Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-01

NO. 15-SOme Ideas on Greatness.
DERHAPs no manager in the
history Of base ball ever
1 handled more and greater
pitching talent than the
master of the House of Mack.
Down through the years they
have left indelihle markS-the &C.
centric but brilliant Waddell, the
taciturn Bender, the cool and
d ep en- d able Plank, iron-man
Coombs, Bullet Joe Bush, Knuckle-
ball Eddie Rommel, the modern
strike-out king, Grove, and the
Woodworking Earnshaw.
Great as these have been, Mack
unhesitatingly regards the late
Christy Mathgwson as the great
est pitcher of all time, a tribute
to big Six" all the more remark
able because it comes from the
most successful of American
League managers.
Taking everything into considera-
ton, should say Matty was the great
est" Mack once told me, turning over
carefully In his mind the memories of
O hah century in the game. Seldom
has Connie been willing to make COM
parsons, but he conttnued: seg 81
"Mathewson had world Of stun,
great head and great heart. He was o
winning pitcher, invariably at his best
when the stakes were highest. His
pitching against the Athletics In the
1905 world series was the most mar
velous individual exhibition / have ever
seen. Six and eight years later he was
still the toughest of them all to beat
IN pinch. It took the greatest team
ever had to finally turn the tables on
Matty after he had beaten us four
straight games.
"sTTTHERE have been others nearly as
L great. It is difficult TO rank them,
but you can put Ed Walsh, Wal
ter johnson and Miner Brown among
the greatest, along with four stars that
handled-Rube Waddell, Eddie Plank,
Chief Bender and Jack Coonbs. They
were wonderful combination.
Grove started slowly, but he has de-
veloped into really great left-hander.
He has the control now that he lacked
at first, and he has tremendous speed.
Bender was the greatest one-game
pitcher ever saw. When ] told the
Chief to get ready for big game, I
knew could count on him."
The greatest all-around player Of all
time? Ty Cobb, declared Mack, without
the slightest equivocation.
John McGFaw had just named Hans
Wagner for this position in base balls
Hall of Fame when asked Mack for
his opinion.
ct think McGraw would agree with
me II he had seen Cobb as long as
have" replied Connie. There was no
doubt of Wagner's greatness or Of the
marvellous all-around ability Of such
players as Lajoie, Ed Collins, Speaker,
in a class by himself. He could do
everything and do 1t superlatively.
When he was in his prime we always
figured Detroit in terms Of Cobb, not
as team.
Even now Tin 1920, after az years
in the big leagues, Cobb comedies little
to any rival He is one Of the few play
ers who always can be counted on to get
from first to third on single.
s.DABE RUTH is like Cobb in this
~ respect. The Babe has greater
speed and is greater all-around star
than many people think But, except
for his long-distance hitting, Ruth
doesn't compare with Cobb over long
period Of years for consistent ability"
McGraw selected the old Baltimore
Orioles, among whom he was q star as
the greatest team of ell time, but Mack
rated the New York Yankees Of 1927
% at least a notch higher. While re-
luctant to make comparisons, there is
reason to believe that Mack regarded
these Yankees, in the heydey Of their
power, as an even greater combination