July 9, 1910: Larry McLean leads Cincinnati to 14-inning win over Brooklyn

The darkness descending on Cincinnati’s Palace of the Fans made it clear that the Cincinnati Reds would have to score in the bottom of the 14th to avoid a 3-3 tie with the Brooklyn Superbas on July 9, 1910.1 Catcher John “Larry” McLean, who had sparked the Reds’ two-run second inning and completely shut down Brooklyn’s running game, led off the 14th.2 The 6-foot-5 McLean drove a pitch into the left-center-field corner – roughly 418 feet from home plate – and easily pulled into third with a triple.3

One out later, third-string catcher Frank Roth poked a pinch-hit single into left field, driving in pinch-runner Ward Miller with the winning run. The clutch hits by McLean and Roth made a winner of starter Jack Rowan and gave the Reds their fifth victory in six games, nudging them four games over the .500 mark.

McLean had joined Cincinnati late in the 1906 season; by the following spring, he was the team’s starting catcher.4 The Fredericton, New Brunswick, native had a breakout 1909 campaign in which he had established himself as one of the best catchers in the big leagues.5 McLean had also taken on a leadership role with the Reds, filling in as team captain for six weeks in 1909 when Hans Lobert was out of the lineup.6 McLean even piloted the team for a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates after manager Clark Griffith was suspended for a heated argument with umpire Bob Emslie in late July.7

McLean’s 1909 season ended abruptly when Roy Thomas of the Boston Doves fractured his kneecap in a nasty home-plate collision on August 15, forcing him to miss the last 52 games.8 “[McLean] is undoubtedly the greatest throwing catcher in the business today and there is no better backstop, to say nothing of his hitting, which is powerful,” wrote Jack Ryder in the Cincinnati Enquirer.9

Ryder was not alone in his assessment of McLean’s abilities. In the fall of 1909, Griffith was asked to select a major-league all-star team that he thought could beat the one chosen by Cap Anson in a recent edition of Collier’s magazine.10 Anson had selected George Gibson of the Pirates as his starting catcher, but Griffith was adamant that McLean was the best of them all. “Gibson is faster on his feet, but excels McLean in no other department of the game,” he opined. “McLean throws to bases better than Gibson.”11

The 1910 season got off to a rocky start for the 28-year-old McLean. One night during spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas, McLean went out drinking and didn’t return to the team’s hotel until 4 A.M.12 The Reds, citing the “anti-drink clause” in his contract, voided the agreement.13 The club had him sign a new contract with a much smaller monthly salary and a sizable bonus at the end of the season for staying sober.14 The Reds also suspended him without pay for the first week of the regular season.15

A repentant McLean penned a letter of apology to the Cincinnati fans. “I am in perfect condition and ready to catch every game in which I am needed,” he wrote. “I want the fans to understand that I mean business in this statement, and have made up my mind to make this the best year of my career.”16

The Reds had finished at least 26 games out of first place in the previous five seasons, although it looked as though they might finish closer to the top in 1910. Cincinnati came into the July 9 contest – the opener of a lengthy 18-game homestand − tied with the Pirates for third place, eight games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs.17

Brooklyn, a second-division team for the previous seven seasons, was in sixth place with a 30-37 record, 13 games out of first.

The Superbas sent veteran George Bell to the hill. Bell had won his last three starts, raising his record to 6-10.18 He faced another righty, the 24-year-old Rowan, for the third time in 1910. Rowan had tossed shutouts in both of his previous starts against the hard-luck Bell, winning by scores of 1-0 and 3-0.19 The Reds hurler had a 5-2 mark in 11 starts and 8 relief appearances.

Early in this game, Rowan was the pitcher with the bad luck. He gave up two unearned runs in the first inning on a Texas Leaguer, a bunt single, two errors, and a fly ball.20 Brooklyn added another unearned run in the second on a two-base error by first baseman Dick Hoblitzell, his second error of the game, and an RBI single by rookie Jack Dalton.

The Reds cut into the three-run deficit in the bottom of the second. An infield single by Dode Paskert and a walk to third baseman Tom Downey, playing for an injured Lobert, put a pair of runners on base for McLean.21 On a hit-and-run play, McLean singled to drive in Paskert and advance Downey to third. The next batter, Tommy McMillan, flied out to center field, allowing Downey to tag up and score. Brooklyn led, 3-2.

Cincinnati left fielder Bob Bescher opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk, the fourth issued by Bell in the game. Bescher stole second – his league-leading 33rd steal of the season – and one out later he took third on a groundout.22 Slugger Mike Mitchell, who finished second in the National League with 88 RBIs, tied the game with a two-out double to left.

Both pitchers cruised through the next four innings. Bell allowed two hits and Rowan just one, with neither pitcher issuing a walk in the four frames. The game went into extra innings tied, 3-3.

Brooklyn loaded the bases in the 10th on a leadoff single, a two-out hit-by-pitch, and an intentional walk, Rowan’s first free pass of the game.23 Rowan escaped the jam by retiring rookie Bill Davidson on a popup.

