Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-12-22

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pop and fast car, fresh off the
high school campus and mixing with
men whove forgotten more than
Bob ever knew. Feller's physical
equipment is such that he can play
their game with them and be the
best in his line.
Good Look at Record
Favorable to Teller.
The records show:
/. That Feller won the most games
In the league, "a.
2. That he pitched the most in
nings, 297.
3. That he had the most strike
outs, 246.
4. That he made the first 10 in
the two highly arbitrary classical
tons of earned runs and winning
percentage, with an earned-run
average of 285 and a won-and- lost
average of .727.
He also walked the most batters
and threw the most wild pitches,
but these symptoms of wildness
were so thoroughly under control in
this, young Robins third full season,
that they failed to cost Manager
Oscar Witt one hours sleep, though
the Cleveland ball club as whole
was a sure-fire source of insomnia.
When pitchers strike-out total
exceeds his total of bases on balls
by the margin you see in Feller's
case, he has mastered the business of
pitching. A couple of years ago
Bob was walking just about as
many as he whitfield.
1t hardly was necessary for Amer
lean League managers to wait for
the publication of the records to
realize that Feller was the leagues
most valuable hurler. They were
saying the same thing as long ago
as July.
Tribes Robin SporkIes
As Hard Worker.
I grant you that Dutch Leonard
labored heroically this year in
Washington's barren cause and his
record of 20 won and 8 lost for a
sixth-place club was the finest sim
gle achievement of the season. But
who would trade Teller even-up for
Leonard, even if the boys were the
same age and had the same box
Office value? The late Bert Williams
used to sing the answer: Nobody
no time"
The pitcher of greatest value to
his club is the power thrower, the
worker, the slump buster-the man
who not only can take his regular
turn once in four days and be IS
per cent certain of winning his
game by himself, but who also can
go in there to relieve in the late
innings and hold a lead of one or
two runs by throwing the ball past
the hitter.
This was the type of Johnson, of
Vance, of Lean and of Grove in his
heyday. Fellers total of games and
innings pitched in 1889 shows that
Robin no longer is Sunday pitcher.
He did his full duty as the bell
wether Of a major league pitching
staff and he produced the best re-
suits.
NotionoI Leagues Best
Not Up to Bob.
In the National League the best
pitchers are Derringer, Lee, Null
cahy and Walters, and, while Der
ringer and Lee cat Lees best) are
close to Teller in ability, I doubt
If either one of them quite matches
the Iowa schoolboy. In case of a
tie, Feller has the thing that makes
the difference-he can throw the
ball harder than any one else.
They still talk of the moment in
this years all-star game when Feller
came to the rescue of Tom Bridges
and killed National League rally
with one pitch-a double play ball.
OF course, there is some reason to
believe that Bridges might have
weathered the uprising anyway, and
there is the further point that Feller
got fine support on the play, espe-
cially by Joe Cronin on the pivot.
But I wasn't thinking so much
of the technical details of the in
cident as of it's symbolism. For
that's the kind of pitcher Feller has
come to be-one who stops EN- cold
and then chokes 'em to death, as he
went on to do in the closing innings
Of that game.
With bows to old Nose Grove, still
q great craftsman, and to Russo, a
rising southpaw, and to Derringer,
Lee and Walters, I think young
Oatmeal Cheeks, as the boys used
to call him, the school kid from Iowa
who rares back on his heel and
whips them over, Is the best pitcher
we have today