The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell

[jdw]

William4192 wrote:

> End? Say it ain't so!

Pat just passed his 29th birthday on September 16, 1916. We have quite a few more years ahead of us as long a Big Six is willing to write it. We're only halfway through his career, and Six may end up having him manage a bit, or give us some post-career items.

So no need to worry yet.


John

[Big Six]

Thanks for the supportive comments! I'm glad other people seem to be enjoying the thread, too. I'd keep it going just for my own enjoyment, but the idea that some of you find it fun makes it that much more so for me.

I've definitely decided that the story will go on after Pat retires as an active player. I have a couple of possible story lines in my mind, and as the rest of his career plays out, one or more of them will end up here.

I've been doing "The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell" for over a year now, unfortunately with a couple of interruptions, and it's even more fun now than it was in the beginning. So I can't see it ending anytime soon.

Thanks again!!

[Big Six]

September 23, 1916

Detroit      4   7  1
Washington   2  11  1

WP:  Stroud  (21-11)
LP:  Burns   (27-11)

The Tigers beat the winningest pitcher in the major leagues, so you have to tip your caps to them...even if they're Red Sox caps.

[Big Six]

Boston Post,, September 23, 1916

With the Red Sox eliminated from the pennant chase, manager Jimmy Collins will allow a few of the team's best young prospects to see some playing time. Twenty-two year old first baseman Joe Judge, who hit .302 at Providence this season and also acquitted himself well when Ed Konetchy was injured earlier this season, will be in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.

Much-heralded youngster George "Babe" Ruth will make his major league debut, spelling Harry Hooper in left field. Ruth, 21, batted .284 with Richmond, where he also hit 4 home runs.

******

Collins offered Pat O'Farrell and Bill Carrigan the opportunity to preserve their .301 batting averages by sitting out the Red Sox' remaining three contests. Neither player accepted the offer.

O'Farrell has batted over .300 for seven straight seasons, only failing to hit that mark in his first full big league campaign, back in '08. Carrigan has topped the mark four times, including the last three consecutively.

"I don't want to back into an achievement like that," Carrigan stated. "Who knows? I might get seven or eight hits and end up well over .300."

[Big Six]

The Sox finished the season at 98-56, five games behind the Tigers and twelve ahead of the third-place Athletics. Incidentally, the Sox' record was one game better than that of the Reds, who despite trading away Del Mason and Jean Dubuc, won another NL pennant.

Perhaps the trades came back to haunt them in the Series, however, which the Tigers won in seven games. Mason was named the NL's Most Outstanding Pitcher for the fourth time, ending up with a 24-9 record and a league's best 1.71 ERA.

Pat swung the bat well in the last games of the season, hitting another homer, No. 50 for his career, and raising his average to .307. Carrigan, however, wasn't as lucky, seeing his mark fall to .299...however, with a career-best 77 RBI.

Here's Pat's line for the season:

    G   AB  H  2B  3B  HR  RBI   R   BB  K    AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS TAVG  ISO 
  148  564 173 18   5   6   72  110  91  42  .307 .402 .388 .790 .923 .082

Not as glittering as some of his previous seasons, although offense was down throughout baseball in 1916. Pat's slugging percentage was a career low.


His season breaks down like this:

                   AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI R  BB  K SF SH HP  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS 
vs. LHP           146  36  4  3  2 16  24 31 10  2  0  1 .247 .378 .356 .734 
vs. RHP           418 137 14  2  4 56  86 60 32  3 17  1 .328 .411 .400 .810 
Close/Late         81  24  2  0  1  7  10 10  8  0  1  0 .296 .370 .358 .728 
Scoring Position  145  48  9  1  3 67   0 45 15  5  8  0 .331 .458 .469 .927

O'Farrell really struggled against lefties this year, but was deadly with men in scoring position.

Pat was more productive at home (.322-4-35) than on the road (.292-2-37); his OPS was fifty points higher at Fenway. His best month was April (.370-1-16), but he followed that up with his poorest month in May (.252-0-4).