Cincinnati put runners on the corners with two out in the 10th, but the inning ended when Bescher was thrown out attempting to steal home.

Brooklyn threatened again in the 11th after Rowan issued a pair of one-out walks. He quickly recovered and set down the next nine batters he faced.

The Superbas’ 33-year-old spitballer Irvin “Kaiser” Wilhelm,24 who came on in relief of Bell in the 11th,25 limited the Reds to a single in each of his first three innings of work.

McLean led off the 14th inning with a steady rain falling and little daylight remaining.26 He slammed a Wilhelm offering deep into left-center field for a triple, putting the potential winning run on third base with nobody out. The speedy Miller ran for McLean and one out later the rarely used Roth, pinch-hitting for Rowan, ended the game with a solid single between the shortstop and third baseman.27

Rowan earned his sixth win of the season, three of which had come against Brooklyn. He held the Superbas to three runs − none of which were earned – on eight singles, three walks, and two hit-by-pitches in 14 innings. He struck out four batters. “If Mr. Rowan had only the Brooklyns to pitch against he would make Mordecai Brown look like a minor leaguer,” quipped the Cincinnati Enquirer.28

The win pulled Cincinnati to within seven games of the first-place Cubs, but the Reds went a disappointing 8-10 on their homestand and fell out of the pennant race in late July. Cincinnati finished in fifth place with 75-79-2 record, leaving the team a whopping 29 games behind the NL champion Cubs.29

McLean followed through on the commitment he made in his letter of apology to the Cincinnati fans in early April. He was indeed ready whenever Griffith called upon him. After his suspension for the first four games of the season, McLean played in 127 of the Reds’ final 150 games. He also had the best season of his career, finishing ninth in the NL with 71 RBIs and 12th in the batting race with a .298 average, and flashing elite defense for the second consecutive season.30 His 4.1 Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR) led all major-league catchers in 1910. (Gibson was second with 3.2 bWAR.)

McLean had another good season in 1911, although there were rumors that his drinking issues had resurfaced.31 He finally wore out his welcome in Cincinnati in September 1912 when he got into a heated argument with first-year manager Hank O’Day after missing an exhibition game in Syracuse.32 McLean was suspended indefinitely and his contract was sold to the floundering St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason.33 He continued to struggle with his use of alcohol and was out of baseball by the summer of 1915.

Despite his alcohol issues, McLean was still one of the best catchers in the NL during the Deadball Era.34 In his peak five years (1907-11), he accumulated 12.7 bWAR, more than all major-league catchers other than future Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan.35 From 1901 to 2024, McLean ranks sixth all-time in bWAR among Cincinnati Reds catchers.36

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, Stathead.com, Seamheads Ballparks Database, and the SABR biographies of Larry McLean and Irvin “Kaiser” Wilhelm. Unless otherwise noted, all detailed play-by-play information for this game was taken from the article “Brooklyns Lose to Reds in Fourteenth Inning” in the July 10, 1910, edition of the Brooklyn Standard Union.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN191007090.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1910/B07090CIN1910.htm   

Photo credit

The photo of Larry McLean is courtesy of the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 “Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 10, 1910: 19.

2 McLean threw out Jack Dalton in the second inning and 22-year-old Zack Wheat in the third; both were attempting to steal second base. There were no more stolen-base attempts by Brooklyn in the game.

3 Palace of the Fans was a triples haven. According to the Seamheads Ballparks Database, its one-year park factor for triples was 175, the highest in the majors. But the Palace of the Fans was the NL’s most difficult park in which to hit a homer – its one-year park factor for homers was 42. Jack Ryder, “Stickers,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 10, 1910: 19.

4 McLean had previously played in nine major-league games for the Boston Americans in 1901, one game for the Chicago Cubs in 1903, and 27 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904. The Reds purchased his contract from the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League late in the 1906 season.

5 Despite McLean’s missing the final 52 games of the 1909 season with an injury, only two major-league catchers amassed more Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement (bWAR) than McLean’s 2.9 bWAR: George Gibson of the Pittsburgh Pirates (4.7 bWAR) and Bill Carrigan of the Boston Red Sox (3.4 bWAR).

6 Lobert was out of the lineup from June 17 to July 3 with malaria and again from July 18 to Aug 11 with a sprained ankle. Jack Ryder, “Long Bob,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 19, 1909: 8; Jack Ryder, “Lobert,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 20, 1909: 8.

7 The argument occurred in Philadelphia in the second game of a twin bill on July 24, 1909. Griffith was suspended for the three games in Pittsburgh on July 26-28. “Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 27, 1909: 4; “Phillies Share Up With the Reds,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 25, 1909: 20.

8 Jack Ryder, “Our Boys,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 1909: 8.

9 Jack Ryder, “Double-Header Briefs,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 1909: 8.

10 “Old Cap Anson Picks an All-American Ball Team,” Butte (Montana) Evening News, October 14, 1909: 3.

