El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-25
Some Best Bets in Pitching
Line May Be Figured
Out Now.
(By Monte)


can and National league teams shows
that few changes have been made for
the coming season. Practically no
shifts Of Importance have been an
nounced and now that the meetings
are over and the schedules have been
adopted, we can sit back and content
ourselves with reading the dope until
the magic call play bal'' is sounded
on April 18th.
Pitchers are very important actors
in q pennant drama. By taking peep
at the past performances of several
star twirlers we may get a line on
the chances of q few of the teams,
although dope Of this kind is likely
to go wrong, as a pitchers arm is
questionable article. In last years
race the American league had the mar
ket pretty well cornered for good
pitchers. It was the superior twirling
of Connie Mack's men that landed the
worlds series for the Athletics The
Cubs were unable to do anything with
Coombs or Bender, while the Athletics
had no trouble in connecting with the
Windy City twirlers.
The only mo hit" games Of the sea-
son were pitched by two American
league men-Bender, of the Athletics,
performance occurred on May 18th
against Cleveland, while Joss pitched
his no-hit game against the Chicago
White Sox on April goth
Mack Holds Good Men.
Mack has not disposed of any Of his
good men. COombs. Bender and Plank
are all there, and from present indf-
cations are in as good shape as ever.
Bender led the American league pitch
ers last year with percentage of .S21,
while Coombs was third with .775, and
Plank ninth with .615. With three
such. men and the large number of re-
cruits from which to choose, the Ath-
letics' pitching staff should be one Of
the best in the league.
Manager Hal Chase, of the New York
Yankees, has signed up all last years
stars. At the close of last season
young Russell Ford stood second in the
American league pitching ranks, with
percentage of .S13. This young man
proved the twirling sensation Of the
year and during the coming season he
should develop into one of the greatest
twirlers in the world. Quinn, Vaughn
and WARRIOR have also signed up for
the season. and while they are not in
Ford's class. they show possibilities Of
development.
Jennings Best Bets.
Donovan and Mullen are Hughey
Jennings two best bets. Last year
Donovan won Is and lost Z games, and
had percentage of .720, being fourth
in line while Mullen won q and lost
u, his percentage being .636- There
are also Willet and Summers, but the
latter did not show good form last
year.
The Boston Red Sox have several
good twirlers who should help to make
things interesting in the pennant race
They are Collins, Smith. Karger, Hall
and Cicotte- Washington still holds on
% Johnson, who was very much over
worked last year. and who is again
the one best bet for the capital city
National League Different.
In the National league we find the
situation slightly different. The pitch
ing staff of the champions, the Chi
csgo Cubs, appears TO be going back.
King Cole made the best showing last
year, winning 20 games and losing but
four. Mordecai Brown, who was the
sensation of the season a few years
ago, won % games. but lost Il, and to-
wards the end Of the season showed
the effects Of being overworked. Over
all, Reulbach and Mcintyre are still
on the roster, and their rest during the
winter months may have brought them
back to their original form.
The staff which looks the best in the
National league is that of the New
York Giants. Mathewson, of course,
heads the list. Last year he won q
games and lost nine, finishing the sea-
son with percentage of $50, slightly
below that of King Cole, of Chicago,
although the latter did not figure in
so many contests.
There are also Wiltse. Ames Gran
dali, Drucke, Raymond and Marquard.
besides a host of recruits. from the
minor leagues. Last year Drucke made
an unusually good showing for new
conner, winning more than half the
games he pitched and his work is ex-
pected to show a marked Improvement
this year.
PhiIIippe's Record.
Philippe captured first honors on the
pitching staff of the Pittsburg Pirates,
although he only pitched five whole
games. His record, however, shows
that he won II and lost two, while hts
percentage is given as 1875. Adams is
the next best bet; he won IS games
last year and lost nine. finishing with
a percentage Of 667 just below Math-
ewson, Of New York. Camnitz, a star
in former years, dropped away down
the line, losing Is games and winning
but u, while Leifield made a very fair
showing, winning Is games losing 10,
and finishing with a percentage of
5S6.
Other pitchers whose percentage au-
gurs well for the future, are Suggs, Of
Cincinnati; Richie, who was formerly
with Boston, but is now with Chicago
Cubs; Moore, Of Philadelphia; and Bar
ger, of Brooklyn.