The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-17
ONLY TWO PITCHERS ABLE ID REGISTER 30 WINS LAST YEAR Alexander and Ericson the Only Hurlers to Accom-
 plish Feat CARMEN HILL TOPS
 SOUTHERN LEAGUE Rube Robinson Was Biggest Loser. Majority of Minor League Lead
 CTS Get Chance in Higher
 Company

The average for 1917 show there were only two pitchers in the country last season able to compile 30 victories, Gro yer Cleveland Alexander of the Phillies, who figured in just that number of tri- umphs, and Eric Ericsson of San Fran cisco, who has been recalled by the De- trot club who participated in 3l sue cesses.
 Ericson, of course. had this advantage over Alexander: The playing season of his league was 90 games longer and he had more time to pile up victories. The same objection can be raised to ranking pitchers on games won throughout the tabulation below, for league seasons va ried in length, Even so, winning is win- ming and the showing is a pretty fair estimate of the pitchers worth. The truth of this is proven by the fact that as rule the leading winner in each league was pretty well toward the top also on the earned run basis. where that is furnished for an estimate.
 Most of the big winners in the minor leagues have been acquired by clubs in the fast set. The Browns got Grover Lowdermilk of Columbus, and the Phil lies Frank CDixie) Davis of Louisville, this pair tying for the honor of winning the most games in the association. There was a dead heat in the International be- tween Herz Thormahlen of Baltimore. who finished the season With the Tanks. and Harold Thompson of Toronto. who would have started the campaign with Clark Griffith if he hadn't decided to enlist with Uncle Sam
 HILL TOPS SOUTHERN
 The Southern's' king, Carmen Hill of Birmingham. comes back to the Pirates, for whom he has worked before.
 Cincinnati grabbed Snipe Conley, who did some Rube Marquardsh work in stright wins for Dallas, and drafted in Central leagues monarch-Carpenter of Grand Rapids-only to turn him back. Pittsburg had Carpenter in 1916
 Red (Talkative) Torkelson. pace setter in wins in the Central association, wound up the year with Cleveland, but he is working for Uncle Sam now, being a member of the coast artillery at San Francisco
 Naylor of New Haven the Eastern S pitching prince, finished the season with Connie Mack and the Tall Tactician has not yet sold him to Harry Frazee or re- leased him to Baltimore.
 Earl Howard of Hagerstown, banner performer in tho Blue Ridge, Is a Cardl- nal acquisition.
 BIGGEST LOSER RECALLED
  of the big losers in the hinterland. Jess Buckles of Scranton. most unsuccessful of the New York State league artiller- ists, is on the Phllies' reserve list. He was once the property of the Cubs and pitched a few innings for the Yankees against the Indians in 1916. Ebbets of Brooklyn took back Dick Burning of Portland. who tied with Kiefer of Worcester and Trautman of Hartford for the greatest number of losses in the Eastern. During, a south paw. once belonged to Mack, and he pitched an inning or two for Brooklyn last year.
 The minor league pitchers who lost the most games-26-were Harry Erause of Oakland, formerly with Cleveland and the Athletics; Roy Mitchell of Vernon. once with the Browns. and Jess Buckles of Scranton. who did his only big league work with the Yankees in 1916.
 SEASONS BIG WINNER
 These were the big winners in the 16 leagues which got out averages last sea- son:
 Pitcher Club and League. Victories.