Evening Star Newspaper, May 28, 1929, Page 33

— . — i [someses | @he Foening Star TUESDAY, 28, 1929. i MAY PAGE 33 Cronin Showing Worth As Shortstop : Griffs’ Upset Laid to Hadley’s Failure ROOKIE EPLUCKY AFIELD E TO COMPETE IN 500-MILE AUTO RACE CLASSIC ON MEMORIAL D BUMP NEEDS MORE TOIL AND IMPROVES IN ATTACK IN MINORS, CRITICS HOLD Averages 5.5 Chances Accepted Per Game and Slams | | Base Ball Men Contend Nationals’ Hurler Requires Ball After Getting Regular Berth—West Out Further Schooling, or Is Not Being Handled of Fielding Slump—Myer Hits Well. Right—Club Thought Experimental. N Hadley can’t make the grade as a successful regular. Hadley has been manhandled three times by the Athletics. He has been pitched against them with regularity and they have ac- quired familiarity. He was not over-successful against them in 1928 and there iz a conviction that he needs more minor league experience to accustom him to an every-day fight. ‘There have been coaches who were mildly mad about the future of Hadley. His success in 1928 did not enable him to break even, al- though he was within one game of it with 12 victories and 13 defeats. It is the belief of base ball men that he needs work in a minor league or that he is not being handled right. The Yankees have knocked him and so have Cleveland and De- troit, in addition to the three games that he has lost to the Athletics. WASHINGTON, D. C, RAY KEECH- "BY JOHN B. FOSTER. EW YORK, May 28.—Washington’s pitching plans have been all upset in this base ball campaign, chiefly because young Irving " BY JOHN B. KELLER. OR a good ball player of the hustling type, turn to young Joseph Cronin, shortstcp of the Nationals. This recruit, who will not be 23 years old until next October 12, is on his toes every minute of every game he is in, and before long is apt to be recognized as one of the most promising youngsters of the professicn. Brought here from Kansas City of the American Association last | year, Cronin was looked upon as only a fair fielder and: no hitter at all. Gaining weight and strength between seasons, he looked much | better afield, but still lacked batting ability during the Washington club’s training campaign. So Walter Johnson, the club’s pilot, could not find a place for the young fellow in the line-up. Cronin, though, had performed impressively enough in the exhi- bition contests to warrant the prediction by many who saw him play that it would not be long before he glln:d a regular berth. That he has done and it will take a mighty fine player to oust him from the shortfield. In the 26 games in which he appeared he has hit at a .287 clip and fielded for an average of .905. | ‘The fielding part of this record is| not impressive cn first considera- | tion, but a close analysis of Cro- ' nin’s fielding reveals his work as a shortstop. Incidentally, his sea- son’s batting average does not ap- | ear to indicate this young fel- ow’s real value in attack. | In 25 games—he was first in the Na- | tionals’ line-up in the championship | campaign as a pinch-batter only— | Cronin has performed afield, playing | at shortstop in all but one of "the games. As a second sacker, he had but 2 chance and made the putout with ease. As a shortfielder, he has had 146 chances and made 14 errors. And only 30 errors have been charged against the ‘Washington club. Of his chances ac- cepted in the shortfield, 53 were put- outs and 79 assists. Accepts Many Chances. Base ball men agree flelding averages do not usually show the true worth of a player. Cronin's average certainly does not show his worth. He goes after everything that comes his way, for he is far from being an “average” player. He makes errors, plenty of them, buc he also gets many drives that some other shortstops in the circuit would be very fortunate to reach. In 24 games at shortstop, Cronin shows an average of 5.5 chances ac- cepted per game. That is high-class Joe Sewell, leader of per oame. , who led the ational League shortfielders, averaged 68 ces. As a batter, Cronin started poorly this season. Getting into a game first 8s & pinch-batter, he fanned. And in his one turn at bat when he substi- hBST SANDLOTTERS LOOK T0 HOLIDAY GAMES Many Double-Headers Book-{ ed for Thursday—Contests Sought by Some. trict group nmow are winding up preparations for Memorial day e ents. Many double- headers are listed for the holiday .lntd. host of attractive contests are slated. ‘White Haven tossers were to drill this afternoon at 5:30 o'clock on their dia« mond at Glen Echo, Md., where on Thursday they will play host to Isher- wood A.'C. in a’double-header starting at 2:30 o'clock. Jefferson District, Fireman nine, Giants Sunday at gfl'el‘ Spring, was to practice this afternoon at 5:20 o'clock on the Virginia Highlands field. ‘Two Washington teams will visit Baileys Cress Roads, Va., Thursday to face Virginia White Sox. The Sox will entertain Capital A. C. at 2 o'clock and Park View A. C. ager rison of the Sox is seeking several ers. He can be reached tonight between 7 and 9 o'clock at Falls Church 824-F-2, Silver Spring Giants are to meet the Fredericksburg, team at Fred- ‘Thursday -and the . Saldier nine at Fort George Meade, Md., Sun- Try-Me Aeces, whose line-up includes iyers who have held forth with pub- high nines, are to clash with St. % Peter's Senlors Thursday at 1 o'clock spirit field, too. He's chockfull of pepper and chatter, and what's more, he's stalwart enough to withstand the gaff of steady “m"g‘lg‘nln appears a real “find,” anyway you look him over. Ira Flagstead, recently acquired from the Red Sox, may me & better batter ”ll.nn southpaw ing than Sammy ‘est, but the veteran, good as he is in the field, will have to perform amasz- ingly well if he is to excel the youthful center flielder as a fiyhawk. . During-the double- New York last Wednesday Sammy le 11 putouts, and in the series following at Philadelphia he chased all over Shibe Park from left- center to right-center to haul down drives. Many of his catches were of the spectacular riety. West showed a deal of courage, 1" ran headlong into the Shibe Park wills several times In desperate attempts to check mile-a- minute liners flying from Mackian blud- geons, and aided materially in reducing the number of bases gleaned from the lengthy smashes. Buddy Myer is carrying a fine hitting streak into the Yankee series starting this afternoon. He has smote the ball to unprotected teritory in 20 consecu- tive games, which is’ more than any other player in the American League has done. Buddy has a good eye and a strong swing at the plate, and may sock this season for a better average l.hll;‘l’ll(, when he finished with a mark Ira Flagstead is not to report to the Nationals until tomorrow, according to 8 ‘telegram President Griffith received from President Quinn of the Red Sox. ‘The right-hand hitting outfielder pro- cured from Boston last Saturday needed several days to arrange for the transfer of his residence from the Hub to the Capital. | HOME RUN STANDING | By the Associated Prees. HOME RUNS YESTERDAY. Grantham, Pirates, 2; Whitney, Phil- lies, 1; Harper, Braves, 1; Shea, Tigers, 1; Autrey, White Sox, 1; Cisseli, White 8ox, 1. AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS. Gebrig, Yankee: Ruth, Yankees Goslin, Senator: Simmons, Athletics . NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS. Ott, Giants .. Klein, Phillies Jackson, Giants LEAGUE TOTALS. National American . Grand total . of .— MID-ATLANTIC LEAGUE. Wheeling, 7: Cumberland, 8. Jeannette, 16; Charleroi, 1. Fairmont, 7: Scottdale, Clarksburg, 8; Joknstown, 7. BLUE RIDGE LEAGUE. on Fairlawn Pield. Aces are to gather at Walter Fry’s home, 1361 Pennsyl- vanis avenue southeast, at 11 o'clock. A game for Sunday afternoon to be played on the shipyard diamond at Al- exandria, Va., is sought by Virginia A. C. Call Alexandria 1819 after 7 p.m. 8t. Joseph's diamonders are to drill tomorrow afternoon at 5 o'clock. Clinton Midgets, who took the meas- ure of Corby's team, 8 to 3, in their latest match, are carding nents at Marlboro 1 15 between 7 and 8 p.m. Garrett Waters' Takoma Tigers are to drill tomorrow afternoon at 5 o'clock in preparation for a trio of battles. Th Hiser's All-Stars will be met at Riverdale Park, Saturday Hunting- down, Md., will be faced at that place m and Sunday Bryantown, Md., will be engaged there. ‘Wonder Salesmen nine, which dis- of Surrattsville, Md., tossers, 6 to in