Evening star., 1939-02-15
Batting Prowess
Still a Matter
OF Concern
'SunfieId' Experience,
PIoying at Night Is
Laugh to Jimmy
BY FRANCIS E. STAN,
Star Staff CORRESPONDENT

ORLANDO, Fla, Feb. 15.-This
year, as in the past two, Jimmy
Wasdell presents a batting problem
to the Nationals. He is like the little
girl with the curl, when he is good
he is very good, and when he's bad
he's swinging with one hand and, in
all, pretty terrible.
For the first time since Uncle
Clark Griffith gave Red Kress, Carl
Reynolds and a reported $500 in
cash to Milwaukee in exchange for
Wasdeil, the stocky, f1eet-footed first
baseman has his job all to himself,
When he first came up Joe Kuhel
had just put in a good season So
Wasdell was sent out for further
seasoning.
Wasdell figured in beating Kuhel
out Of the job last year but the
Mats were so top-heavy with left
handed hitters that Griffith traded
Kuhel for zeke Bonura. Again
Wasdell went to the minors, this
time as an outfielder.
AS he pulled on his uniform for
the first time yesterday, Wasdell
had his first baseman's glove with
him. Apparently the job is his alone
now. Kuhel has gone and so has
Bonura, who failed to please Griffith.
Except for a pair of green rockies,
Vernon and Pritchard, there is no
competition for Wasdell.
Troubled BY Change Ups.
But the one-handed swinging
Wasden had the habit when he first
came up, and off what he showed
Manager Bucky Harris in his first
batting practice workout. he still
has it. Wasdell is something of a
concentrated powerhouse. He can
pull a pitch which is inside about
as far as anybody his size. But
change-up balls-slow ones mixed
among fast balls-throw him off
stride, or have thrown him off. In
the American Association last year
they say the pitchers served him
low, outside curves and threw him
off.
Being thrown off stride is bad
enough but Jimmy made it pretty
complete by taking his left hand off
the bat and swinging only with his
right. It was no impressive season
he spent with Indianapolis. He did
better when he returned to the Mats
late in the season and Harris worked
on two-handed swinging.
Jimmy An Expensive Rookie.
But the habit is a hard thing to
overcome. Jimmy still has it and
again must guard against the fault.
In the meantime, though, Griffith
and Harris prefer to be optimistic.
Wasdell this year has no pressure
on him. He has no Kuhel or Bonura
to beat out for a regular job. First
base is his and the Nat bosses prefer
to believe that Wasdell will be looser
at the bat and a better all-around
ball player.
Wasdell naturally shares this be-
lief. "A year ago." says Jimmy, 81
was down here with first base
mans glove on one hand and an
outfielder's glove on the other. l
didn't know what I was. This year
I was so darned glad to be only a
first baseman that I threw my out
fielding glove away"
Few young ball players have ex-
perienced the vagaries of baseball
as Wasdell. In the first place he
was bought for one of the biggest
prices ever paid by Griffith for a
player. Kuhel and Earl McNeely,
as a matter of fact, may have been
the only two minor leaguers bought
for larger sums by the Washington
club.
Learns About the Moonfield.
Wasdell came up as two well-worr
American Leaguers, Kress and Rey-
nolds, apparently were going back.
They were waived out of the cir
cult and when Griffith turned them
over to Milwaukee for Wasdell, he
valued them at 81 500 apiece, making
Jimmy $22,500 recruit when the
cash was added.
But Wasdell didn't make the grade
and Kress and Reynolds came back,
Kress with the Browns and Reynolds
as a member of the pennant- win
ming Chicago Cubs. Now Wasdell is
back and all three parties concerned
are major leaguers.
Wasdell was sent to Indianapolis
last spring to learn how to play the
outf1eld. Hes going to learn how
to play the sunfield so he'll be able
to take over left for u.s." explained
Griffith. "It's all been arranged be-
tween the Washington and Indian
apolis clubs"
Jimmy gets laugh out Of that
every time he thinks back to the
1888 season. Indianapolis sunf1eld
is left" says Wasdell. Its the same
as in Washington, so they played
me in right field all the time"
Naturally that was handicap. IT'S
that why you weren't equipped to
move into left when you were
brought back to Washington"
mot exactly" answers Jimmy
with a bigger laugh. "You see it
really didn't make much difference.
At Indianapolis we played night ball
six days a week. How can a fellow
even get on speaking terms with the
sun at 10 o'clock at night?"