Evening star., 1938-10-11
NEW YORK NEVER
UNDER PRESSURE
Harris Claims Bronx Band
Played Far Below Par
in World Series.
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.

BY GKANTLAND RICE,
Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, Oct. 1.-THE Cubs
were supposed to put up a much
harder fight. But, when you look back
and check the case over, you can
get the answer in much simpler fash
ion.
The answer Is that the Cubs haven't
a ball player who could make the YAM
kee team.
Just figure it out Gabby Hartnett
has been and still is a great ball
player. but today even Gabby couldn't
crowd out Bill Dickey back of the
plate. The lanky Arkansas bird
hunter still is on top-back Of the
bat-or with q bat.
You'd take Gehrig over Ripper Col
Inns. You'd have to take Flash Cor
don over Herman, and Croeett over
Jurges, with lap to spare.
Red Rolfe and Stan Hack are close
but, day in and day out, Dartmouth
Red will do.
The Yankee outfield, with Di Mag
gio, Selkirk and Heinrich. is much
the better outfleld, and, If you were
opening big series, your three start
ing pitchers would be Ruf11ng, Gomez
and Pearson, with Bill Lee close for
the third days assignment.
Collins Calls Turn.
This simply .means. the Cubs were
outclassed. You had the feeling that
If both teams played until fiurries OF
snow arrived with the white and
scarlet berries OF Christmas Eve, the
Cubs might have picked one game of
the Christmas tree.
1t remained for Ripper Collins, a
former member of the old Cardinal
Gas House Gang, to call the turn on
the series.
Il think we were pretty lucky" the
Ripper said. None Of us got killed"
That's only partly true. Yankee
predominance slaughtered the Cubs.
cut down the crowds and almost
wrecked Umpire Charley Moran, who
reported for duty with three stitches
in a mouth that resembled a tomato
stuffed with cat-gut. But not even
slab OF shrapnel could stop the
60-year-old umpire from Centre Col
lege and Horse Cave, KY. If you
think my face looks funny" Uncle
Charley said to me, you ought to
see the ball that hit me-"
Vail. a. Ns~x>-
The Yankees set q new World Series
record. winning IL of their last IS
games against Giants and Cubs. Just
an 800 average
But the odd part is that they
whipped the Cubs four straight with
out even approaching their real
strength. As Bucky Harris and other
American League managers told me
This wasn't the Yankee team we
had to meet. They never came with
in 10 per cent Of their top stun.
This goes both for their hitting and
their pitching. They won in q jog
trot.'
This is true. The Yankees gave
you the impression of sitting a yawn
at some close spot-and then going
back to work.
1t was the fourth time in IL years
the Yankees had closed out the golden
pageant in four straight games. All
they have cost their owner, Col. Rup-
pert. is around 100000, but the
colonel likes 1t that way and still can
order ham and eggs tomorrow. And
maybe toast and coffee.
ell-BaIanced Club.
The star of the series was the
Yankees. Il told you I had q ball
cuban all-around ball club" Joe
Mccarthy told me. "All good-but
no stand-outs. Any man on my team
can break up game at any spot
Don't forget opposing pitchers know
that. We don't give them any breath
ing spots-not from Crosetti to Ruff
fing. No one wrote much about Cro-
setti and Gorden before the series.
But they looked o. K. to me-"
Crosetti was close to being the No.
man. His defensive play saved the
first game, and his hitting won the
second. And on Sunday the Califor-
nian drove in four runs. That isn't 50
bad. when you add up the total
Dizzy Dean was the high spot for
the Cubs. After all, Dizzy was only
four put-outs away from holding the
Yankees to a pair Of clean singles.
Cubs Far Outclassed.
It was O'Dea, Gabby's catching sub
stitute. who kept the Cubs in their
final game until the avalanche ar
rived. If you had taken q look at
Gabby's right hand before the series
started. you couldn't have expected
more from him.
There is only one answer. This
happens to be Joe Mccarthy and his
Yankees. They have won three pen
nants in a row, going away. They
started softly this spring. and then,
when the pressure was on, skipped
out to II or Is game lead.
(Copyrisht 1898. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc.)