The Washington times., 1929-07-08
ALL CLASSES GOLF ON MUNICIPAL COURSES

yourself what Walter johnson
is wondering about these days.
and we believe we can answer
that question for you, He is
wondering how he can get q
team that shapes up as well as
the Athletics.
johnson, quiet man in sue
cess or defeat, has had reason
this year to give the Athletics
much thought. He knows II
he ever expects to take the
Washington club anywhere in
particular, he's got to get
team that can take the Mack
men.
And oddly enough, while John
son admits the As Of today are
a great working organization,
he hardly believes they shape
up with the great Philadelphia
teams Of 1910 and 1914.
He believes the As of yester-
year were smarter by far than
the 1929 model. He also be-
Iieyes the former outfits which
Connie Mack guided so grandly
to victories were greater hitters
because in those days they faced
trickier pitching with q less
lively ball. Also Johnson
opines the Mackmen have not
now any such combination of
pitching effectiveness as Bender,
Plank and Coombs.
Mack had three great pitch
ers,' said Johnson before he
went West. plank, Bender and
Coombs were the smartest fell
lows You wanted to see. They
studied each opponent and told
their outfielders before the game
they would pitch a certain way
to play the various batters.
Bender was great pitcher
in an important series. Plank
was a clever southpaw. who had
a world of baseball knowledge.
Coombs was real smart one.
This trio was enough to win q
pennant.
Besides the pitchers, Mack
had remarkable infieid in Nc
Innis, Collins, Barry and Baker.
Those boys could field the ball
and were hitters in the bargain.
It was 8 pleasure to watch them
Baker was the home-run hit
ter of that time. He didn't hit
many, but he could pound the
hall around. He gave me more
trouble than any other batter |
ever faced. 1t seemed to me /
could never get him out.
1.-THE AS were always pulling
tricks on the other clubs. Barry
was a smart fellow. He was
famous for the double squeeze
play, something you never see
these days.
Barry was never a hard hit
ter, and when he was in a
slump and there were men on
second and third he would lay
down a hunt that would score
both runners.
The AS Of today are not the
same type as the other team. /
admit Mickey Cochrane is a
great catcher, dangerous batter
in a pinch and a hustler. Mack
always had good receivers.
"Al Simmons is a great ball
player. He hits ball hard and
often and is a good defensive
player. Jimmy Foxx is a pow
erful youngster who is improv-
ing daily. His playing at first
base is a surprise to me.
Lefty Grove and Rube Wal
berg are two of the greatest
pitchers in the game today.
Both have tremendous speed
and a good curve. Walberg has
q better curve, but Grove throws
q faster ball.
II wouldn't attempt to COM
pare these southpaWs with Plank
or any of the other pitchers of
Comics great team. I know
they are not in the same class
with Rube Waddell, but I
wouldn't pass an opinion on the
others.
"The pitchers today don't have
it as good as in the past. In
the olden days the same ball
was. used as long as it wasn't
knocked out of the park. As
the game progressed the ball
grew rougher, and this gave the
pitcher q better grip on it.
IT used to have better
chance with the ball when it
was rougher. When the. game
grew older it would be getting
darker. This was good for me,
for I threw fast ball and had
fine grip on it. Now when
a ball has a slight smear the
umpires throw it out of the
game.
"But the conditions are the
same for everyone, and I guess
the AS are the best team. They
will probably win if they don't
have any serious slumps
S0UTHPAW WEAKNESS
While only about Is per cent o
the opposing pitchers who have face
the Yankees this season have beef