The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1935-04-03
LEAGUE RIVALS FOR
BASE-RUNN|NG TITLE
OPEN SEASON FEUD
Tiger 0utfield Star Has Knack
Of Kicking Ball From In.
fieIder'S Hands
PLAYERS ARE AGGRESSIVE

Red Sox Performer Duplicated
cobb's Performance in
Stealing Second
Sarasota, Fla, April 3.-(NEA)-
One OF those old-fashioned baseball
wars will rage In the American League
this season.
Bill Werber, Of the Boston Red Sox,
has severed diplomatic relations with
Jo-Jo White. Of the champion De-
troit Tigers, his principal rival for
base-running supremacy.
They fought at third base on the
Tigers last trip to the Hub last fall.
III had to kick and cut to steal
bases. I'd wait to be batted around
says Werber, exhibiting scar on his
wrist. white gave me this to re-
member him by last year. # he ever
comes into me again like that, he'll
get q good punching"
5000 therell be pyrotechnics in
Detroit and Boston, for White, like
Werber, asserts that he was only
warming up when he swiped % bases
in lis games in 1884. Werber topped
him by an even dozen with 40 in l52
contests. They are the best and most
daring base-runnerS in the business.
White Kicks Ball
White, the little bag Of bones who
covers center field like circus tent,
makes q practice OF kicking the ball
from the hands Of infielders. his feet
flying apart like pair Of shears at
the second Of impact.
The fleet Georgian precipitated all
the trouble In the last world series
by kicking the sphere from frankie
Frisch's mitts to help upset the Card
inals In the games in st. Louis.
It perhaps Is just as well that Joe
Medwick, Of the Red Birds, and Mar
vim Owen, Of the Tigers, whose row
1T third base brought on the bottle
and bun shower In the final game Of
the big series, are in different leagues.
Werber and White, neither Of whom
are . bit backward in taking full adj
vantage OF their aggressive rights,
will have unlimited opportunities to
get 1t one another's Threats, however.
And the Red Sox, fired by Joe Cron-
In, are as ambitious as the Tigers
this trip. I'd like to see every game
between these two clubs.
Base-running. which virtually had
become q lost art, was stimulated in
1884 by the spectacular work OF Wer-
Der, who SO quickly took his place as
the foremost third baseman in the
game, and White.
Werber Steals Second
Werber duplicated Tyrus Raymond
Cobb's feat Of stealing second on a
base on balls in Boston last fall, and
got away with it against the Tigers
who were roaring along to Detroit's
first pennant in Is years.
Werber listened to Umpire George
Moriarty describe Cobb's accomplish
ment in the morning, and performed
the trick that afternoon.
Apparently loafing as he approach
ed first base. Werber suddenly swung
into full stride. Ray Hayworth, who
stood juggling the ball as backstops
are prone to do after a pitcher has
issued free transportation. was caught
off guard to such an extent that he
chucked the pellet into center field.
Eddie Collins relates that White
is the first player whom he ever saw
kick q baseball club to victory. This
happened In the same set Of games in
which Werber stole second on base
ON balls.
Collins declares that White was
thrown out fairly enough at second,
third, and home, yet scored the win
ming run on a sacrifice fly in the
eighth inning.
Max Bishop was waiting at second
base with the ball when White was
10 feet from the bag, but failed to
take into account the College Park
flyers subtle footwork.
Werber and White had to be pulled
apart when the pellet spun from the
formers hands as the skinny flychas-
er slid into third base.
White then scored on the sacrifice
fly, Rick Terrell failing to hang onto
the ball despite the warnings given
by Jo-Jo at second and third.
Six Swipe 20 or More Bases
White became quite ball player
during the last half of the 1884 cam
paign, and the speed Of the Detroit
outfit had much to do with its leap
from scraggly fifth in 1888 to the
flag.
Only five American League per-
formers stole 20 or more bases in 1884,
and three Of them were Tigers. Pete
Fox purloined IS, and Gerald Walk
or 20, despite the fact that the latter
was limited to 80 engagements. In q
goodly number Of which he acted as
nothing more than q ptnch-hitter.
Ben Chapman, Of the Yankees, was
the other member Of the American
Leagues base-running Big Five Of
1884, with rs In l49 contests. Chap
man stole 81 In 1881.
Only one National Lacquer stole
more than 20 hassocks in 1934-the
redoubtable Pepper Martin, Of the
Cardinals, who got away with % in
ITO games.
National League Different
National League figures illustrate
how the base-ruunerS have slipped.
Only eight others stole 10 or more
sacks. Kiki Cuyler. Of the Cubs, ankl-
ed of with Is: Dick Bartell, now with
the Giants. with IS: Danny Taylor. Of
the Dodgers, With Il: Frisch and jun
ioe Frey, the Brooklyn shottstop, and
Stanley Hack. Of the Cubs, with II
each; and Jack Rothrock, Of tn.
Cards, and Arxy Vaughan, Of the
Pirates, With 10 each.
Dase-rlnning- Was neglected dur.
lng the lively bali craze. It win com.
back now that the ball permits thu
ealne % b played more like It wa,
Whon . star player had to be some
thing more than . power-house q
~ plate.
Dcav contact comes with bold base
susnjng, and with that rivalry and
h6ot' lin hat between Wefber md
Whl1e. Ibere his ben to- little q
Shis aince Dahe Rutll's bat knocked
tn1i1o bo1ebaN out.