I cannot imagine a bigger fan of the Eastern Shore of Maryland than Mr. Connie Mack. That small spit of land supplied him a hero in 1911 in the form of one Mr. Frank “Home Run” Baker, and it has done so again in this World Series. Jimmie Foxx is the pride of Sudlersville, and in fact his first ever baseball gig was playing for Mr. Baker himself in Maryland. Baker, whose beef with Mack has long since past, informed his former skipper of the Double X’s hitting prowess, and Mack signed him to play first base. The 21-year old man child had his break out year this season this year, knocking 33 balls over the wall and supplying 118 RBIs to boot.
And now he’s a World Series hero. After knocking a ball over the bricks in Game 1 to score the first run of the Series, he returned in Game 2 and opened the scoring yet again. This time it was a 3-run shot off of Pat Malone in the 3rd inning that cast a pall over Wrigley Field and kickstarted the Mackmen on a cold windy day in which they’d gun down the Cubs 9-3 to take a 2 Games to 0 Series lead. And Foxx wasn’t finished, as he later hit a single and a double. It’s been a hell of a week for Jimmie, whose wife Helen gave birth to Jimmie, Jr. on October 3rd. She and the baby have listened to their breadwinner’s heroics via radio in a hospital room in Dover, DE.
Of course, Jimmie wasn’t the only hero of Game 2. Al Simmons sent a rocket shot into the bleachers top of the 8th inning to finish off the Bruins and supply the final score.
As far as pitching, it goes without saying that the Cubs’ Pat Malone was sent to the showers early. On the A’s side, George Earnshaw ran into a bit of trouble in the 5th inning, giving up 3 runs, and Mack wasted no time calling in Lefty Grove from the bullpen. Grove cruised through the 2nd half of the game. Pre-Series talk that the Cubs righties would pound a man named Lefty was proved to be bologna.
Game 3 will be played in Philadelphia on Friday, and to hear Foxx talk of it after the game, it will be little more than a coronation for the best team in baseball. “Having hit the best pitchers the Cubs have to offer, it looks to me as though the result of the Series is a foregone conclusion. Our aim now is to take four straight.” Ah, the swagger of youth. 21-years old, a new father, and a World Series hero. Perhaps someone should ask Jimmie Foxx what the view is like from the top of the world.
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