The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-05
PECK WOULD BE
OF GREAT HELP
TO.WASHINGT0N
Clark Griffith Angling with Boston
for Services of Star
Shortstop.
BY JOHN b. FOSTER.
1922, by The Argus.)

| Copyright, 1922, by The Argus.)
New York, Jan. 5.-If Peckiu-
paugh is secured from Boston by
Clark Griffith, it may be one of
those changes which produce the
| best results when least expected
| by the fans. Once upon a time
Bill Dahlen was secured by the
| Giants from Brooklyn. Everyone
knew that Dahlen was good short
stop and there was growing in
Brooklyn when he was permitted
! to get away but not everyone knew
| that the Brooklyn club inadvertent
! ly was helping its most bitter rival
| to the championship of the National
/ league.
! Yet, that is exactly what it lid.
The Giants hal been shy of even a
fair shortstop and the moment that
Dahlen got back with a team that
seemed to have 4 show for the pen
nant bullseye he was another Bill
and another ball player. He had
been a good shCrtstop for Chicago,
one of the mose promising of his
days, but in Brooklyn mediocre
team took the pep out of Bill.
Shifted over TO New York he
quickly came back to form and he
was a great shnrtstop for the Giants
when they won the championship
! in 1904. John T. Brush wouldn' =
play Boston in world series that
year because his manager was dead
sci against it, and in 1905 when
! they did play the world series Bill
Dahlen was. one of the acknowl-
edged star infielders in the history
of baseball.
Roger Peckinpaugh has tempera-
ment som ethins like that of Dab
! len. II is true that he has just
won a championship or helped TO do
so for one team, but the fact that
he would be put with a team like
| Washington which has possibilities
might be just the thing that would
start Peck on rampage to put
| New York out of it in 1922. If the
Washington club can pick up 4
little strength in the season to
come, it IS one team in the Amer
! lean league that can gixe New
York a battle because it always
gives the Yankees a fight as it is.
Another fact to be taken into
consideration is that Peckinpaugh
is the type Of infielder who will
| balance an infeld like that at
Washington. Put by the side of
Harris, shortstop who will bring
out even more than Harris produced
! last year-and a good shortstop
vii do that Washington fans
will begin to find that Harris is
a better ball player than they
imagined. There are only two or
! three infeldeTs in the American
league who can cover ground pet
| ter.
| Peck will help Shanks a lot, too.
| While he may not win the champ
| ionship as Bill Dahlen for The
Giants, because he supplied the
t missing link, Peck will make the
! Washington infeld a bunker for
the opposing batters and stranger
4 things have happened than that
! Washington might develop champ
| ionship form with an encouraging
iI.feld
! II this trade is to be based on
the transfer of Dugan to Boston
it is possible that Dugan can play
! shortstop for Boston as well as he
played third base for the Athletics.
and if he should the Boston club
would have as good a shortstop
as any club in the league But
! Dugan would not do for Washing
! ton what Peck might do for that
/ team because Peck's temperament
seems of a type more suitable for
/ Washington
While the major league meetings
! were on, it was suggested that
Griffith might get into the David
| Harum business again by weaving
away good shortstop from some
club. sHe is. trader with a pref
ty good reputation for helping his
team and if he can get a little as
snrance and aggressiveness into
that Washington, outfit it can make
/ a lot of trouble in 1922.
James Dunn who owns the Cleye-
land club winter and summer, saws
/ Larry Gardner can play third base
for Cleveland as long as-well, he
didn't make it definite 1t was the
/ testimonial of an owner to a de-
serving player.
There have been other managers
and owners who have said the same
/ thing, implying indeterminate
length for a ball players career
and there have been ball players
who actually thought it was said
in all sincerity.
| No doubt Mr.. Dunn is just as sim
cere as he can be but the Cleve-
land infield will get some shaking
up in 1922, more than it has re-
| ceived or the Cleveland baseball
! team will not win the pennant from
the combination of McNally, Scott,
Ward and Pipp for New York, a
fast lot of young men to handle and
to assist in making more expert
| pitchers. who have only lived up
/ to reputation, to succeed.