Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-05-28
SOUTHPAWS GET JUST DUES
Sidewinders Regarded as an Espe-
cially Valuable Asset in the
American League.
ARE POWERS AS H1TTERs


TO Fred Tenney that all left-handers
are queer, only some are queerer than
others. But in spite of their inher-
tied handicap the sidewinders are
coming into their own in base ball.
They are becoming a mighty power
and in the American league especially
they are about as valuable pitching
asset as a club can boast Of.
When Manager Bill Donovan, in
cutting down his club to the player
limit the other day, kept Slim Love,
the towering southpaw, in preference
to two promising right-handers he
further emphasized the Importance Of
the left-hander.
That selection gave him three left
handed pitchers in Love, Cullop and
Mogridge. There are those who claim
that three southpaws are too many
for any club. In the National league
and other circuits that may be true,
but II does not apply to the Johnson
league.
IF were a manager in the Ameri-
can league" said veteran ball player
the other day, who is himself a left
hand hitter and knows from expert
ence what he is talking about, IL
would carry pitching staff top
heavy with left-handers. With prac-
tically all OF the great hitters IN the
league leit-handers, thing that left
hand pitching would win more games
in the long run than right-handed
pitching and ! venture 10 say that
some Of the batting averages would
come down sharply as the result.
Many Southpaw Sluggers.
Take all the great hitters in the
American league and almost without
exception they are lcft-handed bat
ters. There are Cobb, Crawford,
Eddie Collins, Baker, Fourier, Jack
son and Pipp, just to mention few
who stand out as the most dangerous
sluggers in the circuit. Now, it IS
my contention, and my experience,
that II takes left-handed pitching to
stop left-handed hitting.
Il claim that you can beat any club
in the American league with the ex-
ception OF Washington, more con-
sistently with left-handcrs than with
right-handers. Washington is the only
club that has no really dangerous left
handlers. What they call the dyna-
mite in the batting order OF most Of
the other clubs is composed of left
handed hitters aa
Take Detroit as a starter, because
they have the best hitting club in the
league. Cobb, Crawford and Veach
are the hitters, and they are all left
handlers. They either score or drive
in more runs than the rest OF the club
put together. If you can stop Cobb,
Crawford and Vcach you have De-
troit stopped dead in its tracks, for
the rest OF the club is hardly up to
the average.
The White Sox batting order Is
much the same. The real power IS
conferred in Eddie Collins. Fourier
and Jackson, hitting third, fourth and
nth, and all swinging from the off
side OF the plate, Any time they are
not hitting Chicago Is not winning.
There was a good instance OF that
when Mogridge beat Chicago a few
days ago. He struck out Collins three
times, Fourier once and Jackson
Jailed to get hit.
Effective Against Yankees.
The Yankees are in much the same
boat as the others. Lcft-handers are
more effective against them. Baker
and Pipp are the dangerous hitters.
They are the only ones that really
make the opposing pitchers nervous.
And the result is that the Yanks have
faced left-handers in every series. The
other managers are playing to their
weakness. II they had faced right
handlers all this season, they would
probably be leading the league now.
he Yankees showed what they
could do with left-handers against
Boston and Philadelphia and ST
Louis, while not as strong hitting
clubs as the others, can be best
handled with the southpaws. Shots
ton and Sisler are the bad men in the
Browns, and Strunk and McInniss
are trouble makers with the Ath-
letics. Any time Strunk gets on the
bases the Macknen are apt to score,
for he worries a pitcher.
They will tell YOU that hitters like
Cobb, Speaker or Baker will hit as
well against one kind OF pitching as
another. | don't mean To say thar
you can make poor hitters OF them
BY pitching lcft-handers against
them. But to say that no lcft-handcd
hitter likes southpaw better than a
Highlander. They can't hit that
curve going away from them like
they can hit the one that breaks In
for them. And that is the answer.
II the great hittefs In the league hap
pened 10 be right-handcfs the south
pays would not be Of mpeh value"
That this theory Is now pretty gen.
orally recognized In the American
league y indicated By the number Of
lest-hAndcd pitchers Boston has
three. And won q peunant laN season.
Chicago has three and was n the
fight All the way nrtfoitis hrsf
hurlet. Covrleskie, Is 4 sonthpaw
Cleveland carries three. aud Sd Louis
has = lfin 81 ghtm. Clark Griffith
has never found Il necessary 10 bur.
den himself with che iofk handlers.
because he happens a. hAve 4 nfChef
" Walter lohnaoa who 4 So isf
above the fssi thar Ne makes al hAts
lima agAefN fsmk atitN Ma kh 49,