His name doesn't appear as often among the league leaders, nor as high on the lists he does appear on, as usual. Here are the categories in which he made the Top 10:

OBP: 6th
OPS: 9th
PA: 1st
Hits: 9th
HR: 2nd (tied with 6 others)
Runs: 2nd
SB: 2nd
BB: 4th
TB: 9th
RC: 4th
RC/27 outs: 5th

[Big Six]

Here's an update on Pat's place among the all-time leaders.

He currently ranks eighth in lifetime batting average at .329. Ty Cobb, also still active, leads the list at .359. Other actives ahead of Pat are Tillie Shafer (.343, 4th), Joe Jackson (.343, 5th) and Vin Campbell (.337, 6th).

Willie Keeler, with 3,115, is the only man in baseball history to pile up 3,000 hits. The active leader is Sam Crawford, with 2,874. Pat, with 1,579, is still about 450 hits away from a spot on this list.

With his next home run, O'Farrell will move into a tie for 25th place, alltime, with 51. The all-time leader is Crawford, who continues to add to his total of 105. Harry Lumley is the only other man to touch 'em all over a hundred times.

Crawford needs 88 RBI to pass Jake Beckley and move into first place in that category; Beckley knocked in 1568 runs in his career. Pat's total of 764 is almost 200 away from cracking the list.

Nap Lajoie hit more doubles than any player in history, retiring with 566 two-baggers. Again, Crawford is the active leader with 459. Pat and another Irishman, Roger Bresnahan, cling to the bottom of the list, tied at 272 for 25th place.

With 143 triples, O'Farrell ranks 23rd all time, but needs 103 more to match Crawford's lifetime mark.

Pat's excellent batting eye has enabled him to walk 830 times, and only 14 men have done so more often. Roy Thomas' all-time record of 1,132 is therefore within Pat's reach, although if Sammy Strang manages to coax two more walks before he retires, he will set the record first. Al Bridwell, who leads Pat by 48 and is only a little older, also might end his career on top.

No active player is within 300 runs of Keeler's career total of 1,764. Crawford and Ginger Beaumont are the active leaders, and O'Farrell, with 939, is one season away from cracking the list. Cobb has the best chance of beating Keeler's mark, with 1,060; Ty turns 30 in December 1916.

Pat is rapidly climbing the list of all-time base stealers. Honus Wagner, who swiped 658 sacks, will likely remain the career leader for a month or so into the 1917 season, long enough for Cobb to steal 18 bases. Cobb's 82 steals in 1916 smashed Pat's American League record. O'Farrell stands eighth, and fifth among active players, with 537. Besides Tyrus, the other current players still ahead of him (George Moriarty, Crawford, and Buck Herzog) are all in their thirties. However, If Tillie Shafer, who's 27, keeps stealing 80 bases a year, he will put this record out of reach.

Pat turned 29 during the 1916 World Series, so he appears well on his way to ending his career among the all-time leaders in several offensive categories. He might well end up second all-time to Cobb in hits, runs, and steals, and could drive in more runs and draw more bases on balls than anyone in history, while ranking in the top ten in a number of other categories.

[jdw]

Big Six wrote:

> Pat is rapidly climbing the list of all-time base
> stealers. Honus Wagner, who swiped 658
> sacks, will likely remain the career leader for
> a month or so into the 1917 season, long
> enough for Cobb to steal 18 bases. Cobb's
> 82 steals in 1916 smashed Pat's American
> League record. O'Farrell stands eighth, and
> fifth among active players, with 537.

By my math, to get to 537 Pat would have stolen 81 this year. That sounds a bit high since you had him at 69-13 back during the classic game. But he came into the season with 456.

Also, Ty's 82 would tie Pat's AL record of 82 set in 1915. If Pat did 81 this year, he was one off his own mark.

> However, If Tillie Shafer, who's 27, keeps
> stealing 80 bases a year, he will put this
> record out of reach.

