The Washington times., 1937-10-02
BY DAVIS ]. WALSH

WLeeC Ut LLe 1881 UOTLu SeTteSs
beginning i,ert Wednesday.
By DAVIS ]. WALSH
international News Service Sports Editor
NEW YORK, Oct. at was
my intention originally to 60 in
today for something pretty pro-
found in world series batting
statistics, tending to prove that
the New York Yankees in their
league can outhit the New York
Giants in theirs. But there's
positively no news in that and,
besides, this is not, I'm convinced,
going to be that kind Of a series.
For the Giants, officially win
ming the National League pennant
in Philadelphia Thursday, seem
like their 1888 club all over again
the team of destiny stuff, you
know. 1t may not win this time,
as it did then, but it will take
an awful lot Of beating.
SITUATION ALMOST SAME
The situation, in fact, in 1888
was pretty much as it is today.
The Senators had, or seemed to
have, the superior power then and
pretty good pitching. In fact,
Crowder was the best pitcher in
the American League, just as
Gomez Is now. But Hubbeu and
Schumacher stopped the Sena-
tors cold and the Giants went on
to win magnificently in five
games.
Remember that when anybody
sets out to match power out of
one league against lack of it in
another. Remember, too, that
Hubbell was as good in Philadel-
phia yesterday as he ever was,
including 1888, and personally I
think Terry will be a chump IL
our Will doesn't start him in the
opening game next Wednesday.
No matter how much mileage the
records show that you get on
hits, you just don't beat the brains
out of that kind.
Just to show that records out
of different leagues mean nothing,
the Giants team batting average
is only about four or five per-
centage points below that Of the
Yanks. But power and punch can
be proved anywhere, as demon.
strated by the fact that in runs
batted-in the winning Giants in
the National League are behind
the last-place st. Louis Browns
in the American.
NEED GOOD PITCHING
In other words, the Giants, a
low-run ball club, will need all
the good pitching they figure to
get from Hubbell, Melton and
Schumacher. They needed nearly
three hits to score each run this
season; whereas, the Yanks aver
aged one run to every 159 hits.
But you've got to get the 1.59
hits in the first place and that's
about what the Yankees have been
doing for several months against
American League left handlers who
don't belong in the same box score |
with Hubbell and perhaps not |
Melton, either. For while every
man in the Yankee lineup hits the
ball rural mile-when he does
1.-THE real punch is tied up in
Di Maggie, Gehrig and Dickey.
Stop any two Of them and you've |
got something. And don't tell me
they can't be stopped. The fact
is they were stopped with one hit |
by Smith, left handler, in Phila-
delphia two days ago and, two days
before that in Washington, a kid |
named Krakauskos, a Ieft-hander,
stopped them with one run. In
fact. the pair Of them kept the
Yankees scoreleSS for IS left
handed innings, all told.
MAY BE TOUGHER
Of course, if Selkirk is really
ready, it may be tougher-much
tougher for the Giant pitchers.
Then again, maybe not. The
Yanks, anyhow, were experiment.
ing earlier in the year with the
idea of taking Selkirk out of the
lineup against leftrhand pitching
and Hubbell and Melton are ex.
tremely left-handed.
Meantime, between the run fam.
inc in the two Washington and
Philadelphia games this week, the
Yankees got Is runs on 16 hits
the other day, showing how they
can, will and do gang up on sucker
pitching. They got this at times
during the 1884 series with the
Giants. It's possible, even prob