Belt grab: Legendary Baltimore Orioles third baseman John McGraw played in the rough-and-tumble era of the 1890s. There was only one umpire per game in this era, and he couldn't see everything. McGraw used to grab the belt of the runner on third, or try to trip him or knock him down, when there was a hit to the outfield and the umpire's back was turned. In a humorous aside, note the time that Louisville's Pete Browning, aware of McGraw's tricks, was on third when a sacrifice fly was lofted into the outfield. Browning quickly unbuckled his belt. McGraw, who didn't know it was unbuckled, grabbed the back of the belt. After tagging up, Browning scored easily. McGraw was left at third, alone and embarrassed, gripping the belt.
So hated was Ty Cobb that, on the 1910 season's final day, when he was neck-and-neck with Napoleon Lajoie for the American League batting crown, the St. Louis Browns' third baseman played his position as far back as feasible to help Lajoie back into the batting crown by letting him drop bunts guaranteed to be beaten out for hits. Fat lot of good that did. The actual race ended in a dead heat, but American League president Ban Johnson, "seeking an essential truth in lieu of true facts," as Bill James phrased it, "made up a couple of extra hits for Cobb and declared him the champion, anyway."
Mickey Mantle's fondest desire at the end of the line, in 1968, was to finish ahead of Jimmie Foxx on the all-time home run list. Denny McLain, who pretty much had his 31st win in his hip pocket, decided to make Mantle's wish come true.(Brings to mind Farve and the fetal position for the sack record) "He's told me to tell you what's coming," Detroit catcher Bill Freehan told the Commerce Comet as he approached the plate. "He wants you to get it." Mantle simply waggled his bat at the spot where he most liked to connect, McLain obliged, and Mantle drove one into the Tiger Stadium upper deck. (The on-deck hitter, Joe Pepitone, not hearing the original exchange, though McLain was in such a good mood that he might get a groove pitch to hit. Pepitone waggled his bat to the spot where he liked to connect.and McLain smashed three straight unhittable fastballs past him.)
In Game 2 of the '91 World Series, Kent Hrbek blatantly pulls Ron Gant off first base and applies the tag, while first base umpire Vince McMahon calls Gant out. Hrbek, with his back to the ump, used an elegant maneuver involving his hip, thigh and glove to get sufficient leverage to pull Gant off, making it appear to the ump behind him that Gant's momentum carried him off, but making his intentions obvious to viewers who got a perfect angle from the third base line camera.The cheat proved costly for the Braves, who lost the game by one run and lost the series in seven games.
Another elaborate tale of deception is not from the players or coaches, but from a grounds crew. They can do as much to affect the outcome of a game as anyone else out there. For instance, the popular example is of the famous family of groudskeepers, the Bossards. Their family started in the 1920's when Emil Bossard would move back the portable fences as a Cleveland Indians' groudskeeper to nullify the distinct power advantage that the Yankees had. Then his son, Gene, would take it a step further. He would "freeze" balls, keeping them in a room with a humidifier for a period of almost two weeks, which would subsequently make them heavier and less likely to travel further than a normal ball. Then his son, Roger, was actually the one who made the basepaths softer and, thereby, harder to steal bases from and stretch long plays out for an extra base.
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