The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1917-09-11
Alexander Needs Six Wins
To Tie Mathewson's Mark
Ty Cobb Has at Last Achieved His Desire
to Lead the American League Batters
for Ten Years
by GRANTLAND RICE.

by GRANTLAND RICE.
When the Right Hon. c. c. Alex
ander pitched and won a double
header recently he had two objects in
sight:
One was to help his ball club in a
last desperate stand.
The other was TO go out after a
| record that, with another years ad-
dition. would stand at the summit
This record is a matter OF winning
thirty or more games four consecu-
tive seasons-a mark that no pitcher
has ever made, so far as we can
locate the intimate details.
AIcxandcr's Chance.
Alexander bagged thirty-one vic
tories in 1915 and thirty-three vic
! tories i'm 1916. He will need about six
more victories this season to land an
other thirty games and tie Mathew
sons mark OF Ig03-1SO4-ls15.
With this mark tied Alex will then
have his chance next year TO estab-
llsh new peak, just as he did last
season. when he carved himself six
teen shut-outs, breaking all past rec
ords.
The assignment OF winning thirty
! games three years in a row is no
light one. c. Young won over go bail
games in his career. but the Paoli
| Phenom only passed the thirty game
mark for two successive seasons.
| Rube Waddell was never able to
win thirty games. Neither was Chief
! Bender nor Eddie Plank. Jack Coombs
passed this mark but once
Mathewson was the first and last
pitcher to know three such years in
unbrOken order. and his mark Of 1906
1876 still stands. with the PhilIy pre-
mier struggling desperately TO tie IT
up.
Fluttering around the Twenty-Five
! same margin. Alexander still has a
hrst-class chance to gather in enough
Victories 10 tie Matty's record. But
| with September humping merrily
along at top speed he can't afford
many more slips. Alex SIN has about
seven games to pitch in the remain
ing three weeks. He will need most
Of these TO get by.
4 1t will be an effort worth watching.
since it has occurred i'm baseball but
once before. and that a development
OF the master moundsman-meaning
| MI. MatheWson.
Ten for Ty.
Which recalls the fact that Cobb has
at last achieved his desire 10 lead
the lea que ten years at bat
He had nine straight easons Of
| triumph to his credit. when Iris
| Speaker tossed in the monkey wrench
last year, much TO Cobb's discontinue
and annoyance.
But ten years on top is ten years.
whether it comes in Unbroken order
or at intervals.
Considering the fact that no one
player had ever led his league five
I years before Cobb struck the trail, il
would seem that Ty has now left a
mark for future generations to shoot
at
Most of us won't be here TO watch
\ that long. but future generations will
very likely stnl be shooting away at
Cobb's figures in 2Ol7 and few weeks
farther on.
As It Sometimes Happens.
He took his turn. half-heartedly, out
lining an excuse:
/ He figured he was beaien-so he could
not see the use.
took a sudden swerve-
a sudden, unexpected hop-a title-win-
ming curve.
And straiChtway they exclaimed about
his courage" and his nerve"
He started in with bulldog jaw TO
make a winning fight;
He started in to see it through, as
1 any stalw9rt might
But when he cut in with his play IL
F, took a hard luck bound
\ And carromed as il shouldn't have
on any sort OF ground
And so they rose and branded him a
''Quitter" and a hound"
Right or Leftt
viii this next world series be won
/ from the right or left side OF the
| pitching system?
For the last two years it has been
won in the main from the left side,
with Ruth and Leonard predominant
| ing.
But the White Sox star for the year
| is Cicotte, q rsght-hander; and there
are any number OF railbirds who be-
lieve that McGraw will get his most
| effective work from Poll Perritt. the
/ Louisiana Lath.
Yet the sidewheelers are far from
being shelved. McGraw will make
big use of Schupp, Benton and Sallee.
4 his main winners. while Commy will
| ank heavily on Reb Russell.
In a pitching way there will be few
I young birds entered for this tourna-
mcnt. Most of them are veteran en-
tries in the rifle pit, ranging between
eight and twelve years.
The on-Side Tnngie.
McGraw is the delegate who faces
the most rssping assignment Of them
all.
There was no great strategy re-
qulIed in selecting Ruth, Shore and