Evening star., 1924-02-26

Shirley has the reputation of be-
ing q natural hitter and chockful OF
pepper, but few athletes have nego-
ttated the distance from campus to
calcium in one hop Even the re-
doubtable Eddie Collins had TO serve
part of two seasons on the Ath-
fettcs' bench. after graduating from
Columbia University, before he made
the grade as r member in good
standing of Connie Mack'S celebrated
;nper Gordon.
LeiboId Their Obstacle.
Harry Liebold. the thirty-two-ye year
Old veteran of three other big
leagues, who. in 1923, had the best
the obstacle who must be displaced if
Richbourg, Fisher or Smith is to
share fly-chasing duties with Sam
Rice and Goose Goslin. who are as
sured of their Jobs. Iiebold is by no
means a slugger, but he finished close
Up to the 800 mark last year. and. be-
ing difficult to pitch to because of his
short stature, is often on the bases.
t-nd once there knows what TO do. He
covers quite a bit of ground in the
field, too, and has throwing arm
that Is far from weak.
On the dope available. Richbourg
must be regarded as the most formid-
able candidate for the open picket
post. The .374 he carved out for him
self before u broken leg laid him
low at Nashville last summer Is only
three points better than the average
attained by Fisher at NeY Haven, but
81 was garnered off a slightly higher
grade of hurling. as the Southern As
aociation has something Of an edge
on the Eastern League In the matter
of class. EichbourE also Is Il very
fast runner. there being only two or
three on the club who might outfoot
aim in q sprint.
1t was apparent when he was with
fhe Griffmea last spring that Fisher
could sock, but he was below par In
defensive way, and the amount OF
fielding polish lie acquired under the
direction of the late Bill Donovan
remains to be demonstrated.
Smith Has CIouting Record.
So far as batting averages are cou-
9erned, Smith far outranked both his
rivals, amaSsinS d percentage in "x-
cess of 400 with the Raleigh club
ngures is qualified somewhat by the
fact that they wer. obtained off
hurlers in the Piedmont League,
which is few degrees slower than
either of the other two organiza tions.
The circumstanc which favors the
Soungster from kernersville, y. c.,
IS that he alone of all the players
availa BILE for outfielding Is right
sidHU HltteT.
Smith Is well bull, chap, close to
Xix feet In height. He seems TO be
possessed of no remarkable amount
of speed, but apparently il Z quick
starter. and that is half the battle in
picket work. Howard Shanks was u
striking illustration of the truth OF
this contention. Few major league
outrielders are heavier on their feet
than Hank, but his hnack of judging
direction enabled him TO get off with
the crack of the bat and corrall drives
that many speedier players would
fail to reach.
Must Displace PrOthro.
Although neither Of them may
realize it, Eiuege and Gagncn, infield
candidates, face the handicap of
lighting for the only Job already
tenta lively filled. Doc Prothro is
slated to atart the season at third
, base for the Nationals and If he
:5ustifies the confidence rcpose.l in
him win COME nearer TO completely
filling tho bill than any player Wa
ington has had since Eddie Foster
faded from THO picture. The Ten
ressee dentist, ,s'who is sojourning at
Hot Springs with the other "regu-
lars" is no mere youth, having al
ready celebrated his twenty-eighth
birthday, but be Is comparatively
young Ia base. ball, having started