When did Tillie come up? And how many does he have to date? That's one good thing about Pat and the record - he's been in the bigs stealing bases since he was 20. It's a bit like Rickey vs. Vince Coleman - a lot of people tried to make hay out of Coleman stealing 100 a year when breaking in, missing that Henderson reached the major way ahead of Vince in terms of age, and had a host of stolen bases under his belt at the same before Vince even stole his first.

John

[jdw]

Big Six wrote:


> His name doesn't appear as often
> among the league leaders, nor as
> high on the lists he does appear on,
> as usual. Here are the categories
> in which he made the Top 10:
>
> OBP: 6th
> OPS: 9th

These are really surprising ones. He had four OBP titles and two runner-ups in the past six year. Five OPS titles and two runner-ups in the last seven years, which is the same as he had in SLG. The drop in SLG and Power (especially 2B and 3B) is really alarming.

Hope Pat isn't in decline.

John

[Big Six]

John,

Thanks for pointing out the mistakes I made! Pat stole 71 bases in 1916, which gave him 527 for his career, not 537. I suppose I just looked at it wrong.

I was also thinking for some reason that his AL record was 72 steals, not 82. So Cobb did only tie Pat's record.

Tillie Shafer came up in 1911, and has 460 steals in his career. His season totals are 41-66-82-102-91-78, so he's racking them up pretty fast. Shafer is an on-base machine; he's had OBPs of .508 and .486, and his career mark is .436. So he has lots of opportunities to steal.

Offense was down throughout baseball in 1916. As a league, the AL had a .689 OPS in 1915, and went down to .666 in 1916. That might explain some of Pat's decline. It took Pat a while to start hitting for power in 1916, which depressed his season's totals a little bit.

Hopefully Pat will bounce back in 1917 and enjoy a few more years of near-peak performance. The lively ball is coming, although, of course, Pat can't know that...

[Big Six]

Boston Post, December 9, 1916


This past season's results should serve notice to the management of the Boston American League baseball club that perhaps it is time to make some changes, with an eye to the future of the club.

The core of the outstanding teams that won pennant after pennant as the current decade opened is not growing any younger. The pitching staff, especially, is aging, while a number of promising young twirlers are relegated to mop-up duty or languish in the minor leagues.

As wonderful as Christy Mathewson has been over the course of his distinguished career, at thirty-six years of age, is he now able to perform as well as a man a decade younger, such as Carl Mays? Other younger pitchers, such as Hugh Bedient, "Hooks" Dauss, and "Dutch" Leonard, are quite possibly ready to pitch effectively at the major league level. It would do no harm to give any of these men an extended trial.

The batsmen, too, are beginning to show signs of age, and perhaps some of them should be dealt to other clubs while their value is still high. Ideally, they would fetch promising young players in return, who would keep the Red Sox at the top of the standings for a decade more.

Among the current roster, only a few men should be considered untouchable. Tris Speaker, Joe Wood, and Pat O'Farrell are all at the peaks of their careers, and should remain to form the foundation of the club as younger talent is placed around them. Perhaps Bill Carrigan belongs in this category as well; he and O'Farrell are so wildly popular with the thousands of rooters of Irish extraction that to trade either of them would be seen as treason.

However, Manager Collins and the others whose decisions shape the fate of the Red Sox would do well to consider the place of any other player on the roster during this off-season. Perhaps it is time to dismantle this club so an even stronger one may be constructed in its place.

[William4192]

The fans that usually sit in the section of the crowd known as "Carrigan's Crowd" wrote some angry letters to the Boston Mgt letting them know that Carrigan should be untouchable. If Carrigan is traded they will continue to buy their tickets but will not show up for games leaving a huge hole in the crowd for all the TV audience to see. Please don't trade our hero!!!!


In releated news, a small boy was seen crying near the ball park uncontrollable when he heard the news "Ole" Bill might be traded. Only the boy's father's promise that Bill would be a Red Sox for life made the boy stop crying.