their latest after and Sunday teams in the city and vicinity. A, W. Dennison, at Box 107 North, 518 Ninth street booking - games. hxl::m' ‘Trammell, Qub 4 3 lmcnlmfl el nn, Corder Bartlett are Wonder de- pendables. Friendship A. C. has booked a dia- mond match for Thursday with Capitol Helrl'.l nine on the Maryland 'k field at 3 o’clock. Friendships have sev- eral open dates on their schedule, and are Ing Cleveland 3311 between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. A game for Memorial day has been arranged between Miller Aztecs and Kroydons. It will be played on the El- lipse at 1 o'clock. Millers, who so far have won 14 games in as many starts, are after more competition. Call Lin- coln 8624. Two games are wanted by Bolling Field nine for Thursday. Corpl. Maude is receiving challenges at Lin- coln 5887. Bostonian nine is gunning for a match Thursday with a senior division nine. Manager Ryan may be reached at Atlantic 3038-J. A game between Hess A. C. and Army Headquarters’ nine has been arranged for Washington Barracks tomorrow afternoon at 5 o'clock. Addison A. C. diamonders are to as- semble at the home of Manager In- gram, 1414 Girard street, apartment 3, tenight at 8 o'clock. Sam Rice Midgets are on the look- out for a diamond game Thursday. Call Atlantic 4213. A game for Thursday is wanted by Potomac Juniors. , The manager may be reached at Cléveland 3063 between 6 and 7 p.m. Several players, especially outfielders, are sought by Northern Midgets. Man- ager Paul Feldman may be reached at Columbia 4995 after 6:30 p.m. A Thursday game is sought by Georgetown Insect class base ballers. Angus Girton is listing at Potomac 4883 between 5 and 7 p.m. | MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS I INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE. Toronto. 6: Buffale. 1. Rochester, 3: Moi Jersey Cify, 9; Re TEXAS LEAGUE. Wichita P ; Shreveport, Frederick, 4. Waynesboro, 3. Hagersto 9: Chambersburg, 1. -Banover 43, Martinsbyre SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE. ims. 7: Jackscnville, 3. icols, 7 Columbus, R SANDLOT base ballers of the Dis- { Log;s EZE'E: BUCS SECOND AFTER ROUT OF CARDINALS Only Half Game Back of Cubs in Tight Race—Browns Gain on Macks. BY HERBERT W. BARKER, Associated Press Sports Writer, AINING momentum day by day, the ferocious Pirates of Pitts- burgh had clubbed their way into second place in the Na- tional League pennant race to- day, with the pace-setting position only a bare half game away. ‘With Jess Petty on the mound for them yesterday, the Corsairs pounded out a 10-to-1 victory over the St. Louls Cardinals, relegated the Cards to third Pl in the standing and saw first place only a half game distant when the Chicago Cubs obligingly lost to Cincinnati. While the Pirates were lacing Halla- han and Sherdell for 14 lusty drives, including two home runs by George Grantham, Petty was holding the Car- dinals to seven scattered hits to register his second triumph of the season. His only other winning start, also against the Cards, came a month ago. The victory was Pittsburgh's sixth in suc- cession and sixteenth in the Pirates’ last 21 games, ‘The Cubs fell victim to a six-run rally in the eighth at Cincinnati and dropped the decision, 8 to 5, much to the delight of the Reds, who had lost nine consecu- tive games. ~Sheriff Blake handcuffed the Reds effectively enough until the eighth, when they drove him from the box and continued the assault on Charley Root and Claude Jonnard. Good pitching by Ray Benge and Claude Willoughby gave the Phillies both ends of .a double bill with the Boston Braves, 2 to 1 and 3 to 1. Bob Smith lost the first game by passing Barney Friberg with the bases filled in the sixth. Willoughby had a shutout in his grasp in the nightcap until George Harper hit a homer in the ninth, Over in the American League, the St. Louis Browns shaved a half game off the Philadelphia Athletics’ downing Cleveland, 3 to 1. Blaeholder kept eight Cleveland hits scattered and won his second victory of the six-game series, of which the Browns took four. A passed ball and an error, safetles, sent Walter Miller, Southpaw. down to defeat. The Chicago White Sox surprised | with a double victory over Bucky Harris' Detroit Tigers, 7 to 4, and 6 to 5 in 14 innings. The Sox pulled the first game out of the fire with a four-run rally in the eighth and came from behind to take the second as well. Detroit led in the nightcap, 3 to 1, after seven innings of play, but the Sox scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to knot the count, scored another in the twelfth and thirteenth frames to match Detroit counters and won out in the fourteenth. fl.