Evening Star Newspaper, July 25, 1937, Page 76

10 T MAY be baseball tradition that pitchers are the dumbest athletes on the diamond at handling a fast infield play — but some of them are mighty foxy in other ways. The trouble is that when a pitcher does any original thinking, he never gets any credit for it. Take the case of Dizzy Dean. A fellow named A. L. Todd, of Texas, can tell you there’s ‘method behind Dizzy’s madness. Todd was a Dallas catcher. Dizzy was pitching for Beaumont. Todd had a wonderful right hand wallop and Diz had a big chin. The result was that when these two men had their first clash, Dean went down for the count. He vowed revenge. Shortly afterwards Beaumont had a crucial game with the Steers in the Dallas park. A great crowd of home towners jammed the stands. Dizzy Dean was pitching, and after he had put two men out in one of the late innings, he walked over to the umpire and stopped the game. The umpire and Dizzy went over to the Dallas bench, where they asked for the lineup. Dean counted down the list to -see when Todd would come up. The crowd went crazy as Dean suddenly and unaccountably began issuing intentional passes. He walked three men in a row without putting over a strike — the bases were jammed with runners. Then a great roar rose from the crowd as Todd came to bat. Dizzy, a grin on his lean face, shot three strikes over the plate so fast that Todd hasn’t seen them yet. “Huh!’ said Diz. ““He may be able to lick me in a fight, but I made him look like a sap at this game — and that’s what we’re paid for!” An outstandingly goofy pitcher of bygone days was ‘‘Bugs” Raymond. He didn’t have a loony nickname for nothing. > Raymond was more eccentric off the diamond than on. It was very difficult to get him to train. He liked to make a beeline for the nearest beer parlor and win a free beer from one of the innocent patrons by betting he could write his name in the foam. This trick was easy, because he always carried an indelible pencil, which left a deep pur- ple line wherever it touched the suds. One time the Giants stopped in Baltimore for a spring exhibition series. Raymond found a near-by beer parlor and spent all his time there, living on the free lunch. This made McGraw wild, because he had set aside $3 a day for each man on the dining room ac- had been saving a death-harried soul, drive into the barn. There was the jingle of the harness, the creak of the closing barn door, and then his heavy steps on the porch. The next morning at breakfast a momentous decision was announced. Her father, who had been told of the strange disappearance, had stooped to bribery. There was a reward of ten cents offered to the person who found the shoes or who could give any in- formation as to their whereabouts. Delia had fixed a long, bland look on her, a look heavy with speculation. Ten cents! Would it be better to con- fess before Delia told? Or should she take the chance on waiting? Maybe Delia didn’t know. She kept waiting for the accusing finger. But it didn’t come. Breakfast went on around her as usual. d And school went on around her as usual. In two more days they were to leave. The excitement and anticipa- tion began to filter through the numb- ness of apprehension that had sur- rounded her. Miss Wilson announced that there were to be prizes for spell- ing, for marching. Maybe Rachel or Lucy would bring home one of these rewards. The whole class watched them with envious eves. _ At recess Lucy sought out Delia. She said, “If—if I win a prize, you can have half of it.” Delia looked at her for a long mo- ment. “All of it,” she demanded tersely. Lucy blinked her eyes at the sud- THIS WEEK Luck on the Mound count, and he insisted on his ball- players eating substantial, regular meals. One of Bugs’ teammates tipped him off that McGraw was going to go sky high when he looked over the dining room accounts and found that Bugs hadn’t been near the place for eight consecutive meals. Imagine McGraw’s surprise on checking over the accounts to find that Raymond had eaten the full $9 worth allowed him for the three-day stay! Bugs had indulged in a $9 breakfast for the last meal! One of the problem children of modern baseball is Ed Linke of Wash- ington who was the victim of a series of freak accidents. When he joined the Washington club the fingers of his pitching hand began to go numb, and he took to carrying a little heater in his hip pocket to keep those fingers warm and limber. Rival managers secured a ruling against that, on the grounds that he might be carrying something in his