Evening star., 1928-12-30

THE 1923 mayor league base ba-
was featured by the Yankees.
The New York club not only
Il won the years pennant after a
close and bitter fight in which
superior campaigning and superior
itaying powers told the tale, but it won
the world series from the Cardinals Of
st. Louis in four straight games.
The Yankees made grand finale OF
it. They went through the Cardinals
like a bareback rider through paper
hoop, and for the second year in sue
cession won the series in four straight.
A team couldn't do better than that.
The National League pennant was
won by the Cardinals and after a
splendidly fought, close and exciting
race which lasted for weeks. The clubs
in this league were better matched
than in the American League, but there
was no team in either league save the
Yankees themselves, as strong as the
Yankees. They, with their driving
and hitting power supporting excellent
pitching, survived a stern challenge
from the Philadelphia Athletics, and
considering the many injuries the teams
players sustained, including the dis
abling of Herbert Pennock, crack south
paw, proved as game as they were great.
They proved themselves one of the
greatest teams of all time. No doubt
about that.
Stages Close Race.
In the stubbornly fought National
League race four clubs took turns at
promising to win the pennant-St.
Louis, the Giants, the Chicago Cubs
and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and for
time the Cincinnati Reds were in the
running. It wasn't until the last week
that the pennant winner in each
league was fact finally accomplished.
The order at the finish in the two
leagues was as follows:
NATIONAL, st. Louis; 2 New York;
8, Chicago; Pittsburgh; 5, Cincin-
natl; 6, Brooklyn; z, Boston; 8, Phila-
delphia.
American-1, New York; 2, PhIadel-
phia; 3, st. Louis; 4, Washington; 5,
Chicago; 6, Detroit; Z, Cleveland; 8.
Boston.
In the middle of the season the
Giants caught and passed the Cardinals
on the latter's own ground, but
couldn't hold the lead The Yankees
took big slump after holding a long
lead. A wonderful squirt by the Atil-
letics took it away from them: then,
Il.
where the attendances were large, the
Yankees won their way back to first
place and stayed there to the finish.
Babe Ruth again led both leagues IN
home run hitting. The big slugge
made 81 this time, seven short of hi
record of the year before. He also re
peated his feat of blasting st. Loui
pitching for three home runs in sing
game of the world series. The hittin.
of Ruth and Gehrig and the pitching c
Waite Hoyt stood out as the most i'm
portant individual factors of the wor
series.
Leads Minor Series.
The chief minor league series, /
tween Indianapolis, of the America
Association, and Rochester, of the In
ternational League, was won by II
dianapolis. Houston beat Birmingha.
fer the Dixie championship in an int.
| league series.
Larry Benton, CT the Giants, w:s T..
National Leagues leading pitcher, an
Alvin Crowder, Of the st. Louis Browns
who made an Unexpectedly fine show
ing and finished third, led the Ameri-
can League pitchers In winning per-
centage. Goose Goslin of Washington
won the American League batting
/ championship, and Rogers Hornsby, OF
the Boston Braves, since traded to the
Cubs, led the National League batterS
The committee on award for the
most valuable player in the Nationa'
League decided on Jim Bottomley, firsi
bas5man, of the Cardinals, and a sirnt-
lar committee in the American LeagUs
| chose Gordon Cochrane, catcher, of tho
Athletics, as the one deserving of that
horcr.