The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-01-10
Elder Bagby Aided In
dams To American
League Pennant q
Years Ago
Bv ROMNEY WHEELER
Alp Feature Service Writer

"a LAIN La. 0d.s odll. "
Twenty-one years ago Jim Bagby
won 81 and lost II to help pitch
Cleveland to an American League
pennant and World Series cham
pionship.
Next season there'll be another
Jim Bagby burning 'em across
home plate and the old sergeant
thinks Jim Jr. las what it takes
to help the Indians turn the trick
again.
"Jim never would have done
Boston any good, says the elder
Bagby, beaming at the trade
which sends his son to Cleveland.
"This'll be Jim's chance.
Can he do as well as the old
sergeant? His dad won't predict,
and Jim Jr. is doubtful.
"It's bad luck to try to call
your shots, SAYS Bagby senior,
now middle-aged and sparse-hair
ed and recently retired from his
Z lry-cleaning business.
"I'll say, though, l ought to win
at least ten, is the younger Bag
by's guess.
Easier In Dads Day?
Young Jim thinks it was a lot
easier to run up an imposing vic
tory string in his Dads day than
now. ~
"Shucks", he says, when dad
was pitching they didn't have but
maybe five home-run hitters in
the league. Today nearly every
team has a half-dozen. Every
man in the Red Sox infield hit 20
homers or better last season..
''In my day., explains the elder
Bagby, I'VE used the dead ball,
and most players choked up on
their hits instead of swinging for
long hits. They were trying for
base hits, though, every time.
That's just it,, interjects young
Jim. when you had three men
on base a hit might mean one.
maybe two runs. Now if a batter
connects it's probably the ball
game"
/ Give young Jim pointers? His
dad shakes his head.
He doesn't pitch anything like
me-, he says. Hes more like
his uncle, Clarence pop Boy
/ Smith, who played in the South
ern league and I think little
while for Cleveland. He's a fast
ball pitcher with some curve.
Mine was mostly curve-ball
pitching.
The elder Bagby thinks young
Jim needs more control and a
better curve-adds that he'd bet
ter start now, cause he'll never
learn any younger.
Elbow Injury A Handicap
An elbow injury. suffered when
he was about IA years old, may
have some effect on the boys
pitching, his dad says. Young Jim
himself, says the injury caused
by an immature effort to pitch
a sharp breaking curve-prob-
ably affects his fast ball more
than anything.
( IF 1 could straighten my arm
completely, he explains, Il guess
l could get more speed, but other
wise it doesn't bother me-.
Both think the trend in base
ball is toward taking the pitcher
out of the game
Why, complains young Jim.
they're even talking about let
ting another player bat for the
pitcher.
Yeah, adds his dad, they
started taking away from the
pitcher when they stopped the
spit ball. And another thing. .
back in my day a batter had to
watch closer to see the ball They
weren't forever tossing out new
one every time the cover got
Scuffed a little. That dark pellet
was hard 10 see.
Young Jim, who won 10 and
lost is with Boston last year.
looks for the Indians to win the
pennant next season.
You have Bob Feller and may
be five other pitchers. he figures,
and if each Of the five others
wins ten games and Feller gets
his average. YOU have better than
IS games. And some of US ought
70 do better than 10 games