Trading Bill? Do you want to make that kid cry? :P

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, December 17, 1916

CARRIGAN'S JOB SAFE, SAYS COLLINS
Popular Catcher Not On Trading Block

BOSTON--An editorial that appeared in another newspaper last week, which concerned the possibility of widespread changes to the roster of the Boston Red Sox, set off a flurry of speculation much heavier than the snows that have fallen across the city during recent days.

Perhaps the loudest outcry came at the idea that catcher Bill Carrigan, a Boston mainstay for nearly a decade and an All-Star, could be sent on his way. Carrigan's many fans, who are largely but not exclusively of Irish lineage, were stung by the possibility that he might be traded away.

Manager Jimmy Collins saw fit to comment on the idea of trading Carrigan. "Bill Carrigan is not going anywhere," Collins stated plainly. "How many teams are looking for a solid catcher? And how many are looking for a man who can hit in the middle of their lineup? We have a man in Carrigan who can fill both roles. He's the best catcher in the league. He's not available."

Carrigan, a Holy Cross product and a Worcester native, is thirty-three years of age and has played eleven seasons of professional ball. While many backstops of this vintage are slowing down noticeably because of the demands of the position, "Rough Bill" has played better ball than ever in recent seasons. Collins is, in our opinion, wise to hold on to him.

**********

Coming soon for all Carrigan's fans: his lifetime major league record! I'll probably get to that on Thursday, because I'm off to the Eastern League All-Star game tomorrow.

[Big Six]

Here are the career stats for Pat's buddy, Bill Carrigan:

Year   G    AB   H   2B 3B HR RBI   R  BB   K SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG  OPS Teams 
1908  133  492  116  17  2  0  50  39  29  69  2  2 .236 .278 .278 .557 BOS 
1909   69  253   65   5 13  0  39  26  23  15  3  2 .257 .319 .379 .698 BOS,AL 
1910   97  333  105  12  9  1  53  45  49  49  2  2 .315 .403 .414 .818 BOS 
1911   96  300   66   6  3  0  46  39  48  66  1  1 .220 .328 .260 .588 BOS 
1912   25   65   17   3  2  0   6  12  10   9  0  2 .262 .360 .369 .729 BOS 
1913   52  142   45   5  3  1  22  16  21  31  0  0 .317 .405 .415 .820 BOS 
1914   48  141   43   7  1  2  23  19  12  33  2  2 .305 .359 .411 .771 BOS 
1915   43  139   42   8  4  0  17  20  14  35  2  0 .302 .366 .417 .783 BOS 
1916  133  482  144  24  2  3  77  60  71  90  4  2 .299 .389 .376 .764 BOS,AL 
Total 696 2347  643  87 39  7 333 276 277 397 16 13 .274 .351 .353 .704

For a good portion of his career, Carrigan has backed up Bill Peterson, an All-Star catcher, and as you can see, he was extremely productive when he was in the lineup. Carrigan has also periodically spelled Ed Konetchy at first base.

"Rough Bill's" productivity made it possible for the Red Sox to trade Peterson to the White Sox before the 1916 season, in exchange for solid third baseman Del Paddock and one of baseball's finest prospects, first baseman Joe Judge. Carrigan then made the trade look like a good one, as he made the 1916 All-Star team himself. Carrigan's batting average was 40 points higher than Peterson's, his OBP was over 50 points higher, and his slugging percentage was 80 points higher.

[Big Six]

227 Elm Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

December 27, 1916

Mr. Frank Owens
220 Park Avenue
South Bend, Indiana


Dear Frank,

Just in case the card Sarah and I sent to you managed not to arrive, first let me say that I hope you and your family enjoyed the merriest of Christmases! After the disappointing way the season ended for us, Sarah and I decided to do all we could to make the holidays festive.

We are, again, sorry that you and your family were not able to make the trip to Massachusetts to join us. The Carrigans and Woods arrived three days before Christmas, and I spent the better part of the day conveying them from the train station to my parents' home in the trusty Chalmers. I suppose I should purchase a new automobile, but the Chalmers still runs like a charm.

