Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-26

WHITE SOX, IN COLLINS AND GANDIT 7
HAVE SLIGHT LEAD OVER GIANTS
AT FIRST AND SECOND BASE POSITIONS
Gandil Has Had More Experience While Eddie !.
Better Than Giant Second Sacker, Who IO
Handicapped by Injuries
BY GRANTLAND RICE

A RNOLD G. GANDIL, the White Sox
"A first baseman, is veteran. Which is
to say that Chick has reached the advanced
and .tottering age of twenty-eight years.
Twenty-eight years is not old as the
Pyramids. But Il is trihe older than
Holke is, and all things in the game are
comparative.
Gandil, compared to Holke, his Giant
rival, is a veteran. He was with the
White Sox seven years ago, has played
with Washington and Cleveland since and
is now back with the Sox again. 1t may
be that some astute sightseer with an
eagle-tnted orb can discern some Keen
difference in the comparative play Of these
two. We can't.
Gandil has had more experience, Is
timely hitter and a dependable infelderS
Heels a first-class adjunct to any club, be-
cause he is always on the job.
Holke is much the same type. He has
been outbattng Gandi by fair margin
and is a steady, reliable first baseman
But he doesn't know quite as much about
first base play, and in a big series this
additional knowledge may come in tidiy.
Both men are possessed with all the
courage and coolness required to play their
best under pressure. Neither belongs TO the
struck-fit or the temperamental class. They
are not the two greatest first basemen
that ever met in championship, but they
are worlds series types of more than normal
vaiue.
Collins VS.. Hefzog
II list of five of the greatest second
basemen of the last fifteen years had to be
completed, two of the five would be Eddie
| Collins and Buck Herzog.
The other three would be Nap Lajoie,
Johnny Evers and Jack Barry.
There. isn't any debate to be launched
about Eddie Collins. For complete value
| on attack and defense he is the greatest
| second baseman in basebalrs history.
If this comparison was an all-time affair,
| there would be no argument But there
are other intricate spots to be considered.
The Collins of Mackian days was a .a4o
| batsman. The Collins of 1917 has been
| lowering around $50.
| To add to the complications of the case,
| Herzog has been in bad physical shape MOST
| of the year has been forced to seek fest,
and while he will almost certainly be ready
| for the series, no one can say in just what
shape he will report for play.
In Condition
Herzog last season gave one Of the great
| est exhibitions of second-base play we have
ever seen-an exhibition we'll upon a par
| with even Collins at his best.
| But an early season injury removed a
portion of his 1917 steadiness, giving his
| play an erratic tone.
| If Herzog reports with all his pristine
| pep and fire he will be ready to give Collins
| a fairly even fight. But even at his best
the Giant lnfielder isn't as dangerous at bat
| as his Chicago rival.
Both men are fine base runners, both are
| eternally alert and both are more than
| likely TO be at their best under the flare
| and frenzy of a championship test
While Collins hasn't batted UP to his
| average span. he is still one of the most
| dangerous athletes In the league for any
pitcher to face, and no can still cover an
abnormally large section of the playing
| field
Collins sagged a bit in his last world
series, back in 1914, but. after the Brave