Evening star., 1932-08-14
NEARLY ALL CLUBS
BOAST A NEW STAR
Weaver, Burnett, Warneke,
Davis and Hurst Figure
in List.
BY GEORGE CHADWICK.

VI
1 Y able one-man year in the
history of major league
base ball.
1t began at the very Jump of
the season when Vernon Gomez,
pitcher for the Yankees, coiled
his curves around the necks of
the Athletics, subduing them in
one contest after another until
he had registered six victories
over them.
In his palmiest days Lefty Grove
could 90 nothing like that against New
York. He has won three games from
the Yankees this year. He won three
in 1881 and all three were on the Phila-
delphia ground. He couldn't beat the
Yankees at home.
Down in Washington they have a
highly successful recruit pitcher in
Monte Weaver He has trimmed the
Athletics five times and has won at
least one game from every other team
in the American League.
THE Pittsburgh team backed and
i filled, and did much of both. One
day Paul Waner woke up to the
fact that his bat was behaving well
and he began to hammer the ball as
he did in the year when he won the
National League batting championship.
Pittsburgh soon began to climb,
Some think that added strength to
the pitching staff was responsible for
tho r That o6dad ctrnncth h
was merely fraction as compared with
the persistent onslaught of the Waner
bat against opposing pitchers. Brother
Lloyd Waner began to beat 'em out"
to first. Clever pair of boys, those
Waners. When they are on the top
of their game the Pirates begin to climb.
Pittsburgh isn't through yet
Cleveland experimental and dabbled
along until one day Burnett was put
at shortstop and told to stay there
He had played at shortstop before. He
began to bat the ball hard. He is a
natural batter. He found himself one
day and the Cleveland team found
itself with him. Cleveland began to
move up. 1t became a contender with
Philadelphia for second place and a
threat to New York.
THE Cubs began the season with a
l. leak in the keel They'll get no.
where" said the cynics. They've
been somewhere most of the time. They
never would have been ii line for first
helping if it hadn't been for Lon War
neke, young pitcher from Arkansas.
He is the one man who has kept the
Cubs in the front lines.
Detroit appeared to be none too
promising when out on the Coast.
Manager Harris was honest enough
about it. He said his team would never
get anywhere if Gehringer failed him.
Gehringer has not failed him. but it
isn't Gehringer who has been the man
of destiny for Detroit. It's a slender
1.-the first baseman who was brought
over from Toropto, who plays first base
like blotting pad over desk. and who
if he could bat better, would become
the most sensational player in the
American League. His name is Harry
Davis.
The Philadelphia Nationals have been
blasting opposing pitchers off the
mound for fair. Who started that?
Don Hurst, the first baseman. He was
not on his feet last year. The ball
didn't come up right. He is taking
nothing but pepper pot this year. The
Phillies may not win the pennant But
NIldL pltCLl6I III LIleSe Gays WOuIQ Sc
lect as special favor that Chuck Klein
should come to bat one minute and
Hurst the next.
lust when Brooklyn began to wobble
little more than usual, who should
come to life on the team but Lefty
O'Doul. His batting went up until he
almost leads the league. He may lead
1t before the year is over. O'Doul, the
near-rej jected. for it was in Brooklyn's
mind at one time to trade him. Brook
lyn thought the pennant could be won
simply because Hack Wilson was put
in the outfield.
Major league history this year is a
record of splasheS and spurts. The
oldest part of it is that the splashes
correspond with the increasing strength
of the teams to which the individual
stars belong. One-man ball with VEN
geance.