\g other major league clubs had an off day. Indian . WESTERN LEAGUE. Denver. 5-4; Tulsa. Wichita, 8; De Pueblo. 7 Omaha, 6; Topek AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. Indianapolis. 4: Columbus, 3. i5vill Toledo, 1. ain, lead by g George | 1" coupled with ten Brown |: De PAOLA- Some of the stars Meyer will compete against next Frida; JULES MORICEAU- on the brick track at Indianapolis in defense of the title he won last year include Keech, ex-mile straightaway 1-mile champ 8| champion of E: cracked up ind Del The Real Hitters. EAR SIR: This is not intended as an effort to boost the stock of any member of the Ruth, Gehrig or Meusel families, as I am not now and never have been on the pay roll of either one. Nor is it an effort to Einsteinize any part of American base ball by the presentation and elucidation of a new theory, .albeit- what I 'here present mlfht truly be called “The rine of Relativity of Batting Records.” As I see it, the real purpose of batting averages, as computed under the percentage system, is to present, at a glance, the relative batting strength and efficlency of the vari ous players. And yet, in my judi ment, the system is woefully lacl ing in this respect, as I shall en- deavor o show. Under the pervailing system a man who raps out 300 singles out of 1,000 times at bat becomes automatically a .300 hitter. And yet the man who, if such a thing were possible, hammers out 300 home runs out of 1,000 times at bat is also rated at .300. Of course, the tables itemize the length of the hits, setting forth the number of doubles, triples and homers, but this does not give at a glance, as it should, the true position of the hit- ters. ‘There should be added, in my judg- ment, another table, computed on the basis of 4,000. In other words, if a man goes to the bat 1,000 times he has a theoretical opportunity to hit for 4,- 000 bases, provided he should hit 1,000 home runs, Let ‘us take a concrete illustra- tion: Suppose Ruth, out of -1,000 times at bat, hits 200 singles, 50 homers, 50 triples and 50 doubles— his total number of bases would be 650. Dividing this into 4,000. his percentage would be .1625, indi- - cating that he hit for 1621; bases out of each 1,000 bases it was pos- sible for him to hit. Now let us compare this with an- BIG LEAGUE STATISTICS American League. YESTERDAY'S RESULTS. Chicago, 7—6; Detroit, 4—5 (2d game 14 ingings) " M. Louis. Cleveland. 1. Other clubs not scheduled. STANDING OPF THE GAME: GAMES TOMORROW. New York at Wash. N. Y. at Washington. Phila. at Boston. Cleveland 1t Chicago, Cleveiand at Chicago. St. Louis at Detroit, Bt. Louls at Detroit. Phila, at Boston. ODAY. National League. ‘YESTERDAY'S RESULTS. Philadelphis Cincinnat tsburgh. 10; 8t. Louls. 1. Bhier "ol Mot scneduiea. STANDING OF THE CLUBS. Pittsbureh “ISt. Louls (Cincinnatt 'Won Phila'phia i EIR Chicago .. Pittsburgh St. Louis Phi 8/a| Percentage EI New_York Boston Brookivn Gincinnatl Lost 31 211 213/19].406 L1 31 11 2) 11 31 3 _11—[13]311.36% . .112112114/16116120/19121|——1 ES TODAY. at Bt L. ncin. s N Y. GAMES TOMOR Chlcaso " at " pitts Boston st Phils E X, York. ; Durant, millionaire sportsman; Mo Paola, y GRANTLAND RICE loriceau, French former American titieholder, who was urope the trials for the event last year. THE SPORTLIGHT other hitter, who, under. the it system would outrank Ruth in per- centage column. This is the case of & man who hits 400 singles, 10 homers, 10 triples and 10 doubles—a total of 430 hits. Under the present system this man would outrank Ruth, as the number of hits made by Ruth would only be 350. Under the new system su , this man’s percentage would be .1225. Summarizing the percentage, under the present system it would be as follows: Ruth, .350; other man, .430. Under the new system: Ruth, .1625: other man, .1225. Thus at a glance one would be able to arrive at the rela- tive power of the bats of the two play- ers—the aid lent their respective teams and the damage done to the opposing team. H. W. GASTON. Today's Golf Dope. IKE SWEENEY of Hill School has brought out an important point in refard to athletics, which is also ap- plicable to golf, when he says it is important in building up a game to think of the right way to do a thing, to think along “the lines of ease and smoothness and not along lines of con- sclous effort to acquire results. This is an important factor in any Consclous effort pletely beyond control in this game. It will astonish several millions of golfers to find out how far they can hit a ball with a smooth, easy stroke that has no touch of consclous ef- fort. ‘The removal of tension will mean a lighter grip on the turf with the feet, a lighter grip on the club shaft, a more elastic body, a head less inclined to pop up. This won't come naturally, since the natural idea is to wallop the ball or to steer it away from trouble. “The test instructor, “is to stand on ice witl slippery- shoes and then hit the ball truly.”” And as the true golf swing calls for a shift of weight in the way of bal- ance, this is about right. ‘There should be no thought of grip- ping the ground with the feet, as so many do. Or gripping the club in a vice, as so many do. The true golf swing starts off smoothly and it never loses its smoothness. There should be no sudden hit, but always an increasing club head , unchecked mentally or physically. The main idea is to take as much as possible out of the swing, not to put things into it. Chucking the Pitczers. ARIOUS ball clubs at one time or decided that Grimes, George Uhle and Sam were not much good. Neither Brooklyn nor New York wanted Grimes. Cleve- land decided that Uhle was a washout. Philadelphia couldn’t use Gray. But if any one had to name three of the best pitchers of the year, Grimes, Uhle and Gray would be as good a choice as any other. They have won more than 90 per cent of their starts, and have won by able pitching, game after game. A manager has to think several times before he turns a good pitcher loose, even though he may be in the throes of a slump. One can never tell just when the old kink will be lifted out of the elbow, thereby restoring what is often known as the hop to the fast one. FORDHAM PITCHING ACE IS SIGNED BY YANKEES NEW YORK, May 28 (#).—Fordham, which gave Frank Frisch to the big leagues, has another candidate, Johnny Murphy, a right-handed pitcher. Mur- phy has been signed by the New York Jankees and will report to them on Saturday, when he will have completed his college career. il mrflm 6 feet 2 inches tall and g 195 pounds, has been the ace of Fordham's mound staff this season. COLLEGE BASE BALL. Boston College, 13; Georgetown, 10, Wisconsin, 4: Mic] 2. of a true golf swing,” says a well lmmvnh1 Marghall College, 4; Notre Dame, 3, . RED SOX WILL PLAY ST. MARY’S CELTICS ALEXANDER, Va.,, May 28.—Charles Corbett, manager of the St. Mary's Celtics, has booked his charges for a game here Sunday afternoon with the Washington Red Sox, one of the Capi- tal City's fastest unlimited teams. The cm}u.skt is slated for Baggett's Park at 3 o'clock. Games with Clifton Forge and Coving- ton will be played on a road trip into Western Virginia in July. "Mrs. Gardner L. Boothe, 2d, and Mrs. T. E. Sebrell, jr., will meet on the Belle Haven Country Club links in the final round of the women's S tourna- ment for the Mrs. D. J. 1 trophy. St. Mary's Juniors defeated the Co- loniat A. C., 6 to 5. White Sox A. C. trimmed the Cubs, 5t0 3, in & battle on Haydon Field. BLACK SOX 'l"O FIGURE IN PAIR OF TWIN BILLS Washington Black Sox will face Myrtle A. C. nine in a double-header Memorial day and will hook up with St. Joseph’s Sunday in a similar at- traction. Both bills are to be staged at Union Park, starting at 2:30 o'clock. - | over to time trials in the hope that the | He is a youngster with lots of spirit for more. RAIN AND TROUBLE HIT AUTO DRIVERS Only 19 of 43 Entries Have| Qualified for Race on Memorial Day. By the Associated