The Washington times., 1929-10-04
BABE: FINDS
FIELDING
EVEN
By Babe Ruth


I notice that most of the
writer's make much OF defen-
sive strength in world series,
emphasizing particularly the
ability of the opposing players
to make double plays.
And I'm not denying that the
double play is an important thing
In baseball defense. Having men
around second and short who can
work together smoothly and well.
is sthe first and most important
point in infield defense.
In Hornsby and English the Cubs,
apparently, have a pair of wizalus.
I've never seen English perform
but the reports l get on him are
great. And / have seen Hernsby
and l know that on the pivot play
there are few if any men in the
big leagues who can equal him.
However, want to leave just
this idea. The mere fact that the
AS won the pennant is proof that
they are not weak OH this play.
The fact that they made fewer
double plays during the season than
the Cubs doesn't mean much. You
know they may not have had SO
many opportunities.
The Yankees through three
winning seasons made cOmpara-
lively few double plays-but If
you look over the record you'll
find that their percentages Of
plays completed on OppOrtuni-
of SnEn
When 1t comes to comparing the
infielders individually there's not
much to choose. Jimmy Foxx at
first, certainly has an edge on
Charley Grimm. Jimmy can do
about everything that's asked of
any ball player. I notice that some
of the boys have been inclined to
overlook his fielding in their ad.
miration Of his hitting. That's nat.
ural enough I guess. But I want to
tell you that that kid Is good
fielder too. His fielding average
shows it-and you must remember
that during the season he has been
handicapped somewhat by playing
both at third base and first.
Hornsby at second is. of course,
a standout. There are few players
in the league who can compare to
the Rajah-but Max Bishop isn't a
set-up by any means at that. There's
nothing spectacular about Max He
goes about his work quietly and
without any fuss-but it's a fact
just the same that when a ball is
hit down Max's way he comes up
with it. And that after all is
about all that can be asked
Shortstop is little weak on
each club. English, 1 hear, is a
whale Of a fielder but a somewhat t
weak hitter. Joe Boley is just an
average allp1ayer-neither excep-
tionally good nor exceptionally bad.
Joe will never be a star, but he will
always be dependable within his
limits. And there's this to be said
for Boley. He don't get excited,
he don't loose his nerve. and he
isn't upset by the strain of a
tough game or tough series.
At third base Jimmy Dykes Is
superior to Norman Mcmillan.
Jimmy is one of the best all.
around ball players in either
league and mighty valuable
man to his club. He can play
anywhere on the infield and do
"a good job of 1t.
With Jimmy at third the AS
have a distinct edge. If, however,
they are forced to use Jimmy else
where and put Sammy Hale at third
base then the edge Is the other
way. Sammy is one of those err
ratio ballplayers. He's either very
good or very bad. II he gets away
to good start, he's almost unbeat-
able. But If he gets a couple of
bad breaks then he's likely to
cause a lot of harm.
All Of which, when it's said and
done, means that the Cubs and As,
considering, their infields as q
whole, are pretty well matched.
There isn't a lot to choose between
them. There have been better in
fields in baseball than either club
can boast-but there have been a
lot worse ones. too.
q copyright. 1929, by The Christy
Walsh Syndicafel