The sun., 1919-08-17
ROSY FUTURE FOR
YANKEE YOUNGSTERS
Fewster, Wick and Ruel Loom
Up as Coming Big League
Stars.
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ANOTHER EDDIE COLLINS
Fewster So Named by Baseball
ExPert-Sam Strikes Gait
Muddy Big Asset.
ANOTHER EDDIE COLLINS
By FREDERICK G. LIEB.


Baseball followers are inclined to re-
gard the Yankees as team Of old timers.
To large extent that is true. In fact.
one of Miller Hugginss. newspaper de-
ira ctors In st. Louis recently penned an
article In which he said Higgins might
have won this years pennant IL he
hadn't been such worshipper of the
ancients BY the ancients" he meant
such able talent as "Home Run" Baker.
Ping Bodie, Del Pratt and Duffy Lewis.
Yet despite its big advantage Of vet
Grams, no team in baseball possesses
three more lively prospects than Chick
Fewster, Sammy Wick and Muddy
Ruel. Each of these boys has a great
career ahead of him. Make no mistake
about that
You can almost place them at the top
of the class among the young players
developed in the first year after the
war. All three came to the Yankees in
the fall Of 1917. Wick and Ruel spent
last year in the army. while Fewster was
in the shipyards In 1918. However, no
stigma is attached to Fewster as the
result of his war conduct. He was the
only support of an invalid widowed
mother and entered a shipyard with the
permission of Manager Higgins and the
Yankee officials.
Fewster, Wick and Ruel, therefore.
may properly be classed as 1913 hnds.
A Top Notch Trio.
Who will be the greatest among this
trio7 Perhaps 1t will be just as well to
let the future tell the story. Let 1t suffice
10 say that before another season rolls
around all three will be regarded as top
rotchers In their respective positions.
There hasn't been a more likely look
ip6aldar than FawStar graduated
into the big leagues since Roger Horns
by came up. Hollocher of the Cubs
looked like a million dollars last year.
but he was going above his speed in
year of weakened pitching STATS. He
doesn't look like the same player this
year.
The Yanks got Fewster from Balti-
more In the same deal with Lamar and
Thormahlen. Lamar looked like the best
bet Of the three when they reported to
the Yanks late in 1877. but now Fewster
alone is worth the big price that the.
New York club paid for the three play
ers
Though Higgins only saw the lad at
the training camp IN 1918. he refused
10 consider any trades for him last win
ter. He might have got Roth from
Cleveland had he consented to throw in
Fewster. Hes one ball player I won't
trade, eald llttlo ndlilef.
Fewster has a great pair Of hands.
splendid arm, can hit and run. and be-
sides he has tia real baseball instinct
He can fathom plays, and invariably
knows the right time to insert q bunt
or place hit. So far the youngster
hasn't shown a weakness. and he is
getting better with every game he
plays. Without growing unduly opti-
mistic, Fewster to-day looks like the lad
with the best chance OF inheriting Eddie
Collins's crown as the star infielder of
the American League.
Tennessee Mountaineer.
Wick is Just beginning to realize his
own possibilities. When one considers
this is only Sammy's second year in
professional baseball the possibilities Of
this boy are unlimited. He's Tonnes
see meuntaineer and played his first pro-
fessonal ball with Memphis OF the
Southern Association IN 1917. Here he
hit 1922 and won fame as an extra base
clouter
When he came to the Yanks that fall
he looked like the rawest rookie ever
dug UP by a big league scout One
couldn't begin to tell the fielding crimes
he pulled in right field when Bill Dono-
van stationed him in that pasture. But
Sam showed he could hit. Whether they
went safe or not, he met them on the
nose.
The war held back vicks develop
inent, as he was in the army all OF last
year. However, he has been making up
for lost time this season, and Is coming
so fast that he is a 100 per cent. better
ball player now than at the start of the
season. There no longer Is any fault
with his fielding. On. the last Yankee
stand on the Polo Grounds Sammy's
hitting and fielding was one of the fea-
lures of an otherwise depressing Yankee
showing.
Sam a Free swinger.
viclS is one OF those fellows IN base
ball who are known as free swingers
or natural hitters" Nothing shoulder
bound or muscle bound about them
Baseball scouts are always on the look
out for the lad with the free swing.
Nap Lajoie was the perfect exponent OF
this type Of batsmen. Heinie thinner
man, in his prime, was another.
In addition to being free swinger'
Vick has wrists like blacksmith. When
he connects with a ball 1t goes. He has
worthy collection OF doubles and
triples, and has hooked several balls
into the left field bleachers on the Polo
Grounds. one Of them with the bases full.
Ruel doesn't promise to develop into
as good a hitter as either Fewster or
Wick, but II he averages around .240 TO
.2s0, the normal gait of Ray Schalk or
Steve O'Neill, 1t will be perfectly sat
isfactory. He Is of the Schalk, O'Neill,
schang type, rather short. but fast on
his feet, and a quick thinker. He can
throw. and knows when and where to
throw, something which a lot OF men
who can throw don't thoroughly get into
their heads
Muddy From Memphis.
Like Wick, Muddy came from the
Memphis team OF the Southern Asso-
citation and was a member Of Donovans
rookie class in the fall Of 1917. Memphis
got him from a seml-pro club in st.
Louis in which Schmandt. Hollocher and
ONeill also sprouted from. He was
drafted shortly after the start Of the
1918 season, but Higgins was SO Inn
pressed with him that spring that he
decided he could let Walters go to
Boston In the Lewls-Shore deal.
Ruel has lived up to expectations, and
has taken the Job OF first catcher on
the Yankees from Truck Hannah. Some
ot the writer's around the circuit have
Tlled him a second Ray Schalk. That's
lite boost from an out of town critic
Anent Winning Runs.
II Is interesting to note how baseball
writing runs in the same channels. and
To-. ANN