As you might remember, Sarah's and my anniversary is Christmas Eve, and Emily married Joe Wood last December 23, so we had a multitude of reasons to celebrate. It hardly seems like it has been six years since you sang so beautifully at our wedding. Then again, it does not seem like a decade has passed since we all were playing ball down in Richmond, either, does it?

Our Beth and Mike enjoyed spending time with the Carrigan children. Beth has just turned four, and the excitement of Christmas puts a constant smile on her face. Mike is not yet two, so the season means little to him yet, but he is such a good-natured little boy that he smiles constantly anyway.

The weather here is perfect for Christmas, with snow on the ground and ideal conditions for sleighing. My father took us all out on Christmas Eve, and afterward we drank hot cider and sang carols around the piano. Sarah and my mother took turns playing, and we had a grand time.

The happiest surprise of the holiday came when both Sarah and Emily announced they are expecting! Our baby will be due in May, while the Woods should greet their new arrival in April. Hopefully the American League schedule makers will take this fact into consideration and award the Red Sox home games on the precise dates of our children's birth.

I will close now with our best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 1917 for you and yours, my friend.

Sincerely,
Pat

[Big Six]

Berkshire Eagle, February 11, 1917

Stockbridge's own baseball star and his family have officially returned home!

Boston Red Sox star Pat O'Farrell, a Stockbridge native and one of the most skilled players in base ball, will be making his off-season residence in his home town. Mr. and Mrs. O'Farrell, the former Sarah Malloy, also of Stockbridge, have recently moved into the new home they had built on Cherry Street. The O'Farrells have a son and a daughter, and Pat explained that this was one reason why he and his wife wanted to move here from Boston.

"Boston is a fine city, and we will be keeping an apartment there, but Sarah and I both grew up here. We want our children to grow up the way we did, in the same kind of community," he said.

O'Farrell, a second baseman, has played professional baseball since 1906, and appeared in the major leagues for the first time in 1907. He has spent his entire career with the Red Sox, and has played on five World Series championship teams.

[Big Six]

Ponchartrain Hotel
Detroit, Michigan

May 28, 1917

Mrs. Emily Wood
227 Park Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Dear Emily,

I wanted to write to you as quickly as I could, because you seemed so upset. I am sorry that little Katherine is not feeling well. If it is any consolation, Beth was just as fussy at times when she was a month old, too.

First of all, I can assure you that Joe is not injured. He says his arm feels fine, and I have never seen him favor it, or wince when he throws a pitch. I have played behind him for so long, and have seen him throw so many pitches, that I can close my eyes and imagine every detail of his motion. He is throwing as well as ever.

Remember, it has been years since Joe has experienced anything but success on the mound, so the struggles he has faced recently are naturally upsetting him. You are doing exactly the right thing by remaining supportive and positive, which come as naturally to you as a blazing fast ball does to your husband.

I must rush to put this into the post now, and I hope I am able to help you somehow. Give my niece a big hug and a kiss from her uncle.

Your loving brother,
Pat

***********
"Smoky Joe" Wood has, indeed, struggled so far in 1917. His record stands at 5-8, with an uncharacteristic 4.39 ERA. American League batsmen are finding him easier to solve than they have since 1912; his WHIP, which had sunk as low as 0.94 in 1916, has spiked to 1.52 this season.

The Red Sox, too, are struggling, resting in third place with a 26-24 record. The Sox are 3 games behind the first-place Athletics.

[Big Six]

84 Westland Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

May 30, 1917

Mr. Francis O'Farrell
227 Elm Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Dear Dad,

Perhaps the Fates have decided that it is time to look favorably upon a team other than the Boston Red Sox.

Today, Tris Speaker dove for a ball in the outfield, only to have it skip past him and roll toward the wall. I turned and moved into the outfield to take a possible relay throw, and then I noticed that Tris was getting up up very slowly, while Chet Chadbourne raced for the ball.

When the play was completed, I saw Tris walking slowly toward the infield, holding his arm and grimacing. If Tris, a man who is as tough as any cowboy in Texas, leaves a game on his own, there is certainly something wrong.

