The Washington times., 1930-09-25
BY BABE RUTH

SeTJG6 ana unUEyLtcut SLOTIGS yOt-
Io1DiEg the series.
BY BABE RUTH
There are two strong points
about the Athletics that cannot
be emphasized too much as they
60 into their second world series
In two years. One concerns their
defense, which allows few of
those real heavy scores to be
rolled up against them. The other
is their tendency to step out in
the late innings and get enough
runs to carry them through a
tight game.
We have been looking at these
things in our league ever since
the AS became strong pennant
contenderS. National leaguerS
must remember them from the
series with the Cubs last year. In
Sour of the five games the Cubs
scored a total of only nine runs.
There was the power of defense.
In the one game which showed
Joe McCarthy'S team doing any
real scoring the AS made that
famous rally with 10 hits and 10
runs in the seventh inning. That
was in the fourth game. They
put on a ninth inning rally to
take the fifth game when it
seemed certain that the Cubs
were winners.
If batting records decided
q series the AS would be sunk
now. Their team hitting is
far below six National League
clubs and three of their own
league. Simmons, Cochrane
and FOxx stand out as strong
hitters, but the remainder of
the cast runs from fair to
light.
AS a hitting and scoring ma
chine Connie Mack'S team will
trail its National League rival.
But we have found in our league
that the AS can win consistently
and let other teams take the hit
ting and scoring honors.
Tight defense is thu answer. By
defense I don't mean simply the.
stopping of grounders and the
catching of flies. It includes
pitching as well as the backstop-
ping, Unfolding anc outfielding.
Withou5 any question the AS are
tougher to score on than any other
team in our league. They make
fewer errors. They get tighter
pitching. You seldom see another
club completely overpower Con-
MES team with hits and runs to
win by a top-heavy score. Those
AS can pull themselves together
and stop rallies better than any
other team that know of.
The power of the AS defense is
best told in figures. Here is a
team that is clearly outbatted by
8 of the Is other big league clubs.
And yet Mack's team leads them
all by a good margin in winning
ball games. No other team in
either league will enjoy. the dis
tinction of winning 100 games.
Tie value of team balance
over the base hit is strongly
indicated in the 1880 returns.
One PhiIadelphia club has
been hitting around .315 all
season, and il is completely
sunk In last place. The other
one is hitting around .29O and
IL walked into a pennant with
plenty to spare. The AS did
not need any such hitting
strength, because they have
had such a powerful defense
to work with an attack that
might be called only little
above normal.
Take that infield of the Ath-
letics man for man. They are
good ballplayers, but none of them
stands o..t- above all others at
these positions. But we have
played games against them when
it seemed almost impossible to get
3 ball through that infield. The
game they play is not so flash as
IT is steady. It is on the infield
the Athletics have made fewer er-
The athletics have made fewer err
rors this year than any other ma
dor league club.
The outfield defense is all that
any manager. could ask. All
Mack's outfielderS cover a lot of
ground. The fact that AL Sim.
mons is such good hitter is in
clined to make some people over
look his fielding. He looks clumsy
az he starts after a ball, but I re-
gard him as a really great out
fielder. He ran travel far and he
can throw. I like the AS outfield
better than their infield, but, as I
said before, that infield will make
fewer mistakes than any other you
can lame.
Catching, too, is big part to be
considered in defensive play. But
why talk about the AS catching?
Everybody knows about Mickey
COchrane.