The Washington times., 1930-03-25
B|GSLIJGCER
RECEIVERS
SLOWLY
This Is one of a series By Inter.
national NetDS SerUice sports
UrtterS UtSiting the training
camps OF major league baseball
clubs.
By DAN TAYLOR

NEW ORLEANS, La, March 25.
The success or failure of the ball
club Roger Peckinpaugh will place
upon the field as the American
League representative of Cleve-
land this year is expected to de-
pend largely on the physical con.
dition of Lew Fonseca, hard-hit-
ting first baseman, who led the
American League in batting a
year ago and the luck Peck has
in locating a major league short.
stop from among the five young
sters trying out for that job.
Aside from those two positions
Peck will start the 1880 campaign
with exactly the same team that
came laundering down the home
stretch a year ago in third place.
FOnseca may hold the key
to the entire situation. He
was the most valuable man
on the squad last year and
big things were expected of
him again this season. But
Lew was taken i'll during the
winter with scarlet fever and
he did not recuperate as
rapidly as expected.
Because of his weakened con-
dition he was sent to a desert re-
sort in California to take a series
Of sun baths and was two weeks
late in reporting. He looked to
be in robust health when he
joined his teammates here but
he has not been called upon to
exert himself and there still is
some doubt as to whether he will
be ready to open the season.
Peck has three very likely
prospects for first base in the
event Fonseca cannot perform,
but none of them are expected to
come close to filling Lewis shoes.
They are Zeke Bonura, formerly
with New Orleans, who looks and
acts for all the world like Lou
Gehrig, of the Yankees: Bruce
Caldwell, the ex-Yale football star,
who burned up the Eastern
League with his hitting last year,
and Alex Hooks, a flashy fielder
purchased from Terre Haute in
the Three I League.
There are five youngsters
battling for the shOrtstOp
berth, with Carl Lind, a SEN
satiOn with the Indians at
second base two years ago
but who was i'll most of last
season, the first choice.
He has three close rivals in
Johnny Goldman, easily the best
fielder of the lot but a lad who
has not shown much ability to
hit: Johnny Burnett, left-handed
hitter who clouts faily we'll, and
Ray Gardner, who split the short
stopping honors with Jackie Tav-
ener, now released, for the Indians
last year. Tony Piet, the other
candidate. is. hardly ready yet.
Johnny Hodapp, who flopped
at third and first before he
finally made good at second base
in mid-season last year, is a Ger
tainty to start at the keystone
sack. and Joe SeWell. moved over
from short to third last spring,
will again guard the hot corner.
The catching duties again will be
shared by Luke Sewell and Glenn
Myatt, and the outfield will be
made up of Bib Falk. in left; Earl
Averill, in center, and Dick Por-
ter, in right.
That means, especially if
FOnseca is able to play, that
Cleveland will present a
healthy hitting team. for
they will have six men in the
lineup every day who can
bat better than 800. Fon-
SEGA clubbed 1863 last year,
AveraI, $3.50; Porter, .329;
HOdapp, 1927: Joe SewelI,
.315, and Falk, $40.
Among the rookie hurlers are
Clint Brown, a tall. husky young
fellow who won 81 games for
New Orleans last year; Pete Jab-
lonowski, who won 18 and lost
IL games for Columbus in the
American Association last year; !;
Milburn Shoffner, who, in his
only start last fall for the In
dams shut out the Washington
Senators for eight innings; Mel
Harder. a 20-year-old youngster;
Leslie Barnhart. purchased from
Terre Haute in the Three-I
League, and Belve Bean, with
New Orleans last year.
The regular pitchers of last
year who will be back are Wesley
Ferrell, who won 81 games and
lost only 10 in his first year in
the big leagues; Willis Hudlin
and Ken Holloway, right-handers.
and Joe Shaute and Walter Mil.
ler, southpaws.
Spare outiielders are expected
to be Eddie Morgan. who batted
.31S with the Indians last year;
Charley Jam;~con. the old re-
liable, and ".tEcr Johnny Gill,
who led the Ea-teln League in
batting last year with a mark Of
.377, or Bob Seeds. who hit .342
for Kansas City in the American
Association.