The doctors told him that he has broken a bone in his arm; the ulna, I believe it is, and that he will be out of the lineup for at least a month. And, only a week after the injury to Walt Thomas that ended his season! We obtained Ray Chapman from the Browns to help fill Tommy's spot, but it looks unlikely that the team will look to a trade again. After all, who could we possibly obtain who could contribute as much as Speaker does to the club?

George Ruth, whom everyone calls "Babe" now, was called up from the minor leagues to take Speaker's place on the roster. I am not sure how much playing time Collins will give Ruth, however. We are just close enough in the standings, only four games back of Philadelphia, to make Collins play it safe. I would guess that he will give Ruth some playing time, but George Whiteman, who has hit the ball well this season, will play more.

We did win the game, but none of us felt much like celebrating. My season is off to a much better start than last year's, but as long as we are in third place I am far from satisfied.

I am sorry that the tone of this letter is so negative, Dad. I suppose I am also nervous about the fact that Sarah's baby is overdue. Her doctor says that there are no apparent problems, but until I see her, smiling and holding a healthy infant, it will be difficult for me to relax.

As always, love to you and to Mom.

Your son,
Pat

******

Pat is correct; he's hitting much better so far in 1917. His average is up to .337, and he is tied for the American League lead in home runs with 4. He has driven in 32 runs and scored 42, in 51 games.

Even more encouragingly, he's hitting doubles and triples like he usually does, too...10 doubles and 4 three-baggers. Pat leads the league in slugging and OPS. He's drawing walks; 42 so far. And he has run wild on the basepaths, stealing 35 bases already.

Speaker has been as productive as usual, too, hitting .339-2-36 at the time of his injury. Tris is 2nd in the league in hitting, and Pat stands third (Eddie Murphy of the Athletics leads at .387).

[Big Six]

84 Westland Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

June 11, 1917

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kelley
68 Wendell Avenue
Pittsfield, Massachusetts


Dear Bob and Esther,

This will be a very quick note, just to let you know that Sarah gave birth to our second daughter this morning, a little after eight o'clock. She is named Mary Catherine, and she weighs seven pounds, eight ounces.

She is a beautiful little girl, and both she and Sarah are doing fine.

Mary Catherine is the second new member of our family this spring; Emily and her husband, Joe Wood, had a daughter Sarah Jane, who was born on April 30. The Mesdames Wood are also doing well.

I must hurry down to the station after I mail this letter to you, as we are heading out to Philadelphia on the train this evening. I hope this finds you, Tommy, and Janie well.

Your friend,
Pat

[Big Six]

Sporting Life, July 1, 1917

RED SOX STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Perennial Contenders Now Barely Clinging to First Division
Will Manager Collins Keep His Job?

BOSTON--For the better part of a decade, the most fearsome team in the American League has called Boston its home. A combination of stingy pitching, solid defense, and potent hitting propelled the Red Sox to a half-dozen pennants and five World Series victories since 1909.

However, it is now fair to ask if this superb team has seen its best days. The 1916 Red Sox battled the Detroit Tigers to the final week of the season before yielding, but this year sees the Red Sox with a losing record, 38 victories against 39 defeats, as the campaign reaches the half-way point. The Bostons are tied for fourth place with Washington. Fortunately, no American League squad has run off from the pack, and the Philadelphia Athletics, who lead the way right now, are only six games in front of Boston. However, several trends must reverse themselves if the Red Sox are going to make a run at the pennant.

The Boston bats are strangely lacking punch this season. Part of the explanation, of course, must lie in the injuries to Walter Thomas and Tris Speaker. Thomas will not play again in 1917, and his career is in doubt, after he suffered a severe knee injury. Speaker's mishap, a broken arm, is not as serious, but has had even more devastating effects on the Red Sox lineup.

Tris was hitting .339 at the time of his injury, which occurred at the end of May. Manager Jimmy Collins has pointed in turn to several men--youngsters Joe Judge, Babe Ruth, and Chick Shorten, veteran George Whiteman, and minor league journeyman Ralph Pond. Of the group, only Judge has hit much, and as a first baseman playing out of position in the outfield, he has struggled with the glove. Speaker is expected to be out of action for approximately two more weeks; Boston fans hope that the Texan does not ride back into town too late.

