The Washington times., 1930-06-25
MniOr Van Viet Returns in Time to Defend Net Title
AS MUST GET
PITCHING,
SAESBABE
Bx BABE RUTH

= "a u u ~ - y D -
By BABE RUTH
:. NEW YORK, June 25.-The
. next two weeks are likely to be i'm
portant ones in both leagues. If
the Yankees are to win the pen
nant they'll have to make their
real bid for it during the present
home stay. And If the Dodgers
are to win in the National League
they'll have to prove their class
on this road trip they're on right
now.
A lot of baseball fans have ex-
pressed real surprise at the slump
of the Athletics last week. Per.
sonally, I'm not surprised. I've
got the AS doped about this way:
: They need real pitching to win.
If the pitchers can duplicate the
work of last season the pennant
will stick right in Philadelphia.
But if the pitching ever falls of
they're sunk.
The infieId and the club de-
Tense isn't strong enough to
win without high-claSs pitch
ing, and If it comes down to
matter Of punch, both the
Yankees and the Cleveland
Indians will have it ON the
AS.
I've had a lot of letters recently
asking me If it was true that
there was dissension among the
Philadelphia players. Naturally I
am not in any position to know
about that. But. frankly. don't
believe it. I've known those Ath-
letic players for a long time-ever
since they came into the league as
q matter Of fact. I've known
Connie Mack longer than I have
the players. And it's my own
opinion that the AS as ballplayers
are entirely too smart to let dis.
sension and argument. bother
them in their fight for a pennanC.
You always hear stories like that
about clubs that are in slump.
Earlier in the spring lot Of
stories went around to the effect
that the Yankee players were
!. fighting Bob Shawkey and would
not play ball for him. The url.
truth Of those statements are
shown by the present standing
of the clubs, and the AS prob
ably viii answer the slander
stories about them the same way.
The National League race,
which started out to be a six.
club affair, isn't looking as
close now as it did earlier.
Right now it looks like three
teams would be in the fight
= to the finiSh-the Dodgers,
the Charts, and the Cubs.
The Giants, on paper, look the
strongest Of the lot, but you can't
discount Brooklyn's batting punch
= and the caliber Of Uncle Robbie's
pitching staff. So long as Vance,
Luque, Phelps. Clark, and the
rest can pitch a high brand of
ball, the Dodgers will be in that
race right up to their chins. And,
unless the Giants can get a little
better brand Of pitching than
they have been getting, they're
+ likely to finish back Of both the
Cubs and the Dodgers.
You know there's this to be
said for Brooklyn, too. They
don't get credit for being as good
as they are. Most Of the fans
are so accustomed to see the
Dodgers kicking around in the
second division that they can't
believe their eyes now when they
see Brooklyn up there at the top.
And they can't believe either
that it isn't all a joke.
That very fact is in the
Dodgers favor too. For the
other clubs didn't take the
early season squirt very seri-
OuSly and now when they
begin to get wise to the fact
that Uncle Robbie has a
trouble maker, the Dodgers
are 50 far out front that
they're hard to catch.
I picked them way back like
most Of the other critics, and I'm
one of the fellows who find it
hard to believe that the Dodgers
are really in the race. But more
power to them. There's no one
I'd rather see win than Uncle
Robbie and I certainly would get
q kick out of playing Brooklyn
in a world series.
Copyright. 1880. by the Christy
Walsh Syndicate)