The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-07
FINE PITCHING
 4 ERRORS, BEATS AMERICANS Al
Wander Nicer Wins Lasting Fame in All-Star Game;
 Defense Strong
By GEORGE kIRKSEY


 United Press Staff Correspondent Cincinnati, July 7-(UP)- )--The ruling factor in baseball is no longer the mighty mace. It cannot be said now that power prevails over all. There is more to Abner Dou- bledays game than brute slugging. With a stout defense and smart pitching the tional League emerged from the shadows of de- feat and subjugation and, at least until World Series time, does not have to take the taunts of the Amer ican League concerning it's superi- ority. With yesterdays 4-1 triumph | in the sixth all-star game, the Ma tional League proved the soundneSs of defense and pitching-proved 1t over all the power the American League could muster.
 The crumbling defense of the greatest stars of the American League resulted in the second Na- tional League triumph in six all-star games. Superlative pitching by three National Leaguers appearing in their first all-star game: Johnny Wander Nicer, Bill Lee and Mace Brown, nailed down the senior cir cults triumph over the American Leagues most brutal sluggers. The result emphasized once again in the white heat of competition that there is no substitute for supe- rior pitching. Wander Nicer, the Reds kid southpaW who emerged from the game as one of the major leagues brightest heroes, whittled down the American League giants to pigmy size Bill Lee, Cubs right handler, fast-balled the siege guns of the junior circuit to death And Mace Brown, Pittsburgh's curve ball expert, made the famed sluggers of the other league fold up in the clutches.
 The National Leagues triumph was aided by American League blum dcrS. Four errors, three of them vital, dumped three runs into the laps of the hllstling National Lcagucrs.
 The National League won tho game in typical National League style. They won it with pitching, with defense, with smartness and with hustle. In the junior league they forget finesse and style and knock your brains out. But smart pitching is still the antidote for slugging.
 The American League had It's alibis. If shortstop Joe Cronin hadn't let Billy Hermans roller go between his legs in the first inning; if Jimmy Foxx hadn't thrown wild past first in the seventh; if Joe DiMaggio hadn't heaved the ball over Catcher Bill Dickey's head--if those things hadn't happened it might have been 1-1 tie because each side made one earned run.
 But when you mention the su- perb hurling of Wander Nicer, Bill Lee and Mace Brown, the Ameri- can Lcaguers have no answer.
 The game was played before 27,- OCT highly partisan home town fans.
 Wander Nicer coolly and mcthod- ically pitched the American Lcagucrs into whisper in the first three innings. He used only 31 pitch- es, didn't walk n man, allowed only one single and famed the American Leagues foremost slugger, Jimmy Foxx, swinging from the boot-straps.
 Bill Terry, National League man. ager, was criticized in some quar- ters for being 50 bold as to start Wander Nicer, the first rookie ever to draw the all-star starting assign ment. But Wander Nicer made a wise man out of Terry
 Lee followed Wander Nicer, and faced only II men in three innings He walked the first man to face him in the fourth, and allowed one hit, q fluke double behind third base by Bill Dickey which shortstop Leo Durocher lost in the su:'.
 Brown had tough going, allowing five hits. The bases were loaded with two out in the seventh, but he came out of the jam by flaming pinch hitter Rudy York. He was in trou- ble again in the ninth but left field CT Joe Medwick raced up the incline in front of the score board to pluck Dickey's liner out of the air with one hand. After making tke circus catch MedWick took bad tumble, and held the ball. At least, Umpire Bill Elem ruled that he did, despite the fact that some American Lcaguers broadly hinted that Med- wick dropped the ball, fell on fl and picked 1t up underneath his body. | Then 1val Goodman made nice running catch of Lou Gehrig's liner to help Brown again. To end 1t, Brown burned third strike over on pinch-hitter Bob Johnson, who still wants to talk about 1t.
 The National League got it's runs the easy way. Stanley Hack, Cubs third baseman, singled to left off Lefty Gomez to start the game, raced to third on hit and run play when Cronin let Herman's groundcr go through him, and scored on Med- wick's fly.
 Mel Ott's triple off the right-cen- ter wall a 387-foot drive. and Ernie Lombardi's single accounted for the next run in the fourth off fiery John ny Allen, Clcveland's acc,
 Then Frank Mccormick. Reds rookie first bascman, only National League freshman to play through out an all-star game, blasted a sim gle to center off Lefty Grove in the seventh. Durocher bunted down the third base line. and the American League played ll into home run Fox& threw the ball past Charlie Gehringer, second baseman who was late in covering first It hardly looked like dchringers fault AS many figured Gehrlg should have covered the bag. Anyway, the ball bounded of the right field boxes. Before DiMaggio could retrieve 1t