Evening star., 1939-02-09
F|ashy Receiver
Deemed Better
Than Giiu|iani
Doubtful at Bot, but
Stamina Gives Jake
Call Over FerreII
BY FRANCIS E. STAN,
Star Stan Correspondent.

ORLANDO, Fla, Feb. 9-This Is
Rookie Jake Early's third year in
spring training with the Nationals
and for the third successive time he
finds himself touted as a gilt-edged,
Al find" In the beginning it was
President Clark Griffith who
thumped the tub for Jacob from
Kings Mountain, N. C. Now, after
two demotions to the minors, Early
is back again and Manager Bucky
Harris is helping Griffith with the
drum beating.
In the conventional preseason
appraisals of major league clubs,
Early was not considered seriously
as a regular. That IS, he wasn't
considered until now. But Harris,
the old limb climber, began to crawl
where it is high and precarious to-
day and he got the Early for catch
er movement off to an early start.
Il expect him to catch most OF
Washington's games this year"
fearlessly pronounced Mr.. Harris.
That is" he qualified, IF he can
hit at all"
That is the drawback to Master
Early, who is % and delightfully."-
effervescent in action. He may be
the best throwing catcher in the
business, major and minor alike.
Griffith says that and so does Har-
ris. Moreover. Master Early can
run and he can catch. But the
question is: Can he hit the ball?
Jake Ranked Over Giuliani.
Early batted .317 for Charlotte
last year. Some observers who saw
him say that he came pretty close
to being the best minor Lacquer in
the country. Others are more con-
servative. Batting .3l7 against Glass
B league pitching is something less
than hitting successfully against
the major league variety. Still,
Early deserves consideration and,
it develops. he is destined to get it.
If l must take my choice be-
tween Early and Tony GiuIani,"
said Bucky. Il think Id have to
string along with Jake. This prob
ably isn't smart thing to say right
now but that's the way feel about
| it. Giuliani is a nice receiver but
he can't catch any better than Jake
and he can't begin to throw with
| him. The only thing that Giuliani
has over Jake is catching foul flies
but we may be able to brush Early
up on those when we move to the
bigger park here"
Harris insists that he is serious
when he speaks of Early catching
most of the Mats games this year.
Il hope to use him every time a
right pitcher faces us" said
Bucky. That would make a nice
arrangement. Rick Ferrell still is
a swell bail player but Rick can't
stand the strain of catching l40
games or so every year. He isn't
built for that kind of work. If
Early can catch every time the other
club uses a right-hander and Fer
rell is behind the bat against left
handlers, we'll do all right"
He'll Be Slap Hitter.
Early is the big slugger in camp
at the moment. This is a hollow
distinction, of course. for Jake and
another catcher. Al Evans. are the
only so-called hitters in camp. All
of the rest are pitchers raw
rookie hurlers who have something
to learn about getting batters out
before they begin to worry other
pitchers with their hitting prowess.
Il noticed one thing this morn
ing" announced Harris, after bat
ting and bunting practice drill
Early is inclined to overswing and
to take his eyes off the ball in a
desperate attempt to knock the ball
out of the lot. I've watched him for
the last two years and couldn't quite
lay my finger on what was the mat
(See STAN, Page CO