The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell

[sflcat]

Interesting idea to "integrate" MLB early. Are you going to follow the real life template, bringing "pairs" of black athletes to various teams so they can room together....or is Pat going to take a bold step, disregard the race barrier and offer to room with one of his "colored" teammates?

Looking forward to seeing how the players and fans react to integrated baseball in your universe, seeing how reactions were definitely a mixed bag when the great Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers.

[sflcat]

dola -- just wanted to add personal cudos for a job well-done....Pat's story is without a doubt one of my favorite dynasties ever.

[Big Six]

Thanks, sflcat. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I hadn't given much thought to how I'd handle the scenario of black and white players rooming together, etc. I did think at first about placing them, and even about pairing them for the reasons you mentioned. Since all the African-American players I've included are stars--Hall of Famers, or guys who should be--I decided to make all the Negro Leaguers into free agents and let the computer take over. That way I wouldn't be giving some teams automatic advantages by bestowing two all-time greats upon them.

Even so, I've noticed that some of the teams have been more aggressive in signing the Negro League prospects. The Cubs snapped up Charleston, and then added Paige. The Tigers signed Cool Papa and Turkey Stearnes right away. At the beginning of the season I shift the Red Sox to computer manager for a bit so they can take a shot at the Negro Leaguers, and they've signed two: Judy Johnson and Martin Dihigo.

[Big Six]

Chicago Tribune, April 8, 1925

CUBS SIGN YOUNG NEGRO PITCHER
"Satchel" Paige To Report Immediately To Cubs
Is 18-Year-Old Phenom Ready?

CHICAGO--From the sand lots of southern Alabama, the Cubs have brought to Chicago one of the most promising young pitchers in many a year. He is a Negro, named Leroy Paige, but he is better known as "Satchel."

Paige, aged eighteen, possesses the kind of "stuff" that has rarely been seen on the diamond. Old-timers have drawn comparisons between young Paige and twirlers like Walter Johnson and Joe Wood at similar ages. "I don't think Johnson or Wood ever had any more on the ball than Paige does," veteran Heinie Zimmermann claimed after watching Paige work out.

Whether Paige will have the poise required for major-league success at such a tender age will be the question. Manager Bill Killefer is willing to find out. "I believe Paige is ready to see what he can do in the National League. We have talked about this, and after he has a chance, if he needs more seasoning, we will send him to a lower level to refine his skills."

Paige was not the only Negro player to sign a major league contract this week. Outfielder George "Mule" Suttles inked a pact with the New York Giants, and like Paige will receive his baptism at the major league level. Suttles is twenty-four years old, however, and can be expected to be better prepared for the big league game...

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, May 27, 1925

RED SOX WIN AGAIN; EXTEND LEAD TO THREE GAMES
Gehrig's Eleventh Homer Is The Difference

PHILADELPHIA--What a difference a year can make!

The Red Sox rooters who, last year, were ready to throw Bill Carrigan into Boston Harbor like a chest of tea are now ready to nominate him for mayor. The Red Sox' 7-4 victory over the Athletics, combined with a loss by the St. Louis Browns, give the Bostons a three-game lead in the American League standings.

In 1924, this ball club looked like it had suddenly become a remnant of what it once was, with a roster full of former stars who could no longer lead a team to a pennant like they did in their glory years. Once it became clear that the Red Sox would not be in the pennant fight, Carrigan decided to work some of the team's most promising young players into the lineup. The results were often not pretty, as men like Kiki Cuyler and Judy Johnson struggled to keep their batting averages north of .200.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all was Lou Gehrig, who failed to hold on to the starting job at first base, after a promising 1923 campaign. In over eighty at-bats, Lou batted .207 and failed to hit a home run. The fact that in the meantime, the man for whom the Red Sox obtained Gehrig was hitting an unworldly 71 homers for the Yankees did nothing to make Gehrig's struggles more understandable.

To be fair, the Sox also picked up a fine catcher in Ray Schalk and a solid pitcher in Neal Brady, but Gehrig was the man who would have to succeed in the major leagues to keep this trade from becoming the most lopsided exchange in major league annals.

