Mr. October
A bit of history: In 2006, The Waysiders bought a GPS receiver and first learned of geocaching. After creating a geocaching account and looking at local cache listings, they noticed a cache had just published close by. It was a puzzle cache. After a few hours of false starts and rabbit holes, a possible solution seemed to be in hand. There were no geocheckers back then—the only way to see if you had the right coordinates was to go look for the cache. With the coordinates manually punched in their new GPSr, they struck off to see if they were right. Success! Their very first find was an FTF on a tough puzzle. This mystery cache is loosely based on that first find.
In 1919, Major League Baseball decided to try a best-of-nine format for the World Series, partly to increase popularity of the sport and partly to generate more revenue. This was also the World Series that became known as "The Black Sox" scandal. The scandal overshadowed one of the more remarkable batting achievements in the history of baseball.1
Heinie Groh, of the Cincinnati Reds, endured a disappointing season at the plate. Though his fielding was first-rate and his eye for balls and strikes was as good as ever, Heinie just couldn't hit safely like he did the year before. During the 1919 regular season, Heinie had 234 plate appearances, with 19 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 6 home runs. He struck out 29 times while only walking 21 times. The few times he reached base, Heinie stole second 6 times and was caught stealing twice. His other teammates fared better at bat and were often on base when Heinie came to the plate. He knocked in 31 RBI and had 10 sacrifices. He was also hit by a pitch 3 times. The Reds manager benched Heinie for much of the season and only brought him in when needed on defense.
The Reds made it to the World Series in spite of Heinie's lack of performance. In the first game, the Reds' infielder playing at Heine's position was injured and came out of the game. Heinie went in as a replacement. The hometown crowd booed but Heinie ignored them. Heinie played the rest of the game and astonishingly went 4 for 4 at the plate. In game 2, Heinie shocked everyone by getting a single, a double and a grand slam, plus a walk. Two games in a row without making an out! The magic died a little when they traveled to Chicago for game 3. Heinie went hitless, intentionally walked all four at bats. The Reds' manager benched Heinie for Game 4, but used him late in the game as a pinch hitter where Heinie was thrown out at first. Heinie was back on fire in game 5 where he went 2 for 2 with two walks and 2 RBIs. Heinie's bat blazed in games 6 and 7, with him going for a total of 6 for 7. With a one game lead, the Reds returned home for game 8. This time, when Heinie took the field, the fans screamed and cheered. Each time he came to bat, the umpires, coaches, players, and even Heinie tried to quieten the crowd so the game could continue. Despite the deafening noise, Heinie had 2 hits and a run-scoring walk in 3 at bats. The Reds won the Series and his teammates carried Heinie off the field on their shoulders. Later, when the stories started swirling about Chicago throwing the 1919 World Series, reporters began to question the validity of Heinie Groh's batting miracle. The fans who witnessed it knew that it was all Heinie.
1 The rest of the story is fictional. The real Heinie Groh led the NL in 1919 with 171 putouts and 22 double plays, was fourth in the league with a .310 batting average
- This geocache was placed with the permission of the property manager.
- Pets are welcome outside but must be on a 6' leash at all times. Please be a good pet owner and clean up after your pet.
Note For New Geocachers:
Join us and enjoy the adventure of Geocaching. Please don't move or vandalize the container; simply replace the geocache where and how you found it. Before you leave, make sure the geocache is completely out of sight. The real treasure is discovering the location, signing the log book, trading SWAG or a personal signature item and then sharing your experience with everyone online in your "found it" log. You might even find a trackable item!
Note For Geocachers:
In your log, please indicate the condition of the container without giving any clues to its hiding spot (post no spoilers!). This will assist us with maintenance and provide a pleasant experience for others. Please replace the container in the same hiding spot as you found it. If the container is not found, please log your DNF and do not replace the geocache with a "throwdown".