San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-23
GOOD CATCHES AS
WELL AS PITCHERS.
NEEDED IN MAJORS
Schalk and Schang Begin
ming to Slip-Har-
grave a Star.
BY JOHN Il. FOSTER.

Copyright. by The san Antonio Light.
New York, Sept. 22.-Managers of
major league teams are looking every
where for good catchers to strengthen
their clubs for next season because
there appears TO be general agree
ment among them that the backstop-
ping has not been so good this year.
With such stars as Ray Schalk OF
the White Sox and Wally Schapg
showing signs of slipping. it would
seem to be time for the majors to
turn up some promising new catcher
material.
Hargrave of the Cincinnati Reds
stands out above all other catchefs
in both leagues for the merit OF his
performance this year. He has been
steady behind the bat and his hitting
has been timely and hard.
Part of the lack of class OF some
of the teams this year has been que,
to the catching being as bad as the
| pitching. Perhaps the catchers nave
been responsible for the poor show
I ing made by some of the pitchers. !,
Schalk is still wonderful catcher
but imagine backstopper going into
lI3 gam for major league eiuo'
and batting only .220. With weak
! hitting pitchers and a catcher with.
no better success than that as bat
fer the White Sox have a hole at the
bottom of their batting order like one
of those chasms left by the Japanese
earthquake. As for Schang. his,
trouble is in his throwing. He never
has been a crackerjack marksman in
hpaving for the second bag, but his
hitting has kept him in the front rank
| amor the catchers. This year ne,
isn't even batting well. Hoffman,
the Yanks' second-string catcher, can
hit ouite n lot, but he should spend
all winter throwing at mark ana
| trying TO get the ball away. BEN
| cough. another kid on the New York
! team. comes so near to being the pest
| throwing catcher in baseball that any
one who thinks he has 1t over nm
will have to make six bulls eyes IN
succession. Bengough is one OF those
Celcctable throwers who can line the
ball over the ground with so little
| effort that il does not seem as though
he threw. If Bengough were a strong
batter. which he isn't he would verge
on being the greatest catching star
in the game.
The Giants need propping behind
the bat for next year. McGraw iet
n good physical catcher go when he
dropped Smith to Boston simply to
grab Gowdy with apparent experience
enough to keep in line a team which
showed wobbly symptoms. Perhaps
| Gowdy is not the greatest catcher that
ever lived and may be he is some
miles away from it. but he has a
personality that is helpful 10 kid
pitcher.
Both Boston teams need catchers.
So do the ST. Louis Nationals. Tine
| Pittsburgs could strengthen behind
the bat where Schmidt is not the
catcher he once was. The Washing
tons also need a good catcher. Myatt
has done fairly well for Cleveland.
He has batted $40 in the American
League and that is very consistent
as compared with what he did for
Milwaukee.
If there were any catchers in the,
minors who showed promise the!
would be grabbed like hotcakes st
any price because they are mighty
badly needed and there are neGotia-
tions going on for trade by which two
or three clubs with means are hoping
TO prop IN for next year. Catching
is rocking chair performs1ce where
you have easy pitchers like &at array
with the Yanks, for example. but
where you are bringing up pitchers
in the way you think they should do,
it is something else.
Catchers never can hope TO be sue
cessful if they will not make study
of batters. Buck Ewing could point
with his finger to the batting weak
ness of every player in the NATIONAL
League. But the Buck Ewings these
days are few and far between.