Today, Lou Gehrig played first base for the Red Sox, and hit fourth in the batting order, as he has all season long. In the fifth inning, with Pat O'Farrell on first base and one out, Gehrig got a pitch he liked from Athletics pitcher George Harper and drilled it on a line over the right field wall. Gehrig's blast broke a 4-4 tie, and pitchers Art Nehf and Red Ruffing held on to preserve the lead.

Perhaps more significantly, the home run was Lou's eleventh of the season. This places him in a tie for the major league lead in this category: with Babe Ruth. The two runs Gehrig drove across the plate gave him thirty-nine RBI. No man in the American League has more; Ruth has 38, as does Gehrig's Boston teammate Frank Frisch.

These two young standouts, along with two veterans whose performances fell short of their usual standards, have sparked the rejuvenation of Boston's once-feared attack. Shortstop Ray Chapman leads the American League with an even .400 batting average, after a .244 mark in 1924. And, while Pat O'Farrell made the All-Star team and batted over .300 last year, he still did not produce like the O'Farrell of old during large parts of the campaign. This spring, the thirty-seven year old O'Farrell has sipped from a Fountain of Youth, batting .340, and leading the major leagues with 48 runs scored, seven triples, and 28 stolen bases...

[Big Six]

Boston Post, May 29, 1925

3,000 FOR SPEAKER!!!
Tris Connects In Red Sox Victory

BOSTON--No man who has ever played major league baseball has hit as many doubles as Tris Speaker, so it could not be more fitting that the 3000th hit of his illustrious career was a two-bagger.

Speaker's milestone hit came in a 4-2 victory over the Browns today, a victory that enabled the Red Sox to hold on to their one-game lead over the St. Louis club atop the American League standings.

The pitcher whose name will be forever linked with Speaker's in this episode is a fine one, righthander Tim McCabe. Speaker is the fifth man in baseball history to reach this total.

The gentlemanly Speaker has handled his transition from one of baseball's brightest stars into a part-time player with the class he has displayed throughout his long career. Now, manager Bill Carrigan writes Kiki Cuyler's name into the lineup in center field nearly as often as he does Speaker's. "Of course I would like to play every day, like I have for so many years," Speaker said quietly in his soft Texas drawl, a smile crinkling his tanned face. "Kiki Cuyler has been playing great ball, however, and most importantly, we are in first place."

Today was especially meaningful for Tris's teammate Pat O'Farrell, who last year picked up his 3,000th hit as well. "I could not be happier for Tris. He has been a wonderful ball player and the finest teammate a man could have. We broke in at almost exactly the same time and have been friends since our minor league days."

Speaker and O'Farrell are the second pair of teammates to each pile up 3,000 hits; the other duo is Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford, who spent many years side by side in the Detroit outfield. The fifth man in the base hit fraternity is Willie Keeler.

Speaker has spent his entire career with the Red Sox, beginning in 1907. He has been a member of nine American League champion teams, and seven World Series title winners. His first major league hit came on August 6, 1907, off Jimmy Dygert of the Philadelphia Athletics.

It was, of course, a double.

[Big Six]

BASEBALL TO HAVE HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM IN COOPERSTOWN
Legendary Home of Sport's Founding Honored
Hall To Open For 50th Anniversary Of National League

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.--Baseball executives announced yesterday that a Hall of Fame, designed to honor the greatest players in the sport's history, will be opening here next year, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National League.

This bucolic village was chosen because of its links to the birth of the National Game. While the sport's genesis at Cooperstown is debatable, the place of the town in the legend of the game is not.

The members of the Hall of Fame will be chosen from those players who have been retired from active play for no fewer than five years, and who played in at least ten seasons at the major league level. A museum connected to the Hall will display memorabilia from the game's history.

The inaugural class of Hall of Famers will be inducted at Cooperstown in late summer 1926, which will allow for the construction of the Hall itself. A lot in the village has been purchased and secured for this purpose.

**************

The Hall of Fame voters will consist of any of you who follow Pat O'Farrell's story. I'll create a new thread in which I explain the rules for the voting, and I'll also list the players who will appear on each year's ballot and summarize their accomplishments. When new Hall of Famers are chosen, I will compose "plaques" for each of them and display them in that thread as well.

I hope Pat's fans will enjoy this!

[dumrox]

So it's officially, "baseball" now, not, "base ball"? The times they are a changin'.

[William4192]

Sounds great Big Six!

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by dumrox

So it's officially, "baseball" now, not, "base ball"? The times they are a changin'.

