Chicago Cubs

<h3>"Tinker to Evers to Chance"</h3>
<p data-rte-fromparser="true"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Joe%20Tinker%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Joe%20Tinker%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJoe%20Tinker%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Joe_Tinker" title="Joe Tinker">Joe Tinker</a> (SS), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Johnny%20Evers%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Johnny%20Evers%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJohnny%20Evers%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Johnny_Evers" title="Johnny Evers">Johnny Evers</a> (2B) and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Frank%20Chance%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Frank%20Chance%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFrank%20Chance%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Frank_Chance" title="Frank Chance">Frank Chance</a> (1B) were three legendary Cubs infielders, who played together from <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221903%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221903%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1903%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1903" title="1903">1903</a>-<a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221910%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221910%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1910%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1910" title="1910">1910</a>, and sporadically over the following two years. They, along with third baseman <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Harry%20Steinfeldt%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Harry%20Steinfeldt%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BHarry%20Steinfeldt%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Harry Steinfeldt (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvSGFycnlfU3RlaW5mZWxkdD9hY3Rpb249ZWRpdCZyZWRsaW5rPTE=">Harry Steinfeldt</a>, formed the nucleus of one of the most dominant baseball teams of all time. After Chance took over as manager for the ailing Frank Selee in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221905%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221905%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1905%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1905" title="1905">1905</a>, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over a five-year span. Their record of 116 victories in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221906%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221906%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1906%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1906" title="1906">1906</a> (in a 154-game season) has not been broken, though it was tied by the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Seattle%20Mariners%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Seattle%20Mariners%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSeattle%20Mariners%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Seattle_Mariners" title="Seattle Mariners">Seattle Mariners</a> in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%222001%22%2C%22link%22%3A%222001%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B2001%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/2001" title="2001">2001</a>, in a 162-game season. As with 1880, extrapolating is statistically questionable, but the Cubs' 116-36 percentage of 1906 equates to 123 wins in 162 games. Curiously, both of those teams were so far in front that they seemingly lost their edge, and fell in the post-season.
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">The Cubs again relied on dominant pitching during this period, featuring hurlers such as <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Mordecai%20%5C%22Three-Finger%5C%22%20Brown%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Mordecai%20Brown%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BMordecai%20Brown%7CMordecai%20%5C%22Three-Finger%5C%22%20Brown%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Mordecai_Brown" title="Mordecai Brown">Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown</a>, <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Jack%20Taylor%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Jack%20Taylor%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJack%20Taylor%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Jack Taylor (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvSmFja19UYXlsb3I/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">Jack Taylor</a>, <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Ed%20Reulbach%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Ed%20Reulbach%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BEd%20Reulbach%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Ed Reulbach (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvRWRfUmV1bGJhY2g/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">Ed Reulbach</a>, <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Jack%20Pfiester%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Jack%20Pfiester%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJack%20Pfiester%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Jack_Pfiester" title="Jack Pfiester">Jack Pfiester</a> and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Orval%20Overall%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Orval%20Overall%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BOrval%20Overall%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Orval_Overall" title="Orval Overall">Orval Overall</a>, who posted a record for lowest staff <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22earned%20run%20average%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22earned%20run%20average%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bearned%20run%20average%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Earned_run_average" title="Earned run average">earned run average</a> that still stands today. Reulbach threw a one-hitter in the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221906%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221906%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1906%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1906" title="1906">1906</a> <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22World%20Series%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22World%20Series%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BWorld%20Series%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/World_Series" title="World Series">World Series</a>, one of a small handful of twirlers to pitch low-hit games in the post-season (another was Claude Passeau of the Cubs' <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221945%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221945%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1945%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1945" title="1945">1945</a> squad). Brown acquired his unique and indelicate nickname from having lost most of his index finger in farm machinery when he was a youngster. This gave him the ability to put a natural extra spin on his pitches, which often frustrated opposing batters.
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">However, the infield also attained fame, after turning a critical double play against the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22New%20York%20Giants%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22New%20York%20Giants%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BNew%20York%20Giants%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/New_York_Giants" title="New York Giants" class="mw-redirect">New York Giants</a> in a July 1910 game. The trio was immortalized in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Franklin%20P.%20Adams%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Franklin%20P.%20Adams%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFranklin%20P.%20Adams%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Franklin P. Adams (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvRnJhbmtsaW5fUC5fQWRhbXM/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">Franklin P. Adams</a>' poem <i>Baseball's Sad <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Lexicon%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Lexicon%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BLexicon%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Lexicon (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvTGV4aWNvbj9hY3Rpb249ZWRpdCZyZWRsaW5rPTE=">Lexicon</a></i>, which first appeared in the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22July%2018%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22July%2018%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJuly%2018%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/July_18" title="July 18">July 18</a>, <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221910%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221910%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1910%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1910" title="1910">1910</a> edition of the <i><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22New%20York%20Evening%20Mail%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22New%20York%20Evening%20Mail%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BNew%20York%20Evening%20Mail%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="New York Evening Mail (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvTmV3X1lvcmtfRXZlbmluZ19NYWlsP2FjdGlvbj1lZGl0JnJlZGxpbms9MQ==">New York Evening Mail</a></i>:
</p>
<dl data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"><dd>These are the saddest of possible words:
</dd><dd>"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
</dd><dd>Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
</dd><dd>Tinker and Evers and Chance.
</dd><dd>Ruthlessly pricking our <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22gonfalon%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22gonfalon%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bgonfalon%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Gonfalon (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvR29uZmFsb24/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">gonfalon</a> bubble,
</dd><dd>Making a Giant hit into a double--
</dd><dd>Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
</dd><dd>"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
</dd></dl>
<p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">The fourth line is sometimes misquoted as also reading "Tinker to Evers to Chance". Also, in the still-in-modern-usage expression "Tinker to Evers to Chance", meaning a well-oiled routine or a "sure thing", people tend to pronounce it "EH-verz", when the proper pronunciation was "EE-verz".
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Tinker and Evers reportedly could not stand each other, and rarely spoke off the field. Evers, a high-strung, argumentative man, suffered a nervous breakdown in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221911%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221911%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1911%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1911" title="1911">1911</a> and rarely played that year. Chance suffered a near-fatal beaning the same year. The trio played together little after that. In <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221913%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221913%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1913%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1913" title="1913">1913</a>, Chance went to manage the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22New%20York%20Yankees%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22New%20York%20Yankees%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BNew%20York%20Yankees%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/New_York_Yankees" title="New York Yankees">New York Yankees</a> and Tinker went to <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Cincinnati%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Cincinnati%2C%20Ohio%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BCincinnati%2C%20Ohio%7CCincinnati%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" class="new" title="Cincinnati, Ohio (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvQ2luY2lubmF0aSxfT2hpbz9hY3Rpb249ZWRpdCZyZWRsaW5rPTE=">Cincinnati</a> to manage the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Reds%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Cincinnati%20Reds%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BCincinnati%20Reds%7CReds%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Cincinnati_Reds" title="Cincinnati Reds">Reds</a>, and that was the end of one of the most notable infields in baseball. They were inducted into the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Baseball%20Hall%20of%20Fame%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Baseball%20Hall%20of%20Fame%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BBaseball%20Hall%20of%20Fame%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/Baseball_Hall_of_Fame" title="Baseball Hall of Fame" class="mw-redirect">Baseball Hall of Fame</a> together in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%221946%22%2C%22link%22%3A%221946%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B1946%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="560-14601121415de9cefe8f952" href="/wiki/1946" title="1946">1946</a>. Tinker and Evers reportedly became amicable in their old age, with the baseball wars far behind them.
</p><p />
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