The Washington times., 1919-09-25
RAY SCHALK is BACKSIOP MARVEL;
SHOULD DOMINATE WORLDS SERIES

There are catchers, and then
again there are catchers, but there
IS only one Ray SchaIk. He is a
catching staff and then some! Who
IS TIE next most valuable man on
TIRE White Sox after Eddie Collins ?
The average Baseball fan would
pause and Try to figure whether Joe
Jackson's cl0uting or Eddie CiCotte's
pitching is Of greater value to
Comiskey's American League cham
pions. But there are a lot Of shreWd
baseball men who would answer
vf5BaE d moment 0f hesitation
cray Schalk."
That's how much other managers
think Of him. The fans know
''schalzie," as his teammates call him,
IS a. great catcher,-.but even they do
not=aaa lyzsz hls7full value
To get a. real line on. schaIlts PROV
essStusts glance through the records
andAsee-fhe uufnber-of games he has
caught each year since he Joined the
caught over 100 games a year, and in
the days OF the old 154-Eame schedule
he averaged between 135 and 40
games q year.
In There Every Year.
That means he is a catcher that is
IN there every day. He seems exempt
from the usual catching ailments,
split fingers. spike wounds, lame arms
and charley horses. Neither does he
break any ribs crashing into stands.
ThaE. wonderful baseball instinct
which is q necessary attribute TO all
great players guards him from the
accidents some Of his more brittle
fellows are so prone TO.
1t Is that subconsciOus monitor
which warns great players to get
their thumbs out Of the way Just be-
fore a foul tick goes speeding by,
and which enables them TO slide
around runners without their spikes
catching in the dirt and twisting a
tender ankle
schalk is protected that way to a
remarkable degree No one would
call ray Sspike-shy." In fact, no
catcher shows more daring in block
ing the plate on close plays than this
same Chicago catcher, but the man
coming in Is more likely TO get
bmged up than the stocky little back
step.
Cen AIso sting Ban.
In addition 70 his weu-known
catching ability. Schalk also can
sting the ball This year he is bting-
ing Il harder than ever. Ray usually
does not loom up particularly for
midable in the batting averages, but
he Is tough nan IN the pinch This
year be 81 hitting .276 In 115 games,
Up 20 September he lacked only
three biugIes for q hundred hits, and
he has a splendid scoring average for
his number Of safeties- He has scored
90 runs on 81 hits Few catchers
ever score so runs a season Schallz's
e1tE base lEuocllE include seven dou-
~ and three triples.
Il is unnecessary TO steIl baseball
ftt65EGrs zthat SchaIlz can throw. Few
Eefe1eE That ever lived have been
abe 70 pin runners on the bases as
well as Ray. Unless the condition.
iB serious few rival managers will
direct q base-running game against
Chicago. Yet in spite Of that, Schalz
has rs assists. His fielding aver
age O. 979. He has made 13 errors
IN 61T chances. A remarkable fea-
ture in SchalIz's 1919 catching record
1s nat he has not been charged with
p single plFged ball in 11B games
That's glueA on 20 the old piiL
Has Other CuteheFB.
Gleason. OF course, has other catch
sFE. Il may not be fair 10 .Byrdie
Lynn and Joe jenkins TO overlook
Ehem almost entirely, but second
4tFfng cafeherF occuDv the same rela-
tive position on the White Sox as a
Fifth wheel on a wagon. Lynn and
Jenkins .coufine most OF their activi-
dies to the White SoX bull pen.
Lynn has taken part in twenty-one
r-TEIaE tiIis yl5EE[aud jenkins IN nine
les these games Byrdie
a6t 5bie teelEf part IN only q few in
ni Lgnh q pretty fair man. but
81 o1eEEh6doWs the White S0X
catchfnF stan that q Is hard TO get
real line on Lynn. His chances 10
catch are few and come far apart
Byrd hit .253 IA his twenty