The Washington times., 1937-04-08
Rookie SIuQs
In Ban1bino
Fashion
BY FRANK BUCK" O'NEILL


ORLANDO, Fla, April 8-The
idol worshippers of baseball today
are building a new shrine for a
successor to George Herman Ruth
as home-run king and long-di
lance hitting marvel Of the uni.
verse. Rudy York, a striving rookie
Of the Detroit Tigers, jack Of all
trades on the diamond, and Amer.
lean Indian by lineage, is hailed
as the new batting marvel. He is
a Highlander, 6 feet tall and
weighs 215 pounds.
York hit a home run to center
field against the Griffs down in
Lakeland that rivaled any drive
ever made by Ruth, or any other
human. The ball sped far over tine
head Of Jesse Hill, playing center
field for the Griffs, and bounced
off some pine logs, piled against
the concrete barrier. York scored
standing up, 20 feet ahead of a
throw by Cecil Travis, who relayed
the ball to the plate.
For the reason that no corps of
surveyors rushed forth with steel
tapes and seXtantS, the exact dis
lance Of the drive cannot be stated
here. Even if the surveyors were
on hand, they would be able to tell
only where the logs stopped the
buised ball. On an open field the
ball would have rolled perhaps
another hundred feet,
Twenty Years Ago
Lacking official, or unofficial
figures, it is safe to say that this
drive of York's was one Of the
great hits of all time. It was
nearly 20 years ago in a game be-
tween the Red Sox and New York
Giants at Plant Field in Tampa
that Ruth crashed his historic
homer that really launched his
glamorous career as a slugger.
That drive of Ruth's cleared the
fences that border the race track
incIosing Plant Field and rolled
into an alley. Surveyors measured
that hit, and the distance, roll and
carry, was set at SIG feet. Nothing
in the history of the game before
ever approached that gargantuan
smash.
Ruth has smashed many an
other in his life. There was hit
In WinSton-Salem. Another in
Asheville. and the memorable
drive on which he called the shot
against Charley Root in the 1882
world series. They said that no
one ever would hit a ball as far,
and no one ever did, until York
swung his club.
Ruth hit practically all Of his
great drives off fast ball pitching.
York had to supply his own power.
for Jack Salveson pitched him a
half Speeder that was just about
half way between York'S waist and
knees. It is suicide, everyone now
knows, to pitch the Indian a low
ball.
Also Hits Single
In a previous inning York hit a
ball to almost the same place, but
the roll was killed because the
leather struck on q hill Of soft
sand. York also got a single and
his bat accounted for three runs.
His homer produced the two runs
that won the game.
The Indian boy stood out in a
day Of terrific hitting. Hank
Greenberg hammered two home
runs over the left field fence, hit
ting the first ball pitched to him
by Salveson in each instance,
Fred Sington hit one Of School.
boy Rowe's fast ones over the
left center field fence, the best
wallop Fred has struck since
Joining the Griffs. It cleared
the fence by five feet on a line,
and was hit better than either Of
Greenberg's smashes. which Is
saying plenty.
The day was devoted to ter
rifle hitting and fearful and
wonderful pitching. Salveson Is
not a major league pitcher. He
showed that today, and when
you write the permanent record
Of the trade that sent Earl
Whitehill to Cleveland, you must
inscribe in the ledger that the
GriffS gave Whitehill for moth.
ing" Detroit got nine hits OFT
him in three innings. Salveson
hurt his ankle, but he lacks
major league quality.
MihaIic Good Again
The game just about was a battle
to decide the worst pitcher in the
world. Dizzy Trout was worst OF
all because he couldn't get the
ball over the plate. He gave seven
bases on balls in two innings
Jack Russell was pathetic in his
efforts, and escaped only with his
life.
Johnny Mihalic played second
base and again proclaimed his
readiness for regular play. He
made three hits, all Of them hard
and one for two bases.
Neither Al Simmons nor Ben
Chapman played in Lakeland, and
neither will play today. The two
outfielders, with Cecil Travis are
en- route to Chattanooga. There
was q wild rumor that a deal was
pending between the. Griffs anc
Boston for Ben Chapman, but
both Griffith and Harris con