The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-04-05
EARL AVERILL SAYS HE'LL COLLECT 36
 CIRCUIT WALLOPS
CRY WILLIAM BRAUCHER. )

perturbable center fielder, will hit 36 home runs this year. His bat ting average will be somewhere be- tween .330 and .340. If on the last day of the 1892 season, Earl Averill going to bat for the last time, finds himself with only 35 home runs, do you know what he will do? Ger tainly! He will hit home run. Each year since 1929 when he came to the major leagues from San Francisco, Averill has sat down with the boys before the season started and told them just what he intended to supply the management in the way of a bat ting average and home runs. And each year he has delivered almost exactly what he predicted. | Thus, when he says he will smack s6 homers this year and hit between .330 and .340 you have to believe him. He's that kind of a guy. Hd wouldn't fool you.
 \ Swell FOrecastcr
 Before the season of 1929 of f1cially opened. Averill prom ised the Cleveland scribes that he would hit 1920 and set a new home run record for Cleveland. That year he hit .330 and drove out IS home runs.
 On the eve of the opening of the season of 1880 the Rockhead", as he is affectionately called be- cause of his nonchalance. predict ed he would break his own mark of IS homers and would hit for better average than he had the year before. With the end of the season only few days away, Ayerill had whacked only IA homers. So he made four in a double-header and. on the very last day of the season, drove out his 18th. And he hit -339.
 Last year about this time the boys were skeptical when Averill told them, in his matter of fact way, that he would maui 30 hon1-' CTS in 1931. and that he would bat pretty close to .330. It ap- peared the young man was letting his confidence run away with him. But the end of the season found that he had hit 32 home runs and his batting average was 1883. How are you going to bet against Q guy like that?
 T shouldn't "a done it, know. but you know how it Is when you get sore. Anyway, I learned my lesson. This year it's 36, and not 35 or ST."
 Looks Lazy at Plate
 Averill is like that You might guess it by watching the man at the plate. He takes an innocent enough looking stance. In fact it is almost too innocent looking. He stands loosely, leaning his weight on what might be called his hind leg," which would be his left leg. since he is left-handed batter. He is the personifcation of calm disinterest.
 But when he takes his first cut at the, ball. all that come -day-go- day attitude is gone. When he cuts he doesn't fool. When he told Lisenbee he was going to start swinging from the hips he meant swinging from the hips.
 Pitchers, whether. right or left handed. look more or less alike to him. But, though he doesn't ad- init it himself, he dotes on that sweeping low curve ball of Rube Walberg's. How that ball rides when he lays the wood into it.!
 He Hit Too Many One of the correspondents ac- costed Averill just before the team left New Orleans for the north.
 You told me you would hit 30 homers last year." said the base ball writer. And then you crossed me up by hitting 32."
 Well. I've thought about that myself" the Earl of Averill re- piled. Hut femme tell you how it happened I just get my 30 about the middle of September. I am all set to relax when we get into Boston.
 I'm playing fan-tan in the club house one day when Lisenbee. the pitcher. comes in and starts to rib me about never hitting home run in their ball park.
 "Well. lose my head for a min ute and holler back at Lisenbee. You go back and tell your pitch CTS to look out this series. I'm go- ing to start swinging from the hips We're playing a double- header that day. and in the first game I get horse collars. We'll, who pitches the second game but Lisenbee. So I put couple in the bleachers.