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John McGraw, Buck Herzog, and Christy Mathewson, summer 1916 |
The 1915 New York Giants finished in last place, the only time that happened for a full season while John McGraw managed the team. The 1916 team started okay, winning 17 straight on the road (while on a 21-game road trip), a record that was tied by the 1984 Detroit Tigers but of course the Tigers had their streak over the course of a month, not in 20 days.
Well, the Giants floundered after that first streak, and McGraw basically said "screw it" and blew up the team mid-season.
In mid-July he traded his favorite player, all-timer Christy Mathewson, to the Reds (so Matty could manage) for infielder Buck Herzog, the Reds' current manager. This was Herzog's third go-round with the Giants, as he had been traded away twice before because the two hotheads couldn't get along. But they realized that together they were practically unstoppable, so they agreed to disagree, and Herzog was back.
Days later, McGraw also bought Harry "Slim" Sallee from the St. Louis Cardinals. Sallee is still considered one of the best pitchers in Cardinals franchise history
despite playing for them when they were at their worst. In June Sallee had announced his retirement, left the team and went home. It was widely considered as a ruse to get traded, but in
those days that was about the only thing he could have done.
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Harry "Slim" Sallee, 1913 |
Several teams tried to trade for
him, but the Cardinals rebuffed all offers. Finally, McGraw and the Giants
offered to buy Sallee, and that offer the then-notoriously frugal Cardinals
accepted. It was widely reported and believed that McGraw illegally encouraged
Sallee to retire, and National League President John Tener said that "No
other deal like that will be sanctioned while I am in office,” because heaven
forbid a player would be allowed to choose where he could play. The league
quickly passed a rule saying that a player could not threaten retirement in
order to force a trade. (Imagine the field day Marvin Miller would have had
with that one.)
The Giants did okay for a bit but then sucked again. In late August, McGraw traded first baseman Fred Merkle (yes, that one) to the Dodgers for catcher Lew McCarty.
And on August 28th, McGraw made the trade that made every other team really, really mad.
Heinie Zimmerman was the best third baseman in the league, now that Honus Wagner was old. But the Cubs' struggles this season had “The Great Zim”
frustrated, like Slim Sallee had been in St. Louis. McGraw traded second baseman "Laughing" Larry Doyle (a key mman on the 1911, '12 and '13 pennant winners) for Zim, who at the time of the trade he
was in the midst of a 10-day suspension by the Cubs.
Zimmerman been suspected of laying
down on the job for much of the season, and even throwing a few games during
his career to support his lifestyle. He cared so little about his finances he
reportedly never collected a paycheck, instead asking the club treasurer for
ten or twenty bucks until he was told he could have no more until the next time
the rest of the team actually got paid.
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"The Great Zim," 1917 |
The National League saw what McGraw was doing-
stockpiling players right now for a pennant run the next season. All three of
the pennant contenders- the Phillies, Dodgers and Braves were within four games
of each other- thought their chances to take the flag could be in danger
because of this new Giants team.
The Zim trade put Herzog back at his natural position, second base, and the Giants now had a tremendously defensive infield with Herzog, Zim, and Art Fletcher (best shortstop in the league by WAR that year).
In the off-season Philadelphia Phillies president William
Baker proposed the first-ever trade deadline of July 31st. This was in direct
response to McGraw making trades through August that ultimately resulted in the
26-game win streak- and Philly missing out on their second straight pennant
when the Giants beat them four straight during the rampage.
The resolution passed unanimously. The trade
deadline has been the last day of July ever since. It is the lasting legacy of
the 1916 New York Giants.
Want more on that team? You could read this. But really, you should just buy the book.
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McGraw, aka "Little Napoleon" |
Photos courtesy: Bain Collection/Library of Congress
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