Injuries cannot explain the sudden lack of production from a large number of Boston regulars. Ed Konetchy, an All-Star fixture at first base, is hitting only .249 and has driven in only 25 runs. Harry Hooper, a lifetime .270 batsman, is batting 20 points lower than that, although he has swung the bat better in June. Fellow flychaser Chet Chadbourne cannot raise his average higher than .230, and third baseman Del Paddock is at .244. All of these men, with the exception of Konetchy, have been benched at some time by Collins, who is searching for a combination of players that can spark a winning streak.

Only two Red Sox hitters have performed at anything close to their usual levels. Catcher Bill Carrigan was recently cnosen for his second consecutive All-Star Game. Carrigan's .269 batting average is thirty points lower than his 1916 mark, but Bill has hit well in the pinch. He has driven in 38 runs, placing him tenth in the league in that category.

Pat O'Farrell has done much to demonstrate that his sub-par season in 1916 was a fluke. The second sacker leads the major leagues with 6 home runs, and despite a recent slump, has kept his batting average over .300 all year. He is scoring runs, driving in runs, and stealing bases as well as he ever has.

O'Farrell may be excused if his play has not been as sharp over the past month, as his wife experienced difficulties in the weeks leading up to the birth of their third child. Mother and daughter are doing well now, so pitchers would do well to fear O'Farrell even more in the weeks to come.

Boston pitchers, on the other hand, are striking less fear into opposing batsmen than they have for some time. Joe Wood was strangely ineffective during April and May, although last month, he seemed much more like the Smoky Joe who has dominated the American League for several seasons. Wood has, however, been the best twirler the Red Sox have been able to muster. Chuck Rose, Ray Collins, Hugh Bedient, Carl Mays, and Ralph Glaze have all been inconsistent, and Christy Mathewson agreed to a demotion to Providence in an attempt to straighten himself out.

Manager Jimmy Collins has, for the first time since he took over the club in 1904, faced real criticism. He has moved some of the team's young players in and out of the line-up, and some say the players have begun to lose confidence in his leadership. Collins' job may depend on the team's performance during the second half of the season; if the Sox turn things around and make a charge, his moves will appear magical. If the team continues to lose a game for every one it wins, however, the team's ownership might look elsewhere.

[Big Six]

Pat started the 1917 All-Star game at second base for the American League, batting third in the lineup. This was Pat's eighth All-Star appearance; he missed the 1911 contest with an injury.

In the first inning, facing Jean Dubuc of the Reds, he popped out to Dubuc's regular batterymate, Mike Konnick. Dubuc is back with the Reds after a strange turn of events in which he was traded to the Cardinals, who swapped him back after the season for three prospects.

The National League led 2-1 when Pat led off the fourth by drawing a base on balls against his old nemesis, Roy Hitt. Hitt, incidentally, is enjoying a remarkable season, with a record of 17-2 at the break.

With Chicago's Fred Luderus at the plate, Pat stole second, and after Luderus went down swinging, Pat then swiped third cleanly. When Detroit's Red McKee grounded out to first baseman Joe Burns, O'Farrell raced across the plate to tie the score.

The National Leaguers had scored twice more by the time Pat came back to the plate, with one out in the sixth inning. Bill Doak was on the mound, and Pat ripped one of his deliveries down the right field line for a triple. Luderus followed with a slow grounder to short, and Pat scored once again.

Pat's spot in the lineup came up again in the next inning, after the AL had scored three more times. Manager Hughie Jennings of the Tigers called on Pat's teammate, Bill Carrigan, to pinch hit, and Bill flied out to left-center. Carrigan then watched the rest of the game from the bench, as Dots Miller of the Indians went in to play second base.

The NL All-Stars won the game, 8-6, on an eighth-inning grand slam by All-Star Game MVP Mike Konnick of the Reds.