Evening star., 1926-12-26

The race for the National League
championship this year was more
closely contested than that in the
American League and developed
more queer results and seeming
| Inconsistencies in its progress.
The Cardinals victory was achieved
with the lowest percentage mark
ever made in the history of pennant
winning. The teams mark was .57S,
with So games won and 6b lost;
| Ninety victories usually 10 considered
| to be the minimum number neces-
sary to capture q pennant in the big
| leagues.
The lowest mark prior to the past
season In the National League was
made by Philadelphia In 1915, with
| .5a2a Next in order comes Brooklyn,
with s03 In 1890. Brooklyn won in
1920 with .s0l and New York in 1922
also won with .684. None of these
| teams could be called a great ball
club. In the American League the
| lowest figure for a championship
team was that of Detroit in 1903 at
! .5SS and Detroit did not have great
team.
| st. Louis did not lead in batting as
| a team In 1926, but 1t did lead in run
making Its run-making ability COM
bined with it's sturdy pitching, and at
times pitching that was better than
any of it's rivals, helped to bring 1t
| through. 1t was a persistent team,
now and then brilliant team an
energetic team and one that had the
| buoyancy of youth and could take, q
slap in the face and come back for
more.
Hornsby Loses Batting Crown.
Hornsby fell out of the race for
| continuous leadership as individual
bat sman OF his circuit, but there was
reason for 1t. He was badly hurt In
naidseason and played on, despite his
| injury, although he never was at his
best.
The best pitcher of the st, Louis
team from the standpoint OF success
was Flint Rhen, a young man from
South Carolina. He was the best OF
his league in everything except ex-
| perience. He managed to enjoy
successful year without experience.
| but he was O. failure in the world
series for lack of 1t.
| The player who helped most to
| unity the team was Thevenow, the
| shortstop He has had a queer his
tory. Branch Hickey, former man
| ager of the team, took him on and
1t was Hickey who sent him away to
| Syracuse because he did not think
| Thevenew was qualified for major
| league base ball. The first thing that
| Hornsby did as manager was TO wire
syracuse to return Thevenow at once.
! That was in 1925. In 1925 Thevenow
| started regularly with the team. Both
| experts and fans were slow to notice
! what difference ThevenOw had
made In the club until st. Louis was
on the verge of winning a pennant.
+ Tive Pittsburgh Faults.
| When Pittsburgh made its way to
| first place in August the champions
had timed their flight exactly right.
They We're on top sbout at the mo-
| ment when 1t is we'll to assume the
| lead. From that time until the end
of the season, II they had won q Few
| more than so per cent OF their re-
naming games they would have won
| the pennant.
| pittsburgh was possessed Of two
serious faults The first of them was
| lack of pitchers. The second was TOO
much conversation. No team In wears
had had a larger burden OF talk 10
l consume. and talk often Kills pen.
I nants. Pittsburgh suffered. too, Dy
| the loss of Glenn Wright when cont
yersation was thickest.
| Cincinnati, almost always In the
| hghf, might have won the pennanf
| with some ease, had 1t started with
| good infield and had all Of Its
players maintained their normal skill
ali OF the year. The dop of the Reds
| in the late days OF the race was the
most discouraging performances OF all.
Cubs furnish Surprise.
/ One great surprise, In the National
| League race was the fine results OBJ
| tanned from the Chicago National
1 League team. Joe McCarthy's Work
as manager surpassed that OF any
| other manager of his circuit, because
he took an odd assortment Of almost
| nothing and carried it along with such
admirable executive. skill that he
/ found @ place with the team In the
\ first division and twice was doing
well enough to make his club mild
championship threat.
! The Giants fiatteDed a. q result OF
their ordinary ball players and more
than ordinary mishaps. There was
| nothing In Brooklyn, Philadelphia or
! Boston that suggested q champion
/ ship team at any time during the
year. Brooklyn dried up. The Phil
| lies did net have the players and the
| Braves thought they had better play
ers than they proved 20 be.
ThasMaaann yras- dnancdaliy yeuceees~.