Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-02-01
BY BILLY EVANS.

mo ball club is really complete I'M
less it can boast OF a high-class left
handed pitcher" That is the remark I
heard one of the games greatest man
ayers make one day last summer in
discussing the pitching end of the game.
The opinion was expressed because Of
a discussion over the relative merits of
three teams, all contenders for the pen
nant at that time. Two of the teams
had crack southpaws. while the other
club did not have n left handler on its
staff of pitchers although most of the
right handlers were above the average.
1t so happened that the team minus the
southpaw finished fourth that year, one
club other than the two mentioned
nosinS it out in the race for position.
| Practically every pennant winner for
years has numbered a star southpaW IN
its lineup. In recent years Chicago had
Pfeister. Philadelphia had the veteran
Plank, New York that sensational Mar
guard, Boston the steady Collins. While
| d sNuthpaw is of course not absolutely
necessary for a pennant winner, still
| there isn't a manager in the business
who wouldn't willingly pay fancy price
| for any portsider to deliver the goods.
| There many situations where left
| handler is of decided advantage. Usually
! there are couple of clubs in every
left-handed hitters. Such clubs as
rule are weak against southpaws A
team with hish-class performer can
always make point Of saving its star
man for series with such teams. ard, as
a rule. such system is a good one.
lLeft-handed batters with few exceptions
are troubled Il great deal more by south
paws than right handlers. Often in d
pinch manager with a good southpaw
is able to save a game by rushing to the
rescue his star southpaw. with bunch
| of left-handed hitters coming up
Crack Southpaws Are Scarce.
Usually a team with one high class
southpaw pitcher can class itself as
very fortunate. The Cleveland club
of late has been particularly fortu-
nate in this respect, as in Willie Nit
cbeil and Nean Gregg the Maps have
two southpaws who are mighty hard
To hit AS most American Lea que bat
tors Will testify. Right handlers d
rule outnumber the southpaw twirlers
iour or five TO one. IN 1917 there were
not over a. dozen CLASSY Southpaws in
each OF the two big leagues. Conse-
auently it is not bit extraordinary
that managers are always OIL the look
out for portsiders with the class.
Luck plays its part in every sport.
Selecting recruits is one of the biggest
CANDLES in the world. Often men
touted as wonders fail dislnally, while
recruits Win little TO OOdSL ABOUT ue-
velop into high-class performers. In
1912 there were not over a dozen good
southpaWs in the American League. Be-
fore the summer was over nearly half
of them had been GENT back to the
minors. In 1913 the American League
out of very raw material Oh the
whole, developed a. half dozen south
paws who give every evidence of being
stars Of the select circle. | make this
statement simply to show tho luck that
goes with the securing and developing
Of recruits. In Dutch 1.eonart' Boston
has "a younSster with as much stuff as
any southpaw in the business. He lacks
only experience and the polish that
comes with it. Walter Leverenz with
the tail end St. Louis club is a tough
proposition for any team in the American
League to beat. Reb Russell in his first
year as a big Lacquer, and his third in
professional base ball. took Ed Walsh s
place as the iron man. of the White
Sox Joe Boehling with a string of ten
straight to his credit, as well as number
of other equally meritorfous perform
ances. was one Of the sensations Of the
American League. In Lefty Schulz. Man.
ager Chance seems to have picked up
younsster who will prove d mighty val
liable man. In Lefty James the Cleve-
/ land club appears to have picked up
youngster far better than the average
southpaw.
Recruits Replace the Veterans.
Jps 70 <ho IF