11 Griffith chose only one other position player from his team: right fielder Mike Mitchell. The other seven position players selected by him were first baseman Hal Chase, second baseman Johnny Evers, shortstop Joe Tinker, third baseman Tommy Leach, center fielder Tris Speaker, and left fielder Fred Clarke. “Clark Griffith Picks All-Star Team Which He Says Is Better Than Cap Anson’s,” Cincinnati Post, October 20, 1909: 6.

12 Jack Ryder, “Larry Is No Longer a Red,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 27, 1910: 18.

13 “‘I Wouldn’t Give Thirty Cents for McLean,’ Says Dreyfuss,” Cincinnati Post, March 28, 1910: 6.

14 The Cincinnati Enquirer suggested that if McLean stayed sober for the remainder of the season, he would be paid the same amount as in his original contract. “Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 10, 1910: 18.

15 McLean missed only four games because three contests in the first week of the season were rained out.

16 “Notes of the Game,” Cincinnati Enquirer, April 9, 1910: 8.

17 Cincinnati had a record of 36-33 and one tie.

18 Bell finished the 1910 season with a major-league-leading 27 losses despite posting a 2.64 ERA (114 ERA+). He won only 10 games.

19 Rowan tossed a two-hit shutout in the 1-0 win on June 6 and a six-hit shutout in the 3-0 win on May 14. Bell threw a complete game both times.

20 The runs scored on an error by Cincinnati first baseman Dick Hoblitzell and a fly ball by Bill Davidson. Ryder, “Stickers.”

21 Lobert injured his wrist on June 4. He did not return to the starting lineup until August 16. Unlike in 1909, McLean did not fill in for Lobert as team captain; that role was given to Mike Mitchell. Jack Ryder, “Hard Week Ahead for the Redlegs,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 6, 1910: 8; Ryder, “Stickers.”

22 Bescher added two more stolen bases in the game: he swiped second base in the seventh inning and third base in the 10th.

23 Rowan walked John Hummel to get to rookie Bill Davidson. “Superbas Lose to the Reds in Great 14-Inning Game,” Brooklyn Citizen, July 10, 1910: 5.

24 In his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1903, Wilhelm helped set a NL/AL team record of 56 consecutive scoreless innings. Wilhelm had been fighting typhoid fever for most of the 1910 season. He pitched in only two more games for Brooklyn. The Superbas learned of his typhoid fever diagnosis near the beginning of August. Typhoid fever is highly contagious. “Phillies Take Final Game; Two Games To-Day with Cardinals,” Brooklyn Standard Union, August 2, 1910: 6.

25 Bell was removed in the top of the 11th for a pinch-hitter. He gave up three earned runs on six hits and four walks in 10 innings. He struck out just one batter.

26 Ryder, “Stickers.”

27 Roth made only 31 plate appearances in 1910. His walk-off single on July 9 was the last hit and RBI of his six-year career in the majors. Roth went 0-for-12 for the rest of season and never played in the big leagues again. Ryder, “Stickers.”

28 Rowan shut out Brooklyn again on August 24. He finished the season with a 5-1 record vs. the Superbas and 9-12 against the other NL teams. Ryder, “Stickers.”

29 Brooklyn finished the season in sixth place with a 64-90-2 record.

30 In 1910 McLean was second in the NL fielding percentage for a catcher (.983) and caught-stealing percentage (53 percent). He tied for the major-league lead in double plays by a catcher (18).

31 “Reds a Disappointment,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 28, 1911: 6; “Along the Base Lines,” New Castle (Pennsylvania) Herald, August 8, 1911: 2.

32 O’Day umpired in 3,985 regular-season games in the majors between 1884 and 1927. He was on his first of two one-year umpiring hiatuses in 1912. O’Day also managed the Chicago Cubs in 1914.

33 O’Day suspended McLean for insubordination. Jack Ryder, “Long Larry Through with the Reds,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 11, 1912: 8.

34 McLean’s 12.9 bWAR between 1901 and 1920 ranks him seventh among NL players who appeared in at least 50 percent of their games at catcher. Bresnahan led with 42 bWAR.

35 Bresnahan accumulated 17.7 bWAR from 1907 to 1911.

36 The top six Cincinnati Reds catchers, as measured by total bWAR from 1901 to 2024, were Johnny Bench (75.1 bWAR from 1967 to 1983), Ernie Lombardi (26.0 bWAR from 1932 to 1941), Ed Bailey (18.7 bWAR from 1953 to 1961), Bubbles Hargrave (16.8 bWAR from 1921 to 1928), Ivey Wingo (13.8 bWAR from 1915 to 1929), and Larry McLean (13.7 bWAR from 1906 to 1912). Wingo was above replacement level (i.e., his bWAR was greater than zero), but had a Wins Above Average (WAA) that was zero or negative in five of his 13 seasons with the Reds. As measured by WAA, McLean was the fifth best Reds catcher between 1901 and 2024. McLean had 6.2 WAA with Cincinnati, while Wingo had just 2.7 WAA.