It seems to have become one word during the 1920s, although a few of the old schoolers, like Pat, might still write it as two.

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by William4192

Sounds great Big Six!

I was trying to think of a way to let some of you who have been such devoted fans of Pat and his story participate a little more. Turning you into Hall of Fame voters seems like the perfect solution.

[Big Six]

Latham Hotel
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mrs. Sarah O'Farrell
145 Cherry Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

June 28, 1925

My dearest Sarah,

I have just returned to our hotel after a delicious dinner with my fellow All-Stars. I think I have enjoyed the All-Star festivities more this year than I have at any time since my first game, and I fortunately have had sixteen such experiences which I might compare.

For one thing, my perspective on the game is much more positive when we are in first place, rather than fighting to remain in the first division. Then there is the inescapable fact that my All-Star years are probably coming to a close, so I appreciate the honor even more than I did when I was in my prime as a ball player. It is now much more difficult to keep my performance at a level where I can see the "3" at the front of my batting average in each Sunday's paper, so to be recognized as one of the best players in my league is an honor I deeply treasure.

I also am thoroughly enjoying the enthusiasm with which my young teammate, Mr. Gehrig, is approaching the event. It is, of course, Lou's first All-Star game. Newspapermen are now speaking to him, rather than to others about the fact that, as we all know by now, "he was traded for Babe Ruth." On an entirely personal level, I am glad that Lou's emergence means that Bill Carrigan has finally been exonerated for the crime of trading Ruth away. Gehrig has hit eighteen home runs to Ruth's seventeen now, and Lou has 70 RBI, eight more than any other man in the game.

Lou will be hitting cleanup for the American League team, right behind Ruth. I will lead off, and Sandy Piez, whom you probably remember from the barnstorming tour, will bat second. The Boston contingent will be rounded out by Ray Chapman, who will be my double play partner as usual, and by George Dauss, who will be the starting pitcher. Had Frank Frisch not been injured, I am sure he would be joining us. His calf muscle, which was apparently fairly badly torn, should be healed in about two weeks.

As tired as I am right now, I confess that I would not trade the days here at the All-Star game for three days off. Yes, I might be able to rush home to Stockbridge for a day to see you and the children, and that would be wonderful. However, you will all be joining me in Boston soon, which means that I will be coming home to you every evening when we play at home.

I am going to sleep now, so I will be at my best and brightest for tomorrow's game. Kiss the children for me, darling.

All my love,
Pat

*********
At the All-Star break, Pat's average rests at an even .300, with 5 homers and 51 RBI in 75 games played. He leads the major leagues once again with 37 stolen bases, and is second in the American League with 65 runs scored.

The American Leaguers won the game, 5-3, in ten innings. Pat went 0-3 with a strikeout before leaving for a pinch hitter.

Pat led off the game by flying out to left against NL starter Eppa Rixey. Eppa Jephtha struck him out looking in the third, and the Pirates' Hod Fenner retired him on a ground ball to second in the sixth.

Chapman started the game at short, but moved to third in the seventh inning. He smacked a pair of singles and reached on an error in four at-bats, and scored the game-winning run on George Sisler's booming tenth-inning triple.

Gehrig played eight innings at first base, going hitless in four trips and striking out once.

Dauss worked three splendid innings, allowing only one hit and no walks, while striking out four.

[Big Six]

The ballot for the inaugural Hall of Fame class has been posted in the Pat O'Farrell HOF thread. There's a link to the thread in my signature now.

Voting will close on Tuesday, March 22.

I hope many of you will cast a ballot!

[William4192]

Go Pat!

[Big Six]

Boston Herald, July 21, 1925

RED SOX IN PENNANT FIGHT
Sox and Browns Both Playing Well
Crowds Back at Fenway Park

BOSTON--Typically, we in Boston experiene summer's heat until September. This year, the American League pennant race shows signs of generating heat for at least as long. Heat generated by the sun causes us to seek refuge in the form of electric fans, cool lemonade, and shade trees in the Public Garden. That which results from a pennant race draws us in, and causes us to rush to Fenway Park whenever the opportunity arises.

Once again, as in days of old, the Red Sox are back in the thick of an exciting pennant fight. This time, the adversary is the St. Louis Browns, a club which has steadily risen from the league's basement to knock on the penthouse door.

