The Washington times., 1923-02-25
ARM WEAKENS
AS WALTER rs
NEAR RECORD
Menke Says Baseball Days Of
Capital Idol Are Numbered.
By FRANK g. NHENFkE.
tcopyrfgIst, 1923, ~ king Features syn
dictate, Ih6,l

By FRANK Ct. MENKE.
{copyrfgIft, 1924, " king Features syn
dictate. Iht,l
nv HE arm Of walter Johnson
once the mightiest whip in
the baseball world has grown
tired and weary through sixteen
yeare Of constant strain and con.
slant effort.
The days Of the speed King are
numbered
There has come to him much III
the financial riches Of baseball;
much that will make him d baseball
immortal. But ia tI1eee eI,hlnfr
hours OF his big league life, Jonii.
SON knows an unfuIflIIed abition--
the yeArning to achieve 100 shutotit
triunaphs.
wiil his dreams come true in
1898?
In the sixteen years OF his big
league life Johnson has sehiteWAsl1-
ed fUemen Ylinety.seven tiInes-a
record Infinitely beyond all pitching
opposition. Several seasons ago Nc
ec1ipsed the mark Of eighty.three
hung up by Christy Mathewson
The Speed King has averaged
d trifle better than six shutouts per
season. II maintained through 1929
he would 90 we'll beyond the cen,
fury, and thus establish 4 record
that m ght be imperishable
ARM LOSES POWER.
Were the arm OF johnson TO-DAY
the same wizard-like whip 81 his
earlier years It would be 4 GER
tainty that ne could pitch ut least
six runless triumphs In 1929. But
The arm has lost It's youthful power.
It's bullet-like speed, much of Its
cunning. Batsmen no longer fear
them, as in the other days.
Once Walter used to think 1t 4
day poorly spent when he didn't
shutout the enemy. But In 1922
the great mopndlenan'e chief diff
Guilty was In winning in any old
way that was possible. Even I'M
that eTdeavof he was not really
successful. for In thirty.one bat.
ties he was triumphant In only
fifteen, finishing the year With an
average Of .485.
But whether Johnson ever does
reach the 100 mark or not, 1t would
seem that already he has complied
a record which may resist all the
onslaughts Of future years. Only
one pitcher in the game today can
be regarded az having q chance to
top the JohnBonian record--And that
&c A chance remote.
In his twelve years Grover Alex
ander has pitched his way to
sevety-nine shutout wins. includ.
ing sixteen, which he slung In 1915
and which constitutes the single
season record for all time.
Alexander has averaged about
six and one.half whitewash appli.
cations per year. Could he keep
II UP for five more seasons, II is
quite likely that he could eclipse
whatever Is the final record which
johnson will make.
ALEXIS ARM SKIDS. :,
But the pathetic thing 10 that
days, like Johnson's,
seem to be numbered If either
tricks the big league trails for three
more full seasons, 1t will be a happy
surprise to the baseball world. And
even II Alexander did 90 five years
more and Johnson didn't. add an.
other whitewashing to his list, II
is unlikely that Alex would pass
Johnson.
For the arm OF Alex has ekidded
from superlative greatness: 1t no
longer tricks and deceives batsmen.
They find but little trouble macing
old Alex for hits that mean runs.
And so Alex may find 1t difficult to
average three shutouts yearly
through the rest Of his baseballing
days.
And three shutouts per year for
five years. making fifteen, would
put the Alexander total at ninety
four-three short of Johnson's un-
completed record.
So Johnson's total is not in dan
ger.
To pitch ninety-seven shutouts in
a big league life 10 an amazing m
dividual triumph, especially in view
of the fact that Matty's best was
elghty-three, c.. Young's total was
seventy-seven. Eddie Plank's sixty
four, Mordecai Browns fifty.two
and Rube Waddell could sling only
forty-seven.
But Johnson wants to make it
100--and a sportive nation which
ever has admired him for his hon
esty, his manliness and his splen.
did sportsmanship is pulling for
him to achieve the goal Of prob
ably the last great ambition Of his
glorious big league lifetime.