The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-08-11

were the Cincinnati Reds, the Pitts.
burg Pirates and the Brooklyn
And then the Giants
pitching staff. rated as nothing
much before the start Of the Official
season, has demonstrated that 1t Is
better than that, while
the supposedly invincible hurting
corps Of the Yankees shas gone into
a deplorable slump.
Briefly, the Giants are in front
because they have been playing
vastly better baseball than the rest
Of the league. which is a good and
sufficient reason. 1t cannot be
denied that they have had all, or
practically all. Of the breaks that
play such an important role in the
of baseball history. While
injuries and illnesses were falling
thick and fast in the midst Of all
Of their logical contenders, the
Giants have gone on their merry
way unhampered save by a few
minor trials and tribulati0ns.
Then there has been the advent
Of Lewis r. Wilson, better known
perhaps as Hack" "Whack,o'
"WOIf," and some other euphOni-
Ous nicknames. In fact, some
people believe that II the Giants
had not had this young man sit
ting on the bench when Billy
SouthwOrth, who started tho
season in centerfield, early began
to show signs Of wear and tear.
the New York club would not be
at the top of the heap at this
moment.
Wilson possesses quite few
unique attributes. For instance, ne
can get a baseball uniform dirder
than any ball player It has ever
been this writer's pleasure 10
watch, Also, Wilson has set a new
style in sliding into bases or. rather,
has renewed an old style. He goes
for the bag feet first ana the
moment he reaches the SACK re
hounds Immediately to his reet' IN
the field, Hack" goes after lily
ball with all the elephantine grace
of a piano mover, But ne Is iast;
covers a world of ground, and
holds anything upon wnlcn ne
clamps his capable pair OF hooks
What more could one ask!
Rut it is at bat the 5.foot- 6.incn
lS5.pound ball hawk shines. wilson
slashes into an inoffensive baseball
with all the strength Of his stocky'
powerful frame, whales 1t a mile
and scoots around the sacks like O
scared rabbit. Right now, HACK
Ia one of the most feared batsmen
in the league. II he has weak
ness. the current issue OF pitchers
has not yet found 1t.
Another youthful reason why
the Giants are up there has been
the work of Travis jackson, the
vOung shOrtstOp from Arkansas,
who is rapidly causing tho Polo
Grounds regulars to forget
"Reauty" Bancroft. COcksure-
ness Is the best term we can
think of to describe jackson. He
is cocksure in anything he tries
to do. He goes after ground
ball that way. When he ad'
yances to the plate, he acts as
though the thing he Is in doubt
about IL whether his hit will be
a mere single or for extra bases.
Iackson's self-confidence might be
called over.confidence but for the
fact that he succeeds so often.
Playing his position, Travis leaves
to be desired, anc doVetalls
nicely with the rest OF the Giant
infield. At bat he Is. to say the
least, dangerous-More dangerous
in the pinch than at any other
The rest Of the regulars have
fulfilled expectations, which Is some
thing that cannot be said OF the
regulars of any other team in either
league. The sole exception to this
might be Heinie Groh.
the veteran third baseman. who
seems to be on his last legs. Still,
they are pretty fast good legs at
that. for Heinie manages TO step
around briskly. Then again, the
public was prepared for a trifle
slowing UP on the part of the
wielder of the bottle bat. Perhaps
the slowing up of another veteran.
Frank Snyder, who never was
streak of lightning at his best, has
hindered the team a little, but not
much.
At present, Ross Young Is out
of the regular lineup. 1t hasn't
bothered the team much, with
SouthwOrth in there, doing fairly
well. Still, YOung's bat is missed
a bit, for Southworth is showing
no more hitting ability than he
did at the beginning Of the sea-
son. Young will be back in a
few days and probably before any
real damage is caused by his alb
Sence.
Pitchers who, in 1923, started
games for the Giants and left by
request along about the third or
fourth inning are now starting
and finishing them, which
is rather unusual in view OF the
fact that in the main the pitchers
who are winning this year are the
same that were consistently knock
ed loose from their mornings In
1923. His Nibs. John j. McGraw,
could ask for no better luck than
he has had with his hurlers this
season.
No less a parsonage than your
Uncle Wilbert Robinson has de-
clared in this writer's presence
that, in his opinion, both New York
teams should come through. Right
now 1t looks as though half of
49, Vxyo.Il Cnr;as ot lnast S,,;Il ~