In 1921, the ramshackle Browns finished in last place, winning only 63 contests. Their victory total has since then climbed from 65 to 73, and last year the Browns broke even at 77-77. That fifth place club finished the season in exactly the same relative position it occupies today: one game behind Bill Carrigan's Red Sox.

The Browns are led by stylish first baseman "Gorgeous" George Sisler, who is batting .317 and is among the league leaders with 60 RBI. A host of fellow .300 batsmen surround him in the lineup, including flychaser "Baby Doll" Jacobson, who stands at .339, and fleet outfielder Sandy Piez, who complements a .316 mark with 43 stolen bases. "There is not an easy out in the Browns lineup," states veteran Red Sox hurler George Dauss.

On the mound, the St. Louis club can throw a fine pitcher at its opponents every day. All-Star Molly Craft leads the American League with eighteen wins and a miniscule 2.53 ERA; fellow midsummer honoree Tim McCabe has been victorious fourteen times; Al Mamaux and Hal Schwenk add 22 more wins between them. Only in the bullpen are the Browns vulnerable, as Win Noyes is their only fairly reliable man.

The difference between the Red Sox of 1924 and this year's edition is easily summarized. This year, they are hitting the baseball. Carrigan's boys have hit more home runs, scored more runs, drawn more walks, and stolen more bases than any team in the major leagues, and only the Philadelphia Athletics have a higher team batting average.

The key to the Bostons' offensive resuscitation has been the explosion onto the scene of sensational young first baseman Lou Gehrig. The young slugger has blasted 21 home runs, best in the American League and only one fewer than Oscar Charleston of the Cubs, the major league leader. Gehrig leads all major leaguers with 83 runs batted in, is batting .321, and has pounded 22 doubles and 7 triples.

"Lou has worked very hard to make himself into a skilled hitter," manager Carrigan praised his young star. "He has learned which pitches he can hit hard, and which ones the pitchers want him to swing at. His eye has improved remarkably." Gehrig's 81 bases on balls are proof of his development.

Gehrig modestly deflected this compliment back to the veterans who have helped him. "I owe a lot to guys like Pat O'Farrell. I hit behind him in our lineup now, so I can easily watch him while he is at bat. Pat never swings at a bad pitch, and I am trying to follow that advice as well."

O'Farrell himself, while perhaps not the player he was in his prime, is still a star, and a key cog in the Red Sox machine. The thirty-seven year old from Stockbridge, who has been a star here in Boston for nearly two decades, can still make pitchers lose sleep at night. O'Farrell is batting a solid .292, has whacked 25 doubles, and can still fly on the basepaths; he has stolen 42 bases and scored 75 runs, numbers that look like those of a younger man.

His double play partner, Ray Chapman, who had lost his job at one point during the disaster of '24, has rebounded with a vengeance. He has raised his batting average over a hundred points, from .244 to .350, and has ripped forty-two extra base hits.

Walt Meinert was picked off the scrap heap, where the Indians had left him, and now he plays regularly in right field for Boston. His .332 average makes one wonder why Cleveland got rid of him.

It appears that Frank Frisch has recovered completely from his calf injury, and has brought his potent bat and deft glove back to the lineup. In his place, old pro Mike McNally filled in marvelously, whacking balls all over the lot.

The Boston pitchers have not, on the whole, been as effective as those toiling for the Browns. Hugh Bedient and George Dauss have thirty wins between them, but Art Nehf and Joe Wood have been inconsistent. Perhaps Waite Hoyt, who has been pitching well as both a spot starter and a reliever, will see more time on the mound down the stretch. Along with Hoyt, Neal Brady has been very effective in relief, as has young Red Ruffing, just called up from Providence.

Two evenly matched teams, each with their strengths, and with just enough weakness to make things interesting, will keep the heat at record levels during the hot summer months to come.

[Big Six]

Congress Hotel
Chicago, Illinois

Mr. John Mason
307 Selvidge Street
Dalton, Georgia

July 31, 1925

Dear John,

I am sorry I was not in the hotel to receive your call last night. The fellows all decided to go to dinner last night. Several new men have come to our club this week, so we decided to share a meal so we could all become better acquainted. I will tell you more about my new teammates later.

