The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1939-10-12
Teller TO Win
so next YEAR,
WITT BELIEVES
Cleveland Smoke Bali
Pitcher to Reach 2lst
Year in 40
BY CHARLES p. MCMAHON
UNITED Press Staff CORRESPONDENT

n
Cleveland, o. Oct. IL - CUP
There's Teller in town who comes
of age next year and with his man.
sized stature may be the first 30
game winner in the American league
since way back in 1881 when Robert
Moses Grove turned the trick.
The Teller: Rapid Robert of the
Cleveland Indians - who probably
was the largest single element in the
Tribes successful season.
The 20-year-old former dimple-
checked Iowa country lad finished
the season with record of "a VIC
tories against defeats.
His "a victories was the best rec
ord of q Cleveland pitcher since
Yves Ferell rang up 25 in 1880.
Feller's victories came the hard
way. 1t was his toiling right arm
in the early games of the season
that kept the team in the running
when the other members of the
mound corps found they had Moth
ing but their fingers on the ball.
The Tribe undoubtedly would have
crashed pretty low into second di-
vision IL 1t hadn't been for Fellers
fast ball
Good Support at Finish
Down the home stretch, however,
Feller received some welcome sup
port from Mel, Harder and AL Mil
mar, who turned in brilliant pitch
ing in the last two months of the
campaign.
In their last eastern swing the
Tribe won 10 games out of % on
the road and If some of the pitch
ing they received had been forth
coming earlier Teller might have
added at least four more victories
to his total
Hurting his last game of the sea-
son, Teller struck out six to boost
his total to 246 strikeouts - six
above his high mark set last year.
1t was the second straight year he
led the major leagues in strikeouts.
There's very little doubt in my
mind" says Manager Oscar Witt,
that Bonn won't touch 80 games
next year.
HE carried q big load the past
season. Given little more rest he
certainly would have had about
four more victories this year. He
didn't always. get the bset support
and fielding possible, but toward
the end OF the season we all began
to click and then there was a diff
| ference. Next year may bring
Cleveland its first 80 = game Win
ner."
Mounting evidence of the new
team spirit in the Tribe was shown
in their splitting Of third-place
money.
More to Share Prize Money
The series prize money, which
will amount to about $500 per man,
is to be divided differently than
last year when a few of the squad
kept the money in just a Few
hands.
Last fall they voted Lefty Weis-
man, the hard working trainer.
only q half share. In most cases
they gave nothing to players who
had been with the team part OF
the season and had been sent back
to the minors.
This year. they voted full shares
to every man now with the team
including Ray Mack, who came up
from Buffalo and hasn't been much
help and pitcher Floyd Stromme
who hasn't seen much service.
A full share was voted to Jimmy
(Skeeter) Webb who was sent to
Buffalo two months ago when
Mack and Lou Boudreau came to
the Tribe. Lefty Weisman, Of course,
has been taken care of with full
share.
witt believes the measure of con-
fidence to the team is incalculable
and will be the biggest factor IN a
better season next year.