Press. NDIANAPOLIS, May 28 —Rain and mechanical difficulties had drivers and officials allke caught in last minute jams here today with the annual 500-mile automobile race little more than a day away and only 19 of 44 entries qualified to start. As a result, all day was to be given starting lineup would be completed by nightfall. Unless that was done, offi- clals said it would be necessary to sus- pend the rules and permit qualifying trials tomorrow. The 33 fastest cars| will be eligible to start in the race. Heavy showers and motor trouble prevented any driver from qualifying his mount yesterday. Myron Stevens, Los Angeles driver, provided the only thrill when he lost control of his car late in the day.and was hurled from it as it skidded on a turn into repeated somer- saults. Stevens escaped with a fractured right arm and bruises. The car, entered by William White of Los Angeles, was wrecked. Jimmy Gleason of Philadelphia was the only driver who attempted to required miles an hoyr his ear went “dead” and he had to bé towed to the garage. {CHANCE SHOT BURDENED IN SUBURBAN HANDICAP NEW YORK, May 28 (#).—Chance shot has been assigned top weight of 126 pounds for the Suburban Handicap to be run at Belmont Park on Saturday. Toro, conqueror of the Kentucky Derby winner, Clyde Van Dusen, shoulder 125 pounds; Petee Wrack, winner of the Metropolitan Handicap, 124; Sun Beau, 123; Diavolo, winner of the Dixie Handicap, 122; Victorian, 120, and Dis- play, 118. Other possible starters in- | clude Sortie, Ironsides, Bateau Brown | Flash and Royal Stranger. [ and comes back each time looking It is contended outside the Washington club that teams should be picked for him, instead of throwing him in regularly when he is not getting much encourage- ment from his fellow players. Braxton is the only Washington pitcher who is a consistent win- ner. Fred Marbery has been tried again as a starting pitcher and has been unsuccessful, as he has been in the past. 5 Bucky Harris seems to have had the young man sized up right when he de- clined to make him a starting pitcher. Marberry throws his strength into every pitch at the start and the batters who are fresh and confident throw their bats against every ball that he throws. If they collide with any success, as is pos- sible when there is a dearth of curve pitching, Marberry is through. Spot for Marberry. Put him against a team that has been batting at curves and when the game is on its last legs, and the batters will find the change of pace and style bafing to their eyesight. Then they fail to hit well. Ad Liska should make a winner for Washington. He is experimental now. That is the trouble with Washington. There"is too much experiment in play. The team never has quite recovered from the trade that helped the St. Louis Browns at the expense of Washington. Alvin iCrowder should have been kept by the Washington team, exactly as the Athletics should have kept Sam Gray, yet the Athletics could better afford to let Gray go, as they had more dependa- able pitchers than Washington. For a long time Washington was a one-man pitching team because it had ‘Walter Johnson. There were other pitchers on the team, but none was exactly of this type and skill and Wash- ington came to depend upon him to rally all the other pitching members of the One-Pitchér “Standard Poor. A major league team must have more than a one-pitcher standard. In the best days of Christy Mathewson with the Giants there were other pitchers who were quite as valuable as he was to the success of the New York team. McGinnity and Wiltse were on his heels as successful winners, and in their time Tesreau and Marquard were so valuable to the Giants that there would have been no pennants without them. ‘Washington needs more pitchers and must go after them. The team is losing games by big scores made against it and that is a sure indication that its pitchers are not deceiving rivals as they should. This condition did not develop in Spring training. when the Washing- ton pitchers were outpitching gll of their iia:s in exhibition games. The same fine cigar that enjoyed leadership on the Pacific:Coast at 2for25¢. famous Nowmat{onally at 10¢. Youlll like VEnDyaé / Light oner/ Sponsored by