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Joe Tinker – Short Stop - 1902 – 1916 Chicago
Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs
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Tinker was immortalized in Franklin P. Adams's
verse, "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," better-known,
as "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
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Tinker and second baseman Johnny Evers, first
baseman Frank Chance, and third baseman Harry
Steinfeldt formed one of the better defensive
infields of the day.
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The celebrated Chicago trio did not actually
turn that many double plays. During that era,
none did, compared to today. Yet under Chance's
often brilliant guidance, what the trio did was
to bring fielding into focus.
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They devised new defensive strategies to defeat
the bunt, the hit-and-run, and the stolen base
(the key run-producing techniques of the
dead-ball era) and implemented the first known
version of the rotation play.
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They brought Chicago to four World Series, in
1906-08 and 1910.
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Tinker had an aggressive, spirited playing
attitude, but otherwise was quite an innocuous
character. Yet one day in 1905, he argued with
Evers over a cab fare, which led to a fistfight
on the field. The contentious Evers would not
speak to Tinker for decades, and gave him an
unrepeatable nickname.
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Unbeknownst to one another, both were invited to
help broadcast the 1938 Cubs World Series, 33
years after their falling-out. When they saw
each other, after a moment's strained silence,
they hugged and cried for some time.
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Tinker first came up in 1902, and remained
Chicago's everyday shortstop for 11 years.
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He had superior speed, and stole an average of
28 bases a season for Chicago.
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On July 28, 1910, he tied a major league record
by stealing home twice in one game.
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Along with Evers and Chance, he was elected to
the Hall of Fame by the Committee on Baseball
Veterans in 1946.
Johnny Evers – Second Base – 1902 – 1917 –
Chicago Cubs, Braves, Phillies & White Sox
(nickname – The Trojan & The Crab)
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nicknamed
"The Crab" for the way he sidled up to grounders
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joined
the established Tinker and Chance full-time in
1903.
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Evers
had identical .350 World Series averages in 1907
and 1908, knocking in the winning run in the
fifth and final game.
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Ironically, 1910, the year Adams fashioned his
poem, was the final season that the trio played
together.
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Evers and Tinker, despite their on-field
teamwork, didn't speak to each other their final
years together, the result of some imagined
slight, and often traded punches in the
clubhouse.
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Despite
the fighting, Evers enjoyed his best season in
1912, when he hit a career high .341, and
replaced Chance as manager in 1913.
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In February 1914, he was traded to Boston.
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He
entered the Hall of Fame six months before his
death, and was the last surviving member of the
double-play combo.
Frank Chance – First Base, Catcher & Outfield –
1898 – 1914 – Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees
(nickname – The Husk & The Peerless Leader)
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Chance was the first baseman in the double-play
trio of "Tinker to Evers to Chance,"
immortalized by Franklin Adams in the poem
"Baseball's Sad Lexicon."
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He was dubbed "The Peerless Leader" as he led
the Cubs to pennants in 1906-08 and 1910 as
their player-manager.
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Some called him "Husk" because he was husky,
strong, and aggressive. He made his opinions
known and never backed down from an argument.
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He ran his clubs with a clenched fist, coming
down hard on any player who gave less than 100%.
_Chance reached the majors as a catcher and
part-time outfielder with Chicago, but when
Johnny Kling came along, he shifted to first
base.
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He led the NL with 67 stolen bases in 1903, and
with 57 in 1906, when his 103 runs scored were
also the league high.
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Chance's great success came as a young manager.
He was 27 when he took over the Chicago club
from Frank Selee in mid-1905; in seven full
seasons, he won at least 100 games four times,
and never finished lower than third.
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His .664 winning percentage (768-389) stands as
the best in Cubs history. In 1906 the Cubs won
116 games - a major league record - while losing
just 36. They lost to the White Sox in the '06
World Series, but defeated the Tigers in the
next two.
-Chance led all participants in the '08 WS with
a .421 batting average.
- In 1946 Chance, Joe Tinker, and Johnny Evers
were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Tinker to Evers to Chance Important Dates
September 13, 1902:
Tinker, Evers, and Chance play their first game as
a SS-2B-1B combo for Chicago. The Chicago Cubs
clip St. Louis, 12-0.
September
15, 1902:
Chicago's infield combo of Tinker, Evers, and
Chance pull off their first double play to back up
Carl Lundgren's 6-3 win over the Reds.
September 14, 1905:
Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers engage in a fist fight
on the field during an exhibition game in
Washington, IN, because Evers took a taxi to the
park, leaving his teammates in the hotel lobby.
The pair will not speak to each other ever again.
April
12, 1912:
The Tinker-Evers-Chance double play combination
(with Ed Lennox at 3B) plays its final ML game
together, a 3–2 loss in Cincinnati. Vic Saier will
replace Chance at 1B.
April
24, 1946:
Eleven former players--Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers,
Frank Chance, Jess Burkett, Tom McCarthy, Rube
Waddell, Eddie Plank, Ed Walsh, Jack Chesbro,
Clark Griffith, and Joe McGinnity--are named to
the Hall of Fame.
Above information derived from the following
resources:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com
http://www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary |
