The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1925-03-07


heart out of q batter or boxer.
AS manager Of the Yankees and
the PhiIlies Bill Donovan was wei
liked by erybody-perhaps toe
well liked, for his own good. Be
fore his untimely death, he was
manager OF the New Haven cluE
and at the end of one season hi
was given a banquet in Hartford
Think Of it. a banquet given by
fans in a nearby city where the
rivalry was strong.
It is difficult to draw the line
on the ten best pitchers. Many
experts would put the names Of
Wood, Mafquard, Joss, ShOcler,
Ruth, COveIeslxie or Ford in the
upper ten"
have always had unusual re
spect for Smoky joe Wood. We
met in many a pitchers battle
when he was with the Red Sox and
I know only too well the value OF
his fast ball. He had a delivery
that was hard on his arm and II
put him out of baseball long before
his time. But his sixten consecu.
tive victories in 1912 equals the
American League record and that's
enough consolation for an early
exit.
.Rube" Marquard cost the New
York Giants $1,000 and the base
ball world was shocked. 1t was a
bargain price compared to what
young players have brought in re-
cent years. And yet, Rube was
called a lemon" because he failed
20 live up to expectations. Under
T@na ROfN wv
Marquard's fast ball and southpaw
curve. soon became the sensation
of the NationaI League and when
he won nineteen straight in 1912
he was the most talked of pitcher
I'm America.
He had a high fast ball that was
very hard to hit and opposing play
ers used to say he was one II the
few pitchers who could pitch out
Of the centerfield bleachers." His
ball came so high, it appeared to
move right out of the seats in
centerfield. AS I tried hard to beat
his record run of nineteen victories.
1t wouldn't be good sportsmanshtp
for me to criticize.
But when I failed to reach his
mark by a margin OF three games,
I always blamed it on two reasons
first. Marquard was backed by
a pennant winning ball club and
secondly, 7 was the victim OF a
rule in the American League that
charged me with defeat in my
sixteenth game.
At that time If q relief pitcher
came i'm with runners on base,
he was held responsible for losing
the game I'm case the runners
scored. The rule, SO unfair to
the relief pitcher, was changed
the following day-but too late TO
protect my record.
Addie Joss. the old Cleveland
fayorfte. had a size arm delivery
that made the players say: II
comes out Of his hip pocket. He
had a peculiar windup and delivery
that mad, him hard to get set for.
His curve ball was mighty good
and he had plenty Of speed. Shocker,
who las just returned to the Yam
KEGS after many years absence,
should he a better man in the box
than the records show. Shocker
Is not an easy man for a manager
TO control, hut is hard worker.
and with right handling would be a
world heater.
He has a great variety of stuff.
mixing a fine splitter with a Fast
hall and a slow ball that Is second
to none. Shocker all but pitched
st. Louis into a pennant in 1923,
and think he has some good years
coming. His winning Of a double
header last season against Chica 90
shows he is no shirker, and still a
-, fkoIa "a
box. He il one of the best fielding
pitchers now in the American
League, and always dangerous at
the bat.
Coveleskie. of Cleveland, has q
variety, somewhat similar to
Shocker'e. He is a quiet, hard
worker and never complains about
support. But ] think his arm has
paid the price of spit-ball pitching.
Listing Babe Ruth with the best
pitchers in American League his.
tory viii not surprise fans who re-
member him with the Boston Red
Sox. Jack Dunn, manager OF Bai'
timore, five times champions o!
their league, picked an all star tear
fof all time several years ago and
named Babe Ruth as one of his
pitchers, along with Mathewsonr
"uuuPIl, huSlS anu GIIySStt.
At one time / believe Babe was
one of the hest lefthanded pitchers
in baseball. He had a strong, fast
ball and exceptional control for a
southDaw. l always felt he lacked
the delivery style of a natural
pitcher His motion to first base
was faulty. He had a good arm
and fine judgment.
Ruth never had tt be told what
to do next and he was a demon
for winning every ball game. He
hasn't chang sd bit in that respect
Babe pitched through a total OF
twenty-nine scoreless innings with
the ed Soy, which is world
record aevee equaled,
To Eie. Babe never appeared
N" natural type for a pitcher,
and yet in spite II that, he'd gu
out there and win a lot Of games,
including plenty against Washing
ton when l was in the box.
"Dutch" Leonard was another
lefthander who made his reputation
with the pennant.winning Red Sox
He had plenty of stuff and wal
great in a tight situation. He haG
q good low curve and q fast higI