The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-07-17

They select Johnson ahea
Jimmy Foxx, and Lou Gehrig,
Jimmy Collins, Mel OFT, and {
Gehrig, Klein, Foxx, OFT, and
Collins have topped Ruth since
the Babe commenced to fade, but
the spindly-legged fat man who
gave Col. Jacob Rupert the idea
of building the Yankee Stadium
remained the Sultan Of Swat in
the eyes Of the people until he
bowed out so ingloriously.
Rogers Hornsby calls johnson
the best hitter in either big wheel.
So do Bucky Harris, Earl White
hill, and many more. Certainly,
the 26-year-old left fielder Of the
Philadelphia Athletics hits the
longest ball.
Hornsby, Harris, Whitehill, and
others cannot recall batsman
who improved so much from one
campaign to another as the Bob
johnson Of 1895.
Maybe He's Coasting
johnson, a right-handed hitter,
is one of the, leading American
Leaguer's with an average Of ISL,
and racing Greenberg for the
leadership Of both large loops in
home runs and runs batted in.
Arky Vaughan Is Johnson's only
rival for the honor of scoring the
most runs, and Joe Medwick,
Lloyd Waner, and Charley Gehrin-
ger have battle on their hands
To-. ,4tv @Af N,-Ar - -
clouting Cherokee's total number
Of hits.
Whitehill, slick southpaw of
the Washington Senators, declares
that he never faced a batsman
who was harder to put out, or one
who acquired SO much batting
knowledge from one year to the
next.
In addition to his remarkable
natural ability, johnson is keen
student OF baseball. The Oklaho-
mans phenomenal success at the
plate this year is attributed to a
notebook he has kept since Connie
Mack recalled him from the Port
land Consters in 1893. This note
book probably accounts for some
Of the difficulty experienced by
Whitehill and other dealers.
Johnson first came to the
AAAAAAAA's in 1881, but fished
for curves, with the result that
he was returned to Portland.
When Johnson came up for q
second trial he mastered the art OF
hammering a hook under the
coaching Of the veteran Bing Mill.
err, outstanding curve ball hitter
and learned to wait for the slow
one. But he still frequently wa.
fooled by the smarter singers
when the count was two and two
and three and two.
Ingenuity worthy Of his cunning
forefathers solved this serious
problem for johnson. Nearly every
pitcher throws certain type OF
ball in a clutch. johnson kept a
record Of them in his notebook and
has studied it so well that now he
has fairly accurate line on what
to expect in tight spots.
Robert Lee johnson, five years
younger than his brother, Roy
Cleveland johnson, who swats all
those runs for the Boston Red Sox.
improved his fielding, too.
There is a good behavior clause
in Johnson's contract, which ex-
plains his slump in the closing
weeks of 1894. He wound up
with batting mark Of 1907 last
fall, after showing the way to the
home run manufacturers until
July.
Like most Of the other AAAA's,
johnson is big and built for wear
and tear. The Redman stands 5
feet II and weighs 100 pounds. He
has the perfect batting grip and
stance, good speed, and a marvel
GUS throwing arm swings from his
right shoulder.
Despite all Of his ability, john
son, like Foxx and Gehrig, is rath-
err colorless. He is extremely mod
est and retiring-perfectly content
to go along without fanfare as
the foremost ball players ball
player in the game.