Walter "Dutch" Reuther Started the 1919 WS Opener Because He Could Hit

The Chicago White Sox were highly favored to defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1919 World Series. In the opening game played at Cincinnati, the home team gave the visitors the worst first game defeat in World Series history, trouncing the White Sox 9-1.

White Sox ace Ed Cicotte couldn’t get through the fourth inning, which was unusual for the 29-game winner who led the American League with 30 complete games (wink, wink).

Reds starter Walter “Dutch” Reuther went the distance, limiting the White Sox to one run and six hits. In four plate appearances, the left-hander also hit two triples, a single, walked and drove in three runs.

Few expected Reuther to put on such a dominant performance. Known as an erratic left-hander, he walked only one White Sox batter. Originally a Chicago Cub, the Reds obtained Reuther when Christy Mathewson recommended him.

Mathewson related how he had seen Reuther hit a bases loaded pinch hit triple at Redland Field, the Reds home park, to tie a game in the ninth inning. After the game, Matty spoke to Cubs second baseman Larry Doyle.

“What kind of pitcher is that left-hander?” he asked Doyle.

“Well,” said Doyle, “he has a good fastball and a pretty good slow curve, but he is wild.”

A few weeks later, the Cubs put Reuther on waivers and the Reds claimed him.

It might seem strange today, but Reds manager Pat Moran picked Reuther to pitch the first game of the Series because the 19-game winner was a better hitter than Slim Sallee, who won 21 games.

When Mathewson was asked during the game, before the Reds exploded for five runs in the fourth inning, if he thought Cicotte was right, Mathewson responded that he thought he wasn’t.

“No, because if he had his usual stuff the Reds would be making more foul tips.”

It is almost impossible to determine why a player is under-performing. Although there had been rumors Cicotte had a sore arm, the rumors were never substantiated.

He worked over 300 innings during the season and his poor performance was attributed to fatigue, but he was rested for the last two weeks of the season.

Eliot Asinof,  in Eight Men Out, speculated that Cicotte was rested to prevent him from winning 30 games and receiving a bonus. The fact is Cicotte won his 29th game on Sept. 19 and started again on Sept. 24, but he pitched poorly.

It is possible that in 1917, Cicotte was rested for the remainder of the season after winning his 28th game.

Mathewson pointed out that White Sox manager Kid Gleason thought Cicotte was fine because when Shano Collins opened the game with a single, Gleason had Collins, one of the game’s great hitters, bunt. Gleason thought that one or two runs would be enough to win.

Money was the reason that some of the White Sox players didn’t try their hardest.

One benefit of today’s multi-year, multi-million dollar player contracts is that no player is crazy enough to be tempted to emulate some the 1919 White Sox. Many players today might not hustle all the time, but they are trying, maybe not their best, to win.

References:

Reds rout White Sox in opening game of series. (1919, Oct 02). New York Times (1857-1922), pp. 1-1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/100365320?accountid=46260

"Hitting power of the reds will carry team to victory"--matty. (1919, Oct 02). New York Times (1857-1922), pp. 13. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/100366087?accountid=46260