The Washington times., 1936-02-05

Rogers Hornsby.
Here is a little mirror for you,
if you're interested in tricks with
mirrors. On July the st. Louis
Browns were in last place with an
average Of .306. They had won
10 games and lost 43, and were
trailing the Athletics by S1a games,
81 games off first place.
The Browns were active traders,
selling here and there as money
was required to fill depleted cof-
fers. He traded wisely and got the
men he needed. For instance, he
acquired Julius Solters from the
Boston Red Sox, and also lured
Lyn Larry away from Washington.
Neither Of these young men was
hitting hard enough to knock off
your hat when the trades were
made, but Larry finished at 1858,
gaining 70 points, or thereabout.
Solters whacked .319 for the
Browns.
Figures Belle Finish
So with men improving under
the harsh but just tutelage of
Hornsby, the Browns began to
play winning ball.
The figures Of the American
League are somewhat surprising,
even to HornSby'S friends. The
Browns finished the season with
IS games won and 81 lost. From
July to the end Of the season
they won As games and lost A, a
percentage of .511. This pace for
80 games cannot be described as
a flash in the pan.
The Browns will have the bene.
fit Of SolterS' hitting and the de.
fensive skill of Larry from the
start Of the 1886 season, and for
that reason must be considered a
menace to the White SoX and
GriffS, aSpirantS to position at
the head Of the second division.
On paper, those Browns are impos-
Sible, but we know what they did
on the field for the last half
Of the season.
Pitching aid may come from
Earl Caldwell, highlander of
the San Antonio team Of the
Texas League, and from Emile
Nicola Of the Los Angeles team of
the Pacific Coast League. Both
Nicola and Caldwell are seasoned
veterans, the former being 28 and
the latter 80 years Of age. Each
man won 19 games in his league,
and that carries strong infer
ence Of ability.
Mediocre Fingers
The rest of the pitchers Of the
Browns are known and are not
too strong. Ivy Paul Andrews
did a great job for the Browns
last year, winning 13 games and
losing seven. He was the only
pitcher with the club to clear the
500 mark for the year with the
exception of Jack Knott. The lat
ter won II games and lost eight.
Roy "Popeye'' Mahaffey, vet.
eran Of the Philadelphia Ath.
letics, is another acquisition who
may win. However, Hornsby is
not counting too strongly upon
him.
Rollie Hemsley Is the catcher of
the Browns, and Q right good
catcher he Is. Few If any in the
league excel him. Hornsby Is one
Of the few managers who could
handle him successfully. Tom
Heath and Angelo GuiNano are
relief catchers, The last named
is a rookie from st. Paul.
The infield Of the Browns is
familiar to American League pa
irons. Burns Is at first base, a
fair ball player although not a
great 'un. Tom Carey at second
base is q made over shortstop
who played steady ball for the
Browns, and at times was sensa-
tional. Larry Is as good a short
stop as there is In the league.
Hornsby says he's the best, and
this writer viii string along with
HornShy on almost anything but
q tip on the third race.
Lacks Throwing Skill
Harland Cliff at third base is
a good ball player but not good
thrower. He did pretty well with
the Browns last year, and
Hornsby improved him greatly by
ordering morning practice in vari-
GUS styles Of throwing until at
last he hit the one that suited
Cliff best. Right there you find
the secret to Hornsby'S success as
q manager.
In the outfield Sammy West is
tops defensively, and is q 800
hitter as well. SolterS is the fence
buster, although Ed Coleman
adds power. Coleman, incident
ally, improved greatly under
Hornsby'S guidance.