The New York herald., 1921-12-25
MIDk,FF SEDUCTIVE
BASEBALL

The year 1921 was another of marked
baseball prosperity. Times were none
too good and the attendance, In the
major leagues at least was not as large
as In 1890, the biggest year In the games
history. Yet 1921 was an exceptionally
prosperous year. Exciting races In both
tho National and American bodies
helped to make il so, and the natural
and healthy growth of baseball interest
as national pastlme and institution
has reached such large and fixed proper
tions that patronage can be, with GER
tain vacillations, counted on as per-
manently large.
Tho 1921 season in tho big leagues
was featured by the hard, pluclky and
successful pennant fights made by the
two New York clubs, clubs which later
met In the world series by the presence
Of an alleged lively ball and by such
extraordinarily long distance hitting
that that hitting was attibuted to the
rcsilency Of the ball.
The season also was marked for
considerable part of it by pitching of
distinctly mediocre quality, which had
as much to do with the harder hitting
as any additional liveliness the base
ball may have acquired incidental TO Its
manufacture. The season turned out
more heavy hitters and more base hits
than any predecessor
The National League race was won
by tho Giants, who wiped out long
and seemingly unsurmountable lead held
by the Pittsburgh Pirates and made
wonderfully strong finish. II was
stern chase, however, and Il wasn't until
a week before the season was over that
the Giants had their championship won.
The Yankees In the American League
wcro equally game and won their pen
nant after "A nerve straining race with
the Cleveland Indians all season. First
one team then the other was in the
lead. and I'm their last series with the
then champions the Yankees outgamed
them and fixed themselves in first
place. They were not dislodged after
that, though their pennant wasn't
clinched until the day before the season
ended.
The worlds series, therefore. was
played in New York, the second time
In modern history for the teams Of the
same city TO grapple In the classic. The
other time was in 1906 when Chicago
had a monopoly OF the series. The Yam
KEGS won the first two games Of the
1921 series. The Giants won the next
two and made II even. The Yanks won
the fifth and that was their last VIC
tory, for the Giants then took three
straight and became worlds champions.
There was no talk OF lively ball in
this series. The pitching was extraor-
dlnarily good. Mays and Hoyt of tho
Yankees and Douglas. Nehf and Barnes
of the Giants pitched brilliantly. The
Giants won because they had three good
pitchers to the Yankees two. An un-
! looked for hero developed in the person
Of John Rawlings. the Giants second
bascman and Just an ordinary player.
Iiabe Ruth, suffering from a severe In
| jury TO his arm. did not play the full
series and his absence handicapped the
Yankees materially.
The leading pitcher of the American
League was Carl Mays OF the Yankees,
| the underhand wizard Burlcigh Grimes
OF tho Brooklyns led the National
League pitchers. Frank Frisch of the
| Giants was the best stealer of bases IN
the big leagues. The leading batters
were Hornsby OF ST. Louis in the Ma
| tional League. and either Cobb or He'll
man of Detroit IN the American.
Babe Ruth, the biggest single figure
| in the game, again did phenomenal
smuggling. The Yankee home run pho
nomenon exceeded his record pcrfor.
nance OF the year before. This year he
made flfty-nlne homers. five more than
In 1920. and he added his slxtieth in the
worlds series. He mado it off Phil
Douglas.