Tom Parrott’s Near-Perfect Game
Seattle’s star pitcher shuts down Spokane batters for eight innings in a dominant performance at the ballpark.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Splendid all-around work that made the play of Ollie Beard’s men seem in comparison like that of amateurs brought easy victory to the Seattle team yesterday. Tom Parrott put a veto on the first step toward a run for eight innings. Only one man had reached first, and he on balls. In the ninth, however, the tall pitcher, after Klopf had spoiled the wonderful record by the first safe hit, grew careless. Although too late to afford any hope of winning the game, the Spokane batters took advantage of the opportunity to make the acquaintance of the ball and rapped it out hard enough to bring in four runs. The batting streak of the home team kept on growing, assuming gigantic proportions. Tom Parrott led the stick work with a single, a double and a triple. Danny Minnehan showed his ability at second base until an unfortunate accident caused his retirement; while at bat in the third inning, a swift inshoot struck the back of his left hand, bruising it severely.
“For eight innings better ball was never pitched.”
In 1892, professional baseball was still finding its footing in the Pacific Northwest, with local teams often shifting leagues and rosters frequently. Today, professional baseball in Seattle is anchored in the corporate stability of the Mariners, a stark contrast to this era of 'amateur' club instability and the physical toll of 19th-century gear.
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