The Washington times., 1931-09-25
CARDS
. WILL SCORE
+. MORERUNS
By BABE RUTH

by oAD6 hOAn
NEW YORK, Sept. 25.-Before
each world series it is customary
to compare the two teams in
pitching, catching, Unfolding and
outfielding, but in this series OF
articles I am gong to discuss the
affair from other angles. will
leave the comparisons for those
who have an opportunity to see
>~h team in action a number OF
Il... S during the season. Natur.
ally I do not see the National
League champions between the
timc of their spring training and
the world series, but I see plenty
OF the American League cham
pions each year.
I get a line on the National
Leaguers by reading OF their work
through the season, giving a team
particular attention once it ap-
pears likely to participate in the
world series. I get other informa-
ton from persons who see a lot
Of National League games. AS
for this years pennant winners
the St. Louis CardinalS-I have
seen them in three Of the past
five world series and I also see
them each spring, so I have a
fair line on the capabilities OF
the players.
J. I believe this years Cardinal
team is a better one than the
one which was defeated by the
AS last fall, or the one which
the Yankees defeated in four
straight in 1928. I don't know
that I would rate the 1881 Car
dinals above Hornsby's 1926 team.
which had Haines, Alexander and
Sherdel as pitching mainStays
and Hornsby leading the attack.
That infield of Bottomley, Horns
by, Thevenow and Bell was quite
an infield then, and Hafey, Dout-
hit and Southworth made up a
brilliant outfield.
But getting back to the
1891 team-it looks to me to
be a club that will put lot
more excitement into the series
than the 1880 Cardinals did.
And 1 am not forgetting that
Streets team made a gallant
comeback last fall after losing
the first two games.
The Cards won the next two to
tie the series, holding the Mack
men to one lone run in the two
games. Then they blanked the
AS through eight innings OF the
fifth game, only to lose when
Jimmy Foxx' hit into the left
field bleachers with a runner on
base. That was the turning point
Of the series.
Scoring Was Low
When I say I expect to see the
Cardinals put more excitement
into the coming series I mean
that I look for the team to do
more scoring than in 1880. In
only one game last October did
Streets men look like champions
on the attack, and then they
scored only five runs. That was
in Hallahan's game in st. Louis
which they won to O. In the
remaining five games the Ma
tional Leaguers scored a total OF
only seven runs, which is we'll
below the standard of any cham
pionship team.
I suppose it might be said that
this meager scoring was tribute
to the wonderful pitching staff
of the Mackmen, but that hardly
answers for such failure. The
same pitchers were not holding
other American League clubs to
such figures over the course of
the seasons play, and certainly
the National League champions
ranked above the rank and file
of teams which the AS met dur
ing the season.
Don't misunderstood me as
throwing mud at good pitching.
The point / am trying to make
is that no club good enough to
win a major league pennant
figures to be held to seven
runs in five games, and to a
total of only twelve runs in the
entire series, by any other club
in baseball, regardless of the
good pitching which either may
have. And that is why i look
for more scoring on the part of
the National League champions.
-
I hope some day to see a world
series in which the hitters do not
become all frightened up. BY that
] mean that I hope the players
will hit just as they do during
the season and forget all about
the fact that they are in a big
series. Perhaps that is asking
too much. Now and then some
hitter gets himself a better aver
age in the big series than he
had for the regular season, but
the series figures usually do not
flatter the hitter. The Importance
that is thrown around a world
series game certainly has an ef-
feet on the ball players. It does
not seem to bother them so much
in the field and we see as many
brilliant players as in the aver
age game. But hitting always
seems to suffer and I suppose it