Strange But True: Pitcher’s Nightmare

In baseball there is no clock. A pro basketball game lasts 48 minutes; hockey and football games last 60 minutes. But, as the old saying goes, in baseball the game (or the inning) isn’t over until the final out. A game on May 21, 1952, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers proved the old saying true.

Third baseman Billy Cox was the first Brooklyn batter in the first inning. He grounded out. Now there were only two outs left. But then the fun began. Shortstop Pee Wee Reese drew a walk from pitcher Ewell Blackwell, and Duke Snider powered a homer over the right-field scoreboard. Then Jackie “Shotgun” Shuba singled. Robinson scored. The Dodgers were ahead, 3-0, and there were still two men on. It wasn’t a good way for the Reds to start a game, but there was till time to save the situation. They sent Blackwell to the showers and brought Bud Byerly in to pitch.

The Dodgers tried a double steal, but it didn’t work. Pafko was put out at third base–the second out of the inning. The Reds relaxed a little–only one more out was needed.

The next batter, Gil Hodges, walked. Rube Walker singled, and Shuba scored the Dodgers’ fourth run. Chris Van Cuyk, the Dodger pitcher, singled, scoring Hodges. Billy Cox, up for the second time in the inning, singled, scoring Walker. Reese singled, scoring Van Cuyk. Now it was 7-0, and the Reds changed pitchers again. Herm Wehmeier replaced Byerly.

Wehmeier couldn’t get anyone out either. Snider walked to load the bases and Wehmeier hit Robinson with a pitch, forcing in a run. Pafko singled, driving in two more. Frank Smith came in to relieve Wehmeier. It was 10-0.

Smith walked his first batter, George Shuba, loading the bases again. Then he walked Hodges, forcing in another run. Walker singled, scoring two more. Then Van Cuyk singled, driving in the 14th run of the inning. Smith was pitching as poorly as the three earlier Reds pitchers, but there was no sense in bringing in another pitcher now. The Reds would just have to play the inning to the bitter end.

Billy Cox came to bat for the third time and was hit by a pitch to reload the bases. Reese walked, forcing in run number 15. Finally, Smith got the ball over the plate often enough to strike out Snider and end the slaughter.

As the Dodgers took the field, sportswriters had a chance to review the statistics. It was almost unbelievable. The half-inning had lasted one hour. Twenty-one batters had gotten ten hits and seven walks, and two batters had been hit by a pitched ball. Fifteen runs had scored and three men were left on base.

The following day the New York Times printed some of the records Brooklyn had broken in that half-inning:

Most runs scored in one inning (15)

Most runs scored in the first inning (15)

Most runs scored with two out (12)

Most batters to bat in one inning (21)

Most batters to reach base safely in a row (19)

The last record may be the most amazing of all. Only the first batter and the last had not gotten on base safely. The 19 batters in between had all made it–even the man who was put out on the basepaths for the second out. The Times confessed it couldn’t be sure that 19 batters in a row was a record. But if any major league team ever did better, no one remembers the occasion.

From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.

https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-21-1952-dodgers-rout-reds-15-run-first-inning