hip pocket to rub on the ball. Then, on July 26, 1935, Linke used his head in T - by BOB EDGREN, JR. a double play and was taken out of the game! This was one of the queerest plays that ever happened in the big leagues. Washington was playing the Yankees in New York. There was a runner on second, and Jesse Hill came up to bat. Linke sent over a fast ball, waist high. Hill slashed at it and drove it back at the pitcher. Before Linke could get his glove up the ball hit him on the head and bounced back toward the third base line. Redmond, the catcher, ran out, caught the fly for the putout, and whipped the ball down to second for a double play. They took Linke to the hospital, where his first remark was: ‘It never did knock me completely ocut!”’ This is probably the only time a pitcher was taken out of a game for assisting in a double play, but there was a pitcher in the minor leagues who was fired after pitching a no-hit, no- run game. This man was ‘“‘Iron Mountain™ Miller. Bob Quinn, now president ot the Boston Bees, was managing Columbus in the American Associa- tion, and went down to Lima to look over the town team, which was a Columbus *“‘farm.” “Iron Mountain” Miller was Lima'’s star pitcher. Quinn ordered him to take the mound in a game with another league team, the Van Werts. Van Wert players hit twenty-two long, screaming drives into the out- field — and every one of them was caught for a putout! Miller came around to see Quinn after the game. “Say,” he asked, “when do I start for the big leagues?”’ “You can buy yourself a ticket home,” replied Quinn. *“You’re fired!"” Miller’s queer no-hit, no-runner wasn't any stranger than a no-hit, no- run game pitched for the Macon club by seven pitchers, one of whom pitched one inning right-handed and another inning left-handed. This was Paul Richards, who later played with the Giants, Dodgers, and Athletics. There’s a lot of luck in pitching. Even the greatest twirlers get bad breaks. The batter may come up any time with a fluke hit. A good example of that was a game between Reading Drown by Freman “AWK! AWK! N-N-NOW TAKE IT EASY, SLIMI! LET'S TALK THIS THING OVERI!" Little White Shoes denness of the blow. Delia had known all along. And was willing to bargain. That was the reason she hadn’t told at breakfast. Because maybe Lucy could do better than ten cents. ““You lied,” Delia said. Lucy’s cheeks flamed. She kicked around a pebble with her toe. “I — I’ll give you whatever I get.” Truce was declared. Delia looked smug and prim. Virtue was about to be rewarded. That afternoon, she watched the crowded schoolyard empty slowly in the direction of the village before she picked up her books with a deep, un- conscious sigh and started off toward home. Life had suddenly become too difficult. Her mother’s voice greeted her as she slowly pushed open the screen door. “There’s something for you on the parlor table, Lucy.” Lucy’s stubby fingers worked clumsily at the knot that tied the package she found on the table. The paper fell away and revealed a pair of glistening white shoes! For a long time she stood there without even touching them. Her heart beat so hard she could almost hear its echo in the musty room. The lump became too big for her throat and before she could stop them, the big tears were running down her face. “Why, Lucy, don’t you like them?”’ Mrs. Harden’s voice was distressed. “] — I know they’re not as pretty as Continved from poge five the ones that got lost but — that’s all I had left from the egg money.” Lucy turned and flung her arms around her mother and let the tears stream down unstopped. ““They’re b-beautiful. I'm c-crying ‘cause I'm so happy. Now I can march.” *“Of course you can march. I wouldn’t have had you miss it for anything, daughter.” Lucy gathered up the shoes and took them to her room, where she set them beside the starched dress. Her conscience bound her heart with red- hot bands. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the great moment of depar- Animalgrams by GEORGE HOPF [ A BACKWARD LITILE SHELLFISH, AND OH//THE DAY | DREAD S WHEN IM DUMPED IN A KETILE, — GOSH!wILL My FACE BE RED; ture came on Friday. Lucy sat up front in the big wagon beside Mr. Galloway and waved back as long as she could see the school. Her mother kissed her goodby and tucked a fifty cent piece into her hand. Delia had stood at the back of the group and waved goodby with the same specula- tive look on her face. The trip to Omaha took about six hours, and the farther behind they left the schoolyard the looser became the bands around Lucy’s sturdy little heart. The great adventure was on! She finally relinquished her seat up front to one of the older pupils and sat beside Rachel with her feet hanging over the back of the wagon. The sun began to slip lower in the bowl of sky. It grew bigger and bigger. It looked as though it had held its breath too long. The plains took a bite out of it. Flam- ing pennants of color shot out like signals flung against the blue. It was half gone. Then suddenly it dis- appeared and left just a scarlet streak. The little night sounds that begin with the first soft evening breeze began to swell. A star popped out. A hole in the blue. You could almost see through into the beyond. If you could put your eye to the rent made by the star, could you see the streets of gold and the iridescent shimmer of angels’ wings? And how did one sleep with wings? Did they fold up? Or did you take them off like a dress and lay them carefully on a chair till morning? “Lucy, wake up. We're here.” Rachel was shaking her gently by one Magazine Section o and Williamsport in the New York- Pennsylvania league in 1933. Williamsport had a man on first. Hearn came up to bat. He ducked a wild pitch; the ball hit his bat and bounded out onto the diamond for a double play. In the next inning a batter named Paiment, of the Reading team, came up to the plate. He also ducked a whistling fast one. The ball went over his head, struck the end of his bat and looped out between second and third for a clean single! You may think that things like that could never happen in the big leagues — but they have. One of the earliest grievances between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Giants was a classic fluke that spoiled the pitching record of a star Brooklyn hurler named Mullins. Mullins was the most unfortunate pitcher who ever came close to hurling a no-hit, no-run game. He was robbed of a great performance by a queer break. This classic game was played in Brooklyn before a rabid crowd of . -« Flatbush fans who were having the time of their lives seeing the Giants trounced and a pitching record set at the same time. Mullins was hot as.a Bessemer converter, and not one cf the Giants had been able to get as much as a scratch hit off him. The game went into the last inning with Mullins still keeping his form, and the Brooklyn crowd roared as he quickly set down the first two men to face him. The only Giant remaining to be put out was Stein, the pitcher. He was the weakest batter in the lineup. Mullins hitched up his pants and confidently went to work. He put over strike one. Then strike two. The Brooklyn ball park rocked with cheers. What was going on then in Mullins's mind will never be known; perhaps he planned to scare Stein away from the plate or befuddle him with a fast one. At any rate, this is what hap- pened: The ball came straight for Stein’s head. Stein hit the dust. As he fell, the ball sailed over his back, whacked the bat and rolled out through the infield. Stein came to life and sprinted for first. Foutz, who covered first base, was pleading for the ball. The amazed infielders rushed for it, but failed to get Stein out by a fraction of a second. Mullins retired the next man in short order — but his no-hit, no-run game was gone with the wind. wing — she rubbed her eyes — on‘e shoulder. Here? And she’d fallen asleep! Missed the turning in at the strange gate, the golden stream of lamplight from strange windows. Disappoint- ment, however, was quickly lost in the excitement of the new faces, the big kitchen with the table spread with hot biscuits, jam, and brimming pitchers of milk. Mrs. Galloway’s big white apron crackled as she bustled around. Was she going to sleep with Rachel? Suddenly a wave of homesickness had swept over her. Did they miss her? Did they know? “You’d better lay out your dresses so the wrinkles will shake out, chil- dren,” said Mrs. Galloway as she showed them the room with its high feather bed. There was the rustle of paper as she and Rachel undid their bundles. Lucy stole a quick look at the familiar tas- . sels as Rachel carefully put the white. shoes under the bed. There was a little silence. Rachel’s eyes had traveled from the shining kid to the canvas button shoes that Lucy was slipping under the bed. There was a puzzled frown between her eyes. Rachel stared out into the darkness as Lucy knelt beside the bed and said her prayers. “Don’t you pray, Rachel?” ‘““What for?” Lucy tried to figure out the answer after Mrs. Galloway had tucked them in and blown out the lamp. (Continved on page 15) 2] e