Evening star., 1936-03-28
LEWIS, TRAVIS NIP
CARDS ON RUNWAY
Pair Turns in Five Twin
Killings, Hammers Ball
in 8-4 Victory.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN,

had perfect rights to envision another
busy year in 1886.
Much has been said about the bat
ting prowess of Cecil Travis, the Ma
tionars new shortstopping cog, and
Buddy Lewis the 19-year-old third
sacker, but somehow. under the ava
lanche of angles about the ball club
this season, little has been told of
what this pair of kids might do in a
defensive way.
They're practically ramming their
potentialities in this respect down the
throats of folks in Washington's train
ing base now. Buddy Lewis fielding
ability still is far cry from the mas
terry of old Ossie Bluege and Cecil
Travis is no Peckinpaugh, but the
comparisons still furnish no reason to
believe that Mr.. Kuhel. who handled
$50 double play chances, and Mr.
Myer. who figured in 1873 twin kill
ings, won't have a chance to better
their marks.
Youngsters Hit, Field Smartly.
IT WAS Lewis and Travis with their
double-play expertness that finally
ended the Nationals three-game losing
streak yesterday at Bradenton when
the Washingtons whipped St. Louis
famed gas house gang by an 8-to-4
score During the process Lewis con-
tinued his sensational batting, bang
ing out a homer and a triple. and
Travis clocked two doubles and a
single. But it was five double plays,
each of which one or the other started
that finally did the business.
Travis, brilliant as he has been, still
Is not finished shortstop, but Cecil
bears all the earmarks of a good
double-play man. He can throw with
that rifle arm of his and he can throw
accurately Best of all. he has needed
only couple lessons on pivoting and
feeding the ball to Myer, and while the
youngster lapses into an occasional
streak of unorthodox movements, he
still stacks up as better double-play
shortstop than any of the seven men
who we're tried at that post last year,
with the possible exception of Lyn
Larry.
Travis has developed peculiar style
Of feeding" Myer When Shortstop
Is IS or 20 yards away from second
base, he invariably throws overland
and hard to the second baseman on
double plays. Cecil rarely throws
overland, He has become so used to
Tipping underhand that he does it this
way almost regardless of the distance
separating Myer and himself. And he
does his underhand throwing like few
shortstops of this or any other era.
Travis Unorthodox in Throw.
TRAVIS, as was shown yesterday as
never before, is almost bowler
on double plays. He picks up the ball
end whips a terrifically hard, low toss
to Myer underhand. In the few weeks
he has been shortstop Cecil has per-
fected this style to such degree that
1t actually possesses advantages over
the orthodox method.
To begin with, Travis underhand
tosses if necessary will travel as fast
as a normal infielder's overland
throw He puts plenty steam oenlno
his singularly long underhand throws
with a smooth motion and all the fol-
low-through of a good golfer. And
with at least a draw with other in
fielders in accuracy and speed of the
ball. Travis then forges ahead by the
rapidity with which he gets off his
underhand flips.
Lewis. whom snap judgment critics
have dubbed "scatter-arm,' may not
be base balls most perfect thrower
across the infield, but in the youngster
the Nationals seem to have an infleld
cog who almost is certain to develop
into a great double-play man. He
showed unmistakable signs Of it yes
teroay and there never has been any
indication to prompt theory to the
contrary.