Hooks & Runs · A podcast about baseball, music and culture.

281 - "A Most Dramatic Diamond Struggle"

·48 min·3 clips

Eddie Rommel threw 17 innings and still had to face Earl Averill, Joe Vosnick, and Ed Morgan.

1. Hooks & Runs focuses on the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians game played at League Park in Cleveland on July 10, 1932. 2. Craig and Rex host the show, and Thomas Kern is mentioned as the guest from the previous episode about three Negro League pitchers born in Texas. 3. The episode asks how a 1932 game could turn into an 18-inning, 18-17 finish after both teams traveled on trains and carried partial rosters. 4. Connie Mack’s Athletics were coming off a 107-45 season in 1931 and were still built around Jimmy Foxx, Max Bishop, Mickey Cochrane, and Lefty Grove. 5. The hosts explain that Sunday baseball was not allowed in Pennsylvania, so the A’s often played one game in another city before returning home. 6. They describe multiple 1932 trips in which Philadelphia played in three cities over four days, including April 23 to April 26 and May 29 to June 1. 7. The show ties the heavy schedule to frequent doubleheaders, rainouts, and games postponed because fields were too cold or too wet to play. 8. The A’s also moved a July 2 doubleheader because they wanted to play an exhibition game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on August 15. 9. The Cleveland Indians entered the game with a 43-35 record and Roger Peckinpah as manager. 10. Cleveland started Clint Brown, a 29-year-old right-hander from Black Ash, Pennsylvania, who had a 3.93 ERA and seven days of rest. 11. Philadelphia started Lou Kraus, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania native with only his third major league start and a 6.12 ERA. 12. The first inning featured RBI hits by Jimmy Foxx and Al Simmons, then Earl Averill answered with a three-run homer over League Park’s short right-field porch. 13. Connie Mack removed Kraus after one inning and turned to Eddie Rommel, who had pitched on July 8 and July 9 and entered with no other relief available. 14. Johnny Burnett kept driving Cleveland’s offense, eventually collecting nine hits and helping the Indians build and rebuild leads throughout the afternoon. 15. Jimmy Foxx hit three home runs in the game, while Al Simmons, Jimmy Dykes, Earl Averill, Bill Cassell, and Ed Morgan all drove in runs. 16. Rommel’s most unusual mistake came when he tried to let a pop-up fall for a double play and instead threw the ball away, allowing a run to score. 17. The game stayed tied through the 15th inning despite 35 combined runs, 58 combined hits, and 10,000 people reportedly remaining in the stands. 18. Rommel and Wes Farrell both kept working deep into extra innings, and the hosts describe the 16th through 18th innings as a test of tired arms and tired legs. 19. Listeners who like dead-ball-era travel, box-score chaos, and baseball history will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners who want a short, modern, stats-light recap may skip it.

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