta five, so I still don't know!" THe Babe roared with laughter. But when he settled back down he continued. "That Casey... he knew what he was doing. He hit two homers against us in the '23 Series. One of them a 1-0 game winner. He was good."
100 Games
Yanks 61-39
Bklyn 39-61
Ruth 72hr 156rbi
Gehrig 59hr 128
Meusel 8hr 60rbi
Lazzeri 23hr 75 rbi
Robinson 7hr 83rbi
Snider 7hr 91rbi
Campanella 18hr 94rbi
Hodges 8hr 67rbi
"So what do you think of Ebbets Field now, Babe?"
"Damn! Wanna know why me and Lou are hitting so many homers. They've shrunk this place! When I pitched in 1916, centerfield here was 500 feet. Left field was 400-plus! That Zach Wheat? He was a damn good left fielder! Had to be... it was HUGE back then. They didn't have any of these stands in the outfield back then!" And the Babe pointed out toward left center. "Right field was still easy, but center, left center and left field? Even I would have to nail one to get it out in them days!"
"That's fascinating, Babe. I did not know that."
"Yes sir. You know something, son. Cobb was right... as much as that sunovabitch went at it with me, he was right. Bringing in all the fences was wrong. It's okay to hit home runs if you're a real home-run hitter. But these fences with 350-360 foot power alleys? C'mon, keed! The BATBOY could reach those on a good day!"
"Speaking of good days... you knocked in seven runs the other day!"
"Yeah, but the Dutchman knocked in eight!" The Babe crowed. "Lou is getting hot. He knocked out 3 HRs. Then the next day, three more! And that was at the Stadium... not Ebbets!"
"That's right, Babe. That was in games 98 and 99. In game 100, Lou hit another one in the bottom of the ninth to tie it 12-12... his 7th homer in three games. Did you see Snider tip his cap in CF?"
"Yep. Lou tipped his cap like I said, and Duke tipped his in return. Two classy guys. But we lost it in the eleventh. Can't win them all."
"You guys are winning plenty, Babe. These Dodgers are a great team. They won 105 in 1953."
"Yeah. They are plenty good. But we are a lot deeper. Remember when I sat out for 25 games? Paschal played like me!"
"Yes... Ben had 20 rbi in those twenty-five games."
"Yeah, and that Cedric Durst... do you know who he played with? Ted Williams. Out in San Diego!"
"San Diego?"
"Yeah! Ted broke in with the Padres in the Pacific Coast League in '36. And Cedric was there."
Yankee Pitching Leaders (100 Games):
George Pipgras 13-1
Urban Shocker 12-5
Myles Thomas 9-2
Bklyn:
Carl Erskine 8-5
Clem Labine 7-4
"So Babe... do you think you'll have this thing wrapped up by Labor Day? You guys only need 17 more wins."
"Yeah, we're doing pretty good. We'll see. Maybe I'll sit out a few after we clinch it... IF we clinch it. I am still surprised we are doing THIS good. Like I said, these Bklyn boys are good."
"Do you know Jackie Robinson doesn't have a stolen base? After 100 games?"
"Ain't that somethin'? But that kid in front of him... that rookie..."
"Gilliam?"
"Yeah... HE's stealing everything but the team bus! He's gonna be a good one. Hell, he is a good one. He can play anywhere... hit... field... run. We'll take him if the Dodgers don't want 'im. But Jackie... I guess with all those bombers coming up behind him, why try to steal second?"
"On the other hand, your second-sacker is stealing lots of bases. I didn't know Lazzeri could run!"
"Tony could do everything. And remember, he's hitting sixth. That's why he's stealing so much. All of our bombers have already batted. But if Tony played in a lot of parks beside the Stadium, he'd hit 30-40 homers a year."
"Do you think you'll reach 100 homers this year, Babe?" The Babe grinned once more. "I might knock in 200, keed! After all these years I'm gonna beat Hack Wilson. HE played here too. I guess that's what makes Ebbets special. EVERYBODY stopped here one time or another."
"I'll see you in a few games, Babe. If you clinch it early, maybe you can sit with us and watch the rest of the season." The Babe's grin widened. And there was a twinkle in his eyes.
"After the victory party keed! I hope you like ribs and beer!"
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