The Washington times., 1923-01-16

what harper, not the h2cKenS
Brooklyn squire.
"Yes, the same" whispered SUIT
ton he had gathered on the sand
Ebbetts signed the smiling south
Fla, Wilbert Robinson will attemI
81 watched Harper last summer, ,
says Sutton, "and noticed 9
change I'm his style Of delivering
the ball to the plate. He has nov
acquired q motion he always lacked
Without it he never had control
especially of his curve ball. Now
with his new style, which must
have come to him unconsciously
he should be the best and easily
the most effective 'lefthander in
the National League"
If Sutton is right. Miller Hug
gins viii tear his hair for releasing
Harper Internationally last spring
for the Yankees need a capable
southpaw more than any other one
thing, unless 1t be the champion.
ship Of the world. But Harper was
supposed to be worthless when he
quit the Yankees and good radiance
If Sutton is right, the Red Sox
will be peeved that they ever
shunted him TO New York with a
bunch of men in return for Del
Pratt.
If Sutton is right. Clark Griffith
may enjoy q quiet frothing at the
mouth in the privacy of his boud0ir
on Sixteenth street, for he WAS the
first to have Harper and he shunt'
ed him to Boston.
Though breaking into fast COM
pany as far back as 1918, MOxie
Is not an old man. He was but
eighteen years old when he un-
cOrISed his wild stuff at Georgia
avenue for the first time. He
has always taken the best Of
care Of himself and should have
five years more Of good baseball
In his system.
Moxie Harper was perhaps the
widest pitcher Clark Griffith has
ever had on his Washington roster
But he always showed SO much
latent talent that he was retained
Tor years in the hopes Of settling
down. He didn't.
Moxieis best year with the Griff.
men was in 1916 when he won thir.
teen games and lost twelve. He
took part in thirty-six games that
season and strtlckout 149 batsmen.
In 1919 Harper won but five
games. while he was charged with
tWenty-one defeats. Griffith decided
he would let somebody else worry
along with Mo1ie and the smiling
southpaw found himself with Boston
in 1920. He won five and lost four.
teen for Frazee's gang that year and
in 1881 be was with the Yankees,
winning four and losing three
games.
Because he was thought to be re-
firing from the game, Harper was
Internationally released last spring
and he soon bobbed up on the sand
lots where he attracted the attention
Of Larry Sutton, the Brooklyn scout.
Now he's member OF the Dodgers.
In eight years Of big league base
ball Harper issued 574 bases on balls
and famed go batsmen. He won
fifty-six games and lost seventy
seven. Good to an extreme when he
was good, Harper was absolutely
rotten when he was bad.
IL is possible that Harper will
oppose his old team, the Griff-
men, this spring at Tampa or
Clearwater, Fla. Though Presi.
dent Griffith has yet to announce
the dates, the Dodgers and Griffs
are expected to face each other in
the COcoanut league this spring.
The long southpaw was going good
II 1921 with the Yankees when Ed.
die Ainsmith, then with the Detroit
TIGERS, drove a liner back at him.
TIE ball struck Harper's left thumb
bfeaking it. That put him on the
Shelf until the very end Of the cam.
pa5gn.
LAST spring he had large team
ing contract and begged permission
10 report late. He received it and
when he did report he was not used
shortly afterward being released out
right.
stay with emf is likely to b.
Inc battle cry DOME Bush viii
choose for his gang of Griffs mex
season, especially II he happens t.
see in any of the indianapolis
papers the figures showing how
weak the team was last year II
extra-inning games. Out Of clever
such contests the Griffmen woI
poorest work of any ball club il
TIC AAACtlC0H ACoSoC III IOSS. NeN
York, Chicago, and Cleveland fur
nished the victims for Zeb Milant
gang. The Indians took then
three times in extra frames, tn,
Yanks twice and the Mackmen
Tigers and Red Sox one apiece.
Kid Gleason's scrappiness i
proverbial in baseball and. the re
suit may be seen in the sixteel
victories of-the White Sox in over
time games last year. Twelv
times the Sox were whipped, bu
of their sixteen victories twelv
were against first division clubs
They lost seven games to frs
division clubs. In other words
Gleason had 'em staying all tn
time.
The weakness of the 1922 Griffmel
In overtime games is remarkable
only a few years before Georgia ave
nue. fans used to grin with glee whel
the tenth inning came along. The
hs6 every reason to believe the hom
hoys would cop. They did most q
The time.
7 his was especially true Of cor
Ges,s with Cleveland. It made n
difference who was pitching. II tn
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