The Washington times., 1931-05-02
NEWCOMERS
STEAL PLAY
FROM VETS
BY BABE RUTH

NEW YORK, May 2.-The
more you try to figure hitting in
the big leagues the more of
puzzle you are going to find.
And the batting during the first
two weeks of this season has a
lot of puzzles in it. Youngsters
who never had a look at big
league pitching before this spring
have been finding no difficulty
with it, and veterans who had
come to be recognized as stars Of
the batting ranks have been run.
ming into all kinds Of trouble.
One instance was over in Brook
lyn where Uncle Robbie had to
bench Lefty O'Doul because he
was proving so easy for the pitch
ers. Everybody knows that Lefty
is not only a good hitter but one
of the. great hitters of the pres
ent day. He thinks nothing Of
being up around the 400 mark.
1naL Is nome 10 QlIH.
Many Are Stopped
But O'Doul has had a tough
time this spring, and so have
several others. Bill Terry, the
outstanding batter in the big
leagues last year, averaged exactly
one hit a game in his first II
games of the season.
Taylor Douthit, Johnny Fred
erick, Charley Grimm, Melvin OFT,
Heinie Manush, Tony Lazzeri,
Earle Combs, Marty McManus,
Bill Dickey and a few more who
are usually found up among the
heavy hitters also got away to a
bad start. All of them are bound
to improve, but it is odd to see
them stopped by the same kind OF
pitching that seems soft for sew
eral of the newcomers in the two
leagues.
Look at the other side of the
picture. The spring sensation
has been Johnny VOsmik, the
new Outfielder of the Cleveland
Indians. But he has plenty of
company in hitting the ball.
Johnny Vergez of the Giants
set pace through the first two
weeks of the season that was too
fast for several recognized hit
ting stars among McGraw's vet
Grams. Who would imagine, for
exHmple,. that this kid from the
Coast League would hit better
than Terry, jackson and OFT for
a dozen games or more at any
stretch of the season?
Furnishes HurIers
Ernie bardi, the big
catcher, who came to the Robins
this spring, is another who has
been Furnishing the pitchers,
though they were supposed to
know more about pitching than
a newcomer from the minors
knows about hitting.
Buzz Arlett, who is not young
Ster, but is new to the majors
just the same, has been slamming
the ball more often than his side
kick in the Philadelphia outfield.
Chuck Klein. Red Worthington,
of the Braves, and Mickey Heath.
of the Reds, also broke away in
good style in their starts as big
leaguerS.
Take our league, too. Van
Camp, of the Red SOx, has
stepped out as if he is to cut
quite figure with the stick
this year. He also has been.
playing both Outfield and in
field positions and doing well.
Levey, the new ShOrtstOp of the
Browns, is another Of the kids
who has been clubbing the ball
frequently. Levey came into the
league for tryOut late last
season, but this is his first
season starting as a regular,
so we regard him as one of
the new crop.
Simons of the White Sox is
still another newcomer who has
not been finding the pitching
too tough. Eichrodt of the Sox
also has been hitting well, though
not playing every day. He is not
a stranger to the league, but
when he was with Cleveland he
never was able to crash his way
into the outfield to any extent.
Copyright, 1881, by the Christy
Walsh Syndicate)