Evening star., 1938-03-15
GR|FF'S OPTIMISM
HITS GOLF SCRIBE
McCaIlum MarveIs as odd
Fox,' SO, Sees Pennant
Hope for Nationals.
BY w. r. McCALLUM,
Stan Correspondent Of The Star.

OSLhNOO, rlA., MaTcn l0.-We
get it from Pappy Griffth, who got
it from some one else, that the Ma
tionals are going to be pretty good
ball club this year. Maybe you can
discount that a little bit when you
consider that Pappy Grif has a small
stake in the ball club and has lot
Of accumulated enthusiasm, in spite
of that sixth-place finish in 1887.
And you can sense q Suppressed sort
Of keenness around Orlando as the
Nationals go through their training
PAGES at Tinker Field and watch the
molding Of what Pappy says can be
not just good ball club, but great
ball club.
It's a little early to tell anything
much about the club, says Bucky
Harris. The pitchers haven't really
started steaming 'em over and the
batters haven't got their eyes on the
ball yet, and Bucky isn't predicting
anything. Its just too early" he
says.
Doesn't Stop GrifY.
But that doesn't stop Pappy Grif-
fifth from breaking out in a rash of
enthusiasm over his boys. It's kinda
funny, too, when you look back over
the years and note how in March Of
every year Grid has had the same old
enthusiasm and the same old hope for
his club. You'd kinda think that the
nice old gent with the fluffy eyebrows
would lose some of his optimism. But
he dosn't. 1t gets better every year.
Sure, we've got what may be great
ball club" says Pappy. If those
pitchers come through like we hope, we
may have club that will go places"
Does that mean you have pennant
ideas?" we asked.
Nothing else" said Griff But
how about those Yankees?" Reporters
are persistent guys. Maybe that's why
they are reporters.
Not Impressed by Yanks.
why that Yankee outfit is a mon
key ball club. A bunch of monkeys.
Give me my club of 1923, 1924 and
1925, and I'd make that powerhouse
look like a Swiss steak We'd play
rings around EN-. and we'd have 'em
groggy with speed and fast thinking,
All those guys do is go up there and
take a cut at that ball. They rely on
power and nothing else"
But they have a pitcher named
Gomez and couple Of others who seem
to do pretty we'll" we ventured.
Sure" said Griff. That Gomez
is good. all right. Wish We had a
couple like him around here But
that Gehrig is due to start slipping, and
suppose Dickey gets hurt and Gehrig
skids at the same time. That might
happen. And suppose Ferrell wins 20
games and Chase and Krakauskas
come through and Monte Weaver gets
going and stays right through the hot
weather. Why, we can win that
pennant, and We won't win it with
slugging Well win it by playing
skillful baseball"
1t gets you down when you listen to
a 68-year-old guy who has as much
enthusiasm as kid fresh from the
bushes. But then Grin always had
lot on the ball. Maybe he has it this
time.
Golf Gals Need Only Power.
Travelling around Florida we stopped
off at st. Augustine to see the final
of the East Coast women's champion
ship. Got up just in time to see Kath-
ryn Hemphill hole a 15-footer on the
eighteenth green to square her match
with Jane Cothran Jameson and then
60 on to win on the nineteenth.
The thing that sticks in guys mind
as he watches these top-fiight gals
play golf is the small difference be-
tween their game and that of the top
males. Give the gals the power of the
men from the tee and they'd come
pretty close to licking the trousered
players. They have what it takes
around the green and they don't hit
those tee shots with a powder-puf1.
And Patty Berg Is the hardest work.
er Of them all. You'd think Patty
would lose lot Of poundage the way
she works at golf under the hot Flor
ida sun, but the freckle-faced red-head
looks chunkier than ever. A swell kid,
that Berg gal. And what a golfer!