It certainly is exciting to be caught up in a pennant race once again! I am sure you are following the news in the papers down in Georgia, so I am sure you know that we and St. Louis are tied once again. Do you realize that we have been within two games of each other in the standings since the middle of May? I have never experienced a season like this, in which neither of two teams can put together a hot streak and open up a little room between themselves and their opponent. When we win, they win; when we lose, they lose! The most spellbinding thing about this year's race is the fact that both St. Louis and we are playing good ball. As a result, we are both opening up a lot of ground between ourselves and Detroit, who is in third place. Now we are eight games ahead of the Tigers.

The fans in St. Louis are, I am sure, hoping for a "streetcar Series" between the Cardinals and Browns. The Cards are five games ahead of Philadelphia right now. I know that Cardinals team fairly well, as we have played them in the Series before, and their star pitcher, Perritt, went barnstorming with us five years ago.

Our old buddy Bill Carrigan is certainly unafraid to suggest trades if he believes they will improve our club. This week we traded three spare pitchers to the Giants for an outfielder, Claude Cooper. You might remember him; he was the Newcomer of the Year about a decade ago. He is a handy man to have on a club, as he is an outstanding fielder and runs like the wind. He has been leading off for us and playing regularly in left field.

We also sent Bill Pertica, a young pitcher several clubs had been asking about, to the Reds for Bing Miller. Anytime you can add a bat like his to your team, you will make the trade. Carrigan plans to rotate the outfielders, giving them all playing time to keep them fresh. Whoever is not starting gives us a dangerous hitter to insert in a pinch. And, as fellows like Tris and myself grow older, we need more frequent rests in order to stay at our best.

Perhaps the most interesting acquisition of all cost us nothing but the money to sign him to a contract. A pitcher by the name of Jesse Haines contacted us and asked us for a tryout. He had spent some time with the Browns, of all teams, a couple of years ago, but had not pitched well and was let go. Two or three other teams gave him tryouts, but he spent most of the time farmed out. Last season, he did not pitch at all. Carrigan saw something in Jesse and had him signed to a contract. Then, to our surprise, Carrigan started him against the White Sox today!

Haines pitched a solid game, and we won, 6-3. Remember the young man I wrote to you about, Archie Graham? The fellow I met while we were barnstorming out in California, who finished the tour with us? Archie is now with the White Sox, and he is playing fairly regularly in their outfield. Today he got two of the eight hits Haines allowed, and his batting average is close to .300. We spoke briefly after the game; while he was playing in Pittsfield, which is close to my home, he would visit with my family from time to time.

I have been hitting the ball better the past two weeks, and my average is now back over .300 again. I am, in general, having a better season than I had last year, and I am sure much of my improvement is related to my mental state. It is difficult, as you know, to remain as full of pep as you should when you look at the newspaper and see your team in fourth place, fifteen games out of the lead. On the other hand, if a fellow can't stay "gingery" when his team is in the thick of it, he should find other work.

I have noticed nobody uses the word "ginger" any more. Back when we were with Richmond in '06, we said that all the time! Are we really that old, John? I suppose a forty year-old banker, like yourself, is still considered a young banker, while a thirty-seven year old second baseman, like me, is a "veteran." At least I have not heard or seen "aged," "creaky," or "decrepit" used to describe myself yet. When that comes, I suppose it will be time for me to leave the game to the younger fellows. Then again, on a day like today, I feel like I could play forever.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your "old" pal,
Pat

[Big Six]

At the batting cage, Comiskey Park, Chicago
August 2, 1925


The ball sailed in a soft arc over the infield, landing in the very spot where a first baseman would be playing. The young man who had hit the ball muttered a soft oath and shook his head. He had seen too many popups, too many easy ground balls, too many swings and misses. He was batting .194, and was pressing hard. So hard that he had forgotten the easy feel of his natural swing, the one that had carried him from Maryland to New Bedford, then to Providence, and then to Boston.

"One more, Johnson." Clarence Blethen, who was throwing today's batting practice, held up the ball. The young Negro infielder nodded once.

Pat O'Farrell, having already hit with the regulars, stood nearby, relaxed, rubbing a cloth on the handle of his bat. "Julius...keep your hands back," he advised.

Johnson's hands stayed back on this one. CRACK...a sharp line drive that zoomed down the left-field line, kicking up dirt before caroming into the corner.

