The Washington times., 1933-08-25
GR|FFS' BATS,
\. Y.HURL|NG
TELL TALE
By FRANK (BUCK) O'NEILL

10y Il NDONAAJ ~ ANAANA
CLEVELAND. Aug. 25.-There
must be something wrong with
the copybooks.
Ever since the day we could
walk under a duck without
crouching we've been told that
the heights reached by great men
were not attained in a dash. On
second thought, maybe baseball
differs from life, for the heights
of the diamond game are reached
by sudden flight. You can't keep
them very long because baseball
is young mans game.
Here we have Joe Cronin, rush
ing right into his first world
series as a yearling manager. Bill
Terry, Of the Giants, is headed
along the same trail as a fresh
man, although Bill sat in the
bench and groaned as the Giants
lost the battle of "a to the Sena-
tors.
Yes, the baseball heights of '33
are being Stormed by couple OF
men whose youth and enthusiasm
are supported by keen intuition
Of genius. A dash of luck, to be
sure, but most of it was ability.
The Giants and Griffs hold
their position by virtue of some
what different technique. Base
ball is pretty much alike, but
there are distinguishing differ
enceS in teams and their styles.
Flying Attack
The Griffs are ahead because
they've overpowered the league
with flying attack. Do you re-
member way back there when the
Giants of 1911, IL and '13 literally
slid themselves through two pairs
of breeches into pennants and
world series? Well you can say
safely that the Griffs have run
themselves out of two pairs of
shoes into the championship.
The Giants, ranking fifth in
hitting and sixth in fielding, are
ahead by virtue of superb pitch
ing. The Giants have shut out
their rivals no fewer than 20
times, and it is exceedingly diff
cult to lose ball game when the
other teams fail to score. I doubt
If the Yankees with all their in
genuity along these lines could
lose to team that failed to
score.
Let's look at washington for a
few minutes. In the outfield there
are Heinie Manush, Fred Schultz
and Goose Goslin. Dave Harris
and Sam Rice are requirements.
They're 300 hitters, and. what is
equally important. are adventur-
Gus base runners. Against the
Yankees they ran wild on the
bases, grabbing extra base after
extra base against the all too me-
diocred defense. of the fading
champions.
Kuhel, Myer and Bluege play
the bases, hitting hard and run
ming fast. Cornin at shortstop is
more than just a hard hitter. He
is a dynamo, an inspirational
player who might have made a
great spellbinder between the
halves of a big football game. Let
an umpire miss a strike or miss a
ball and that prognathic chin of
Cronin's Wags in his face for five
minutes. He's a fighter and he
has his team fighting. That's why
it's winning.
Hurled Superbly
Behind the swift moving attack,
the Washington pitchers have
hurled Superbly. Whitehill, once
offered as a trading property, has
been almost invincible. The other
pitchers have been effective.
Luck "has favored Washington
to a degree, as luck always fay
ors a winner. Just about every
thing Cronin ever attempted has
been right. He can't make mis-
take. Well, maybe he thinks of the
right thing at the right time.
Terry, like Cronin, has been
touched by fortune. His leading
pitchers, Leo Parmelee and Hal
Schumacher, have blossomed forth
as winners. I think personally
that Terry's wisdom in removing
the "Spot pitching" restrictions
imposed by John McGraw has
aided him no little in getting the
best results from his hurlers. No
human arm can pitch with rifle
accuracy through a ball game,
and McGraw demanded nothing
less.
Yes, sir, it's going to be a great
world series between these fresh
men managers. The great pitching
of the Giants will be put to a
test, but maybe that splendid
pitching will put a stop on the
power attack of the Griffs.