The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-27
DOP|ST TELLS HOW HE TAXES A SHOT
 AND FIGURES FEM
Well Known Needle-User Says Worlds Series to Be of Lower Class
 Than Usual
Fly HUGH s. FULLERTON.

By HUGH s. FULLERTON. Doping the worlds series this year ! is hard job. It presents more preb- lens than any I have ever known. We are confronted with conditions never before known in baseball and we 1 face the further chance that before I the big series starts one or both teams | will be changed by losses of men. l In tackling the proposition, 1 must | insist upon. one thing, which is that, I having figured the position values and the individual values of men, I must I be permitted to alter those figures if 1 before the series starts the men fig ured upon shall quit their teams and others be substituted for them. ! We must start by figuring the Chi cago Cubs against both the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians because at this time it looks as if either may win. However, it will bs an easy matter as soon as the Ameri- can league champion is declared 60 | drop the other team figures and, in the meantime, they are interesting if only to reveal the freakishness of tle 1918 dope.
 The dope" as I have explained for mary years. when it is applied to a worlds series. indicates mot the play ing strength of the team for a season, not the individual strength of a player but the strength of the team and play CT, against a certain other team and certain other pitchers. As an in stance, the New York Giants doped against Vaughn and Tyler of Chicago, would not look to be a very strons team, whereas. if we were doping them against the Boston Braves, the figures might indicate that they are about the best team in the world. They are neA h.,t J,Ax p,f against six other clubs in the National league
 PLAYERS ABOVE FORM We are certain to find another odd piece of dope this fall. which is that the figures certainly will indicate that some players of only mediocre ability will figure to be near Cobb's and that pitchers who we are sure, are only slightly above the average will figure to be perfect Walter Johnsons This is due to the fact that while the av- craze strength of all the teams has been greatly reduced during the sea- son, some of the players are just as good as ever A good man nowadays figures higher by many points than ne would have done last year, and is, of course. that much gre/ter in team value. You can see quite readily that this is true by looking at the won
 
 Merkle, Mann, Flack, Hollacher and others of the Cubs. as we'll as the improved hitting of various of the Red Sox These increases are due to two causes-first, the confidence and in- spiration that arises naturally from winning. and second (and greater) to the weak pitching against them
 The problem for us is to figure how these averages will be affected by the better pitching they must encounter in the worlds series, as we are certain to discover the fact that the reason Tor the present position of all three clubs is due primarily to the fact that they alone of all the Is teams have had consistently good pitching
 am taking it for granted that inc system of doping that have used 10. years is understood, at least in prin- clpie It is merely comparative work, the comparison of position strengtks of teams
 SYSTEM OF AVERAGES
 l have worked out system by which, working from a basis of 1000. I divide each element of play and set down the figures. I figure that the attack ing strength. consisting of hitting, wait ing out pitchers, long distance hitting. getting hit hy pitched ball, speed (which is taking extra bases on hits), and base running, is 640-10O0ths of the strength of the team while the defensive value is 36O- -10O0ths
 I have figured what each element is worth ill attack, and merely apply a mans known hitting ability, speed, cleverness at waiting and at running the bases In defensive. work the position values are vastly different, pitching be- ing So-l00ths of 360. while third base IS only 51-l0c0ths, and so on for each posi- ton, the position values being figured upon averages numbers of chances ana the comparative value of those chances, which, of course, make the pitcher aud catcher far more valuable in deefnse than players Ill other positions
 We must, in worlds series, calculate each mans value and then figure how his values both in attack and defense, Will be affected by the opposing team especially ty pitching. I have an idea that the Cubs will figure to be stronger in series against the Red Sox than against Cleveland, and that Cleveland will figure stronger against Chicago than the Red Sox will, due to the fact thas Vaughn and Tyler probably will figare to stop Ruth. McInnis and Hooper more than they will stop Wood, Graney and Chapman, although they may lessen Speakers value. However, that is an- ticipating, which is exactly the thing from whicl. we are striving to escape when we start doping.
 MORE CHANGES OF UPSET
 The figures, I feel certain, will indicate that the quality of baseball is much lower this year than it has been in our gen. eration in the major leagues, and with weaker teams there are. of course, more chances of ar upset, and for one indi vidual to turn the entire tide of battle. Imagine what effect Ruth or Wood or