Evening star., 1939-03-13
Paunchy, Short,
With Flat Feet
But Has Glass
Anderson, Mosterson,
CorrosqueI Leod
Rest of Rocks
BY q stan Correspondent Of The Star.

by otaH correspondent OF The Star.
ORLANDO, Fla, March 49,
Manager Bucky Harris Of the Mats
today found himself playing sort
OF Button, button, who's got the
button?"' game-and in Spanish.
The autopsy performed over the
week end on the Nationals first
intra-squad game temporarily
cleared little Rene Monteagudo of
any and all charges of incompetence
in the pitching box.
Little Rene, up to the Regulars
Yannigans game on Saturday, was
the orphan of the Cuban colony.
When he first set foot on the field
here Roberto Ortiz was the sensa-
ton. Harris liked Roberto because
he was big and could throw hard.
He liked Outflelder Bobby Estalella
because this Cuban packed power
at the plate. And he liked Pitcher
Alexandra Carrasquel because Alex
was big, too, and had poise and
speed.
But Monteagudo was dismissed
without minimum of considera-
ton. Major league pitchers who
stand only 5 feet S inches are rare.
The odds are against them. So Mr..
Harris murmured, Hes got to show
me plenty before I'll rate him"
Monty Speaks Best English.
Monteagudo didn't hear him, but
he may have done little lip-read-
ing. In any event, he began the
showing process when he showed
up Carrasquel Tom Baker, Walt
Masterson, Arnold Anderson and
Bucky Jacobs all in one afternoon.
Not that all of the others were
bad. Anderson looked good. Car
rasquel yielded four hits and two
runs in three innings of pitching. but
he looked all right. So did Mas
terson.
But it was Monteagudo, with
one-hit, no-run performance over
three innings who stole the show.
He displayed surprising speed and
he always had a curve bail and
control. He was not far from re.
sembling diminutive Earl White
hill.
The little fellow, a native of
Havana, is nothing short of remark
able in some ways. OF all the Latins
in camp he speaks the best Eng
lish, better. even, than Estalella, who
has been playing ball in the United
States for five years, and 1t wasn't
until last spring that Monty left
Cuba.
Only Latin Mats Like.
He is the only Latin the rest Of
the Mats seem to be pulling for. In
childish exuberance Ortiz has in
CURED the hasty wrath of some of
the Griffmen, particularly the
rockies. Alexandra is left pretty
much alone.
He says nothing unless addressed
and then his reply is brief.
This is not only necessarily so,
since he speaks no English, but those
who knew him in Cuba report that
he had little to say. AS for Esta-
leila. opinion is divided.
Monteagudo is queerly shaped
little man. He has a big stomach.
short legs and astonishingly fiat
feet. His arms are short and pudgy,
but he whips the ball with a re-
markable snap. So far he has ex-
hibited admirable ability to rise to
big occasions.
The first of these tests came al
most a year ago. when he was with
Trenton. When the Mats faced their
Eastern League "farmhands' in an
exhibition game at Greenville. S. c..
Monteagudo soundly licked the ma
jor leaguers with a four-hit per-
formance He carried on to win 19
games for the pitifully weak Trenton
team and when he came to WASH
ington for his big-league trial he
struck out nine of the right-handed
hitting Red Sox and won his first
start.
So now it looks as if little Mon
teagudo must be considered in a
large way. He has moved right to
the head of the rookie class and the
chances are better than even now
that he will stick.