"That's a double...maybe a triple, with your speed," Blethen called out, nodding. Johnson left the cage, and the next hitter nodded silently to him as the two men passed each other.

Pat, who had already begun to approach the cage, met Johnson as he walked back toward the dugout. "Good hit, Julius." He smiled and clapped Johnson on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Can I have a word with you for a minute?" Pat asked, motioning Johnson a few steps farther away from the cage.

"Sure," the younger man said warily.

"I was thinking..." O'Farrell began, toeing the dirt with the front spike of his right shoe. "You know, I don't have a roommate on the road, and neither do you."

Johnson looked up, right into Pat's eyes. "That's...right," he said slowly.

Pat broke the tension before it became uncomfortable by continuing to speak. "I always roomed with Carrigan when he was a player. Now that he's the manager, he has his own room. The team's let me have one too."

Johnson paused, weighing his words carefully. "Are you sure you want to room...with me? Aren't there..."

Pat spoke quickly, stopping the next words, whatever they might hae been, before Johnson could speak them. "Speaker and Wood have roomed together all the while they've been here. Besides, Joe's married to my sister. I see him at Christmas." Pat grinned.

"McNally's with Irish, and Chappie rooms with Frankie. Can't room with a pitcher. They drive you crazy the night before they pitch. You and me, we have lots in common. We're both infielders. You're a married man, like me...we won't be out late chasing skirts and finding speakeasies. Whaddya say?"

Johnson took a half-step back and looked closely at Pat's face, searching for signs that the older player was joking, finding none. The veteran's features were relaxed as he waited for a response.

"Ummm...sure," Johnson finally said, smiling warily.

Pat smiled and extended his hand. Johnson took it, and the two men shook, muscles rippling in their forearms, one dark, one fair.

"Good. I'll tell Carrigan. He'll be ok with it, I know. They've been on him to save money, and this means one fewer room." Pat hefted his bat onto his shoulder and grinned again.

Johnson laughed softly and leaned on the handle of his bat, visibly more relaxed. O'Farrell nodded and turned to go find Carrigan.

"Hey, Pat," Johnson called out to him softly. Pat turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Call me Judy."

*****************
You might have noticed this was the first dialogue I've written here. I thought it was the ideal way to tell this part of the story. Pat would not have wanted to receive any attention for what he would consider the simple act of reaching out to a teammate who was struggling on more than one level, so unless he wrote about it to Sarah, it would be an entirely personal matter.

[William4192]

Big Six,

Dialogue worked fine.

[Level]

the dialogue was awesome as usual. keep up the excellent work.

[Big Six]

Boston Globe, August 5, 1925


CLEVELAND--At its essence, baseball is about runs. Score more of them than the other team, and you win. Yesterday, the Boston Red Sox scored six runs. The Cleveland Indians scored three. Therefore, the Red Sox won. It's simple, isn't it?

If a baseball player is responsible for the scoring of many runs, it follows that he is a good player. No man who has ever played major league baseball has been responsible for more runs over the course of his career than Patrick Joseph O'Farrell. When Bing Miller crossed home plate on O'Farrell's sharp first-inning single to right field off Cleveland pitcher Slim Harrell, Pat's lifetime RBI total rose to 1,569--one more than Jake Beckley compiled in a career that ended in 1908.

O'Farrell already holds the all-time record for runs scored in a career, passing Ty Cobb earlier this season Cobb is still playing for the Chicago Cubs, but now he crosses the plate less frequently than Pat does. O'Farrell has scored 2,060 times, to Cobb's 2,039.

Hitting a double may or may not result in the scoring of one or more runs. Nevertheless, it is a good thing to hit lots of doubles. In the seventh inning, with shadows beginning to darken League Park, Harrell fired a fastball which O'Farrell drove off the wall in right-center field. Jack Smith played it adeptly, holding O'Farrell to a double. It is unlikely that anyone in the grandstand today was aware of it, but that two-bagger was the 567th of O'Farrell's career, one more than Nap Lajoie recorded in his career. Lajoie is among the most beloved players in the history of the Cleveland club, and he still makes his home in the city, so it is possible that Nap saw this event take place.

The only man who has hit more doubles in a major league career than Pat O'Farrell certainly saw this event, however. Tris Speaker, who has 635 doubles to his credit, was in the dugout, awaiting his next turn at bat...