The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-01
RUETHER'S RECORD {.
BREACHES SERMON
Pronounced Unfit Even for.
Minors, Red Pitcher Kept
Right at 1t.

Over the wires from Cincinnati flashes
the announcement that Pat Moran has
selected Dutch Rurther. his flame haired
southpaw, as the first pitching gun to
IRE at the White Sox in the opening
worlds series battle to-day. That prac-
tically is taken that Fitchburg Pat con-
siders his red hatred left handler the
ace OF his pitching corps. Winning the
hrst game of the series will mean much
to the Reds and Moran shows his faith
in Ruether by nominating him to carry
the Cincinnati pitching burden. The
selection of Ruethef carries with It a
sermon teaching what sticktoitiveness
and never say die spirit will acom-
plish on this mundane sphere. ,.i
Not good enough for two minor leagues
from which he was given the gate and
enable to finish a ball game for either
or two National League clubs he has
been with in the two seasons sfnce he
came into the big league. with waivers
asked on him twice by these clubs. wnen
no other big league team would claim
him. Dutch" was just hanging on with
big league ball club by the skin of his
teeth because no other club would give
up anything to get him. Last season =
with the Reds he was in only two ball
lgames and finished the season with q
cipher In the won column. .H
With the Cubs and Reds in the pre-
vious season he finished only one COM
plete ball game. That was his first sea-
son in the big show. barring brief
experience with the Pirates some time,
ago, and after he was drafted from Spo-
kane In the Northwest League by the
Cubs he was traded to the Reds In mid ,
season as excess baggage In a swap that
included other playing talent That sea-
son with Cubs and Reds he pitched sew
enty-two innings as a relief pitcher, al
lowed eighty hits, hit five batsmen, gave
twenty-six bases on balls and allowed
twenty-nine runs, twenty -four of which
were earned. .
Not n Great Record.
Splitting those seventy-two innings up
into nine inning ball games, we find
that "Dutch's" record that season aver
ages ten blows per game, with an aver
age OF one batsman hit. over three bases
on balls and three earned runs per nine
inning game. He pitched only one COM
plete ball game, and last season with
the Reds, Mathewson had him in only
two games all season and he lost one of
them and won none. .t-
Yet within year from the date on
which he compiled those sloppy stntis-
tics as n big league entry we find him
UP at the top of the National League
pitchers with a record of 16 games won
and only lost. What's the answer?
You can search us.
Let us dig deeper into the puzzling
past Of this eccentric southpaw. His
homo Is in Frisco, and he was taken off
the lots outthere and given brief trial
once by the Pirates Ha was there only
long enough TO get cup of coffee and a @
sandwich, and then Kansas City tried
him. He couldn't get the side out In the
American Association.
In 1918 Cliff B!aakaasa!s gavs Rua-
Their trial with the Salt Lake club in
| tho Pacific Coast League AS pitcher
he was ngain flvver. losing three
genes and winning none. He appeared
In nine games for Salt Lake, pitching
thirty-three and two-thirds Innings, be-
ing scored on thirty-two times, gave
twenty-one bases on balls, hit four and
allowed ar average Of 6l0 earned runs
per game. He finished a had last In a
list Of fifty-four pitchers. But with salt
Lake he displayed a penchant for hit
ting the ball hard and often, and Blank
enship used him as a pinch hitter for a
while. during which he went to bat
| Twenty-Five times ana punched the pellet
for an average Of .3i0 and slammed OFT
two home runs and three triples
Drifts to Spokane.
Blankenship then canned Ruether and
he drifted to the Spokane club in the
| Northwest League, a Glass = circuit.
With Spokane in 1916 he led the
pitchers with thirteen won and four lost.
| struck out 12S in $40 innings, gave
sixty-four bases on balls and allowed
! 1lb hits. Nick Williams. manager Of
the Spokane club, pie yed him I'm the OUT
| field and on first base when he wasn't
pitching, and he played fifty-four games
at first base and twenty-five in the out \
| field and finished the season with n bat
ting average of .297.
! His ability to slam out long drives
won Ruether q lot Of press notices
around the Northwest circuit, in addi-
ton to which he hung up tt record as
pitcher by winning nine straight
games. in which he averaged ten strike.
outs game.
But In spite OF this impressive show
ing his reputation for ccccntricity and
| bad habits prevented any club from