Evening star., 1925-05-03

A good illustration are the two Phila-
delphia clubs. A few days ago / no
ticed among the first 10 batters-men
hitting above $50 and around 400
such players as Holke and Moken Of
the Phillies; Poole. Bishop, and even
Hale of the Athletics
Below them you will find such re-
liable batters as Wheat of Brooklyn,
Frisch and Young of New York, Rice
and Goslin Of Washington. Heilmann
of Detroit, Traynor of Pittsburgh, and
many others-batters always up
around the top after the season gets
well under way.
Batting Out of Class.
While I would like to see all of these
younger men stay up in the star list
1t means a lot TO the game as
whole-they really have no license TO
hit that hard. They are simply out
OF line. Therefore the teams in the
early start are out of line. Just
watch those names a month from now.
The explanation of this is rather diff
f1cult. 1t cannot be laid 10 bad pitch
ing. AS matter of fact the pitching
this Spring has been so unusually
good that all the veteran players are
discussing it on the benches. Man
ayers and scouts of other clubs tell me
such a condition exists throughout
the two leagues.
These young players are keeping up
there, / think. simply because they
are batting so erraticallv. or out Of
| their class, that the pitchers have not
located their strength and weaknesses.
The pitchers will get the better Of
them just as rapidly as the regular
heavy hitters will crawl up on the old
| line pitchers In a way the expe-
| rfenced pitcher in the Spring is much
like the veteran poker player who sits
in with man who doesn't know how
| TO play. 1t takes time to figure him
out. He has had the old-timer figured
out for long time.
Now that the minor leagues have
opened up, the races are all split out
by the same erratic conditions. Even
| recognized heavy hitters who have
gone down from the big leagues are
not hitting as well as some youngsters
from the sticks"
Giant Sluggers Sluggish.
On our club. the Giants, the estab-
lfshed hitters have not struck their
stride. They have managed to hit
well enough to keep us in the lead.
but many of them are not in the
class where they belong-men like
Young, Jackson, Kelly and SO on
Note the records on this and you'll
find il interesting. Just pick out
what the newspaper men call the
heavy artillery groups on any of the
clubs and see what position they occu-
py In the batting averages of the first
two weeks. They are scattered all
up and down the column.
1t is an almost invariable rule in
base ball that once batter finds his
natural level he rarely varies from
pie, you will find in the first 20 hit
ters the same names season after sea-
son. Below them the group that hits
around Pts this year will hit that
next year. The players known to be
weak also viii be grouped in this
| section season after season. l sup
pose this holds true IN all sports. The
golfer who plays around so one year
Will not play around 90 the next. nor
will he be around 75. Billiard play
ers always can be accurately grouped.
| am referring to veterans. of course.
Newcomers are uncertain until time
establishes their class, until they find
their natural level.
Young Stars Impressive.
The two \standouts of the younger
stars in base ball this Spring to my
mind are Hartnett of the Cubs and
Lindstrom of the Giants. I also am
pleased at the showing Hale is MAX
ing for Connie Mack. douht
though, that Hale can keep UP that
hitting gait when the pitchers begin
to pitch to him properly.
OF the very new comers a Young
fellow that impresses me is Jimmy
Welsh. of the Braves. 1t may take a
year or two for him to be a real ba il
player of major league caliber, but he
certainly has the earmarks in the
rough. He is rangy and fast. He
"UNTZ" BREWER
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