On August 17th, 1920, the Cleveland Indians were playing the New York Yankees.  Yankee Carl Mays was on the pitcher’s mound.  Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman was at bat.  According to contemporary reports, Mays was upset because he felt Chapman had been crowding the plate all day.  When Mays threw his next pitch, he aimed at Chapman’s head.  Chapman never even saw the ball coming before it smashed into his forehead.  The ball hit Chapman’s skull with such force and produced such a loud crack that Mays though Chapman had hit the ball with his bat and, when it bounced back to the pitcher’s mound, Mays threw it to first base.  Chapman collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where he died 12 hours later.

Ray Chapman is the only baseball player to have ever died as a result of an injury that occurred in the game.  His death led to the banning of the spitball and a new rule that made it the responsibility of the umpire to replace dirty or worn baseballs that might be difficult for the hitter to see.  Chapman’s death also kept Carl Mays out of the Hall of the Fame despite Mays being one of the best pitchers of his generation.

The death of Ray Chapman was a tragedy.  Last night, on YouTube, I watched The Beaning, a 9-minute “documentary” that suggested that Chapman’s death was also a blood sacrifice that was arranged by the Yankees ownership as a part of a pact with the Devil.  That explains why the Yankees have won 41 pennants and 27 championships.  It doesn’t explain how poorly they played last night, though.

The Beaning argues that baseball was based on Masonic rituals and that the owners of the Yankees made a deal with the dark forces to make their team a success.  If you don’t like the Yankees, you’ll enjoy this documentary.  The documentary has plenty of archival footage and the recreation of the actual beaning is pretty creepy.  The catcher’s eyes even glow red.  For the record, I don’t think the Yankees sold their soul to the Devil but you should never underestimate was a team will do to make it to the postseason.  Who needs to make a deal with the Devil when you can just join the Astros?