Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-04-03
Rookie EARNED,
Though He Tops
Vet Griffnen
Shift to 'Nooeo Inks
Bill, Who Left Good
Job for Baseball
By BURTON HAWKINS,
star staff Correspondent,


ORLANDO, Fla, April Slim
Bill Kennedy, who deserted a steady
and satisfactory Job at the Potomac
freight yard in Alexandria, Va, to
take a final fling at baseball, is
privileged to ask what q fellow has
to do to make good with the Mats.
The only southpaw on Washing
tons roster. Kennedy has been in
formed by President Clark Grifflth
Of the Mats that he will board a
Chattanooga choo-choo Monday
when the club breaks camp. Bill
may be excused for being perplexed,
annoyed and detected. for he had
every reason to believe he would
be making his bacon at Griffith
Stadium this summer.
On paper, Kennedy doesn't ap-
pear ready to make the jump from
Charlotte of the Piedmont League,
where he won only eight games and
lost nine last season. But Cleveland
Brooklyn, the New York Giants and
st. Louis Cardinals haven't been
batting against a paper pitcher In
young Mr.. Kennedy.
Kennedy has pitched against
four formidable outfits and the best
they have done against him Is to
muster one earned run, four hits
and four walks in 10 innings.
Against the Giants he hurled four
hitlesS innings, then had an i'm
pacted wisdom tooth yanked and
that appears to have been his crime.
While Bill was recovering from
the tooth-removing episode, he was
missing further opportunities to i'm
press and meanwhile the Mats
landed Pitcher Buck Newsom in a
deal with Detroit. The Mats seem
to have quantity and quality among
their pitchers, but Kennedy hasn't
demonstrated he's the least likely
Of the crop.
Hates Return to Minors.
i've talked to Griff about 1t, y
says Kennedy. "but I can't get any
where with him. He says he doesn't
want me to sit around on the bench
in Washington when I could be
pitching regularly in Chattanooga
but If I go there, know I won't
be seeing this team again until
maybe next fall.
IT hate to go back to the minors
after what I've shown this spring
I know I have the stuff now but
I know, too, that q lot depends on
breaks. I'll come down here again
next year as rookie and maybe
when I pitch won't look as good as
I have the past few weeks.
"All I want Is an opportunity to
prove myself one way or the other
Down here q rookie has to look
good all the time to get considera-
ton. I've been fortunate enough
to show well against some pretty
good clubs. asked Griff to let
me pitch Sunday and 60 as far as I
could and he promised me I could.
Yesterday, though, Bucky pitched
me one inning so that Sunday prop
osition is out.
Ray Scarborough has a world of
stuff but he didn't look too good
in the two chances he had so he
hasn't pitched since. It's tough try
ing to get the breaks down here.
I got EN- this year but they're send
ing me away anyway. don't under
stand it."
Kennedy left $300-a-month job
as q railroad brakeman at the in
sistence of Manager Harris. Two
or three clubs in the league would
be eager to grab him of on what
he's displayed this spring but Bill
Is in the predicament of being the
property of club apparently packed
with pitching.
Cards Spank Mats, 8-6.
He can't return to thar railroad
cob at the same salary because he
couldn't get a furlough. 1t was
braking or baseball ano Bill selected
the latter. Now he believes ne may
have made q mistake but the mis-
take hasn't been in his pitching.
Kennedy has appeared far better
than Steve Sundra, for instance, but
Harris and Grifith lean toward
Sundra's experience. Bill had his
(See HAWKINS, Page A-20)