Evening star., 1945-10-03
Shade Tigers on Slab
Despite NeWhouser;;
Coin Mark Likely
By JOHN B. KELLER,

Star stan CORRESPONDENT.
DETROIT, Oct. 3.-Here we go
out on the limb. Chicago's Cubs
and in six games.
The National League champions
to win the World Series, that was
to get under way here today, over
Detroit's Tigers, American League
pennant winners, because they have
more pitching and greater punch.
A six-game series? Well, we'll
string along with Charley Grimm
and Steve O'Neill, respectively
managers of the Cubs and the
Tigers, on the duration of the
classic. Neither expects an earlier
decision, and the wartime brand of
big-league baseball both clubs play
ought to string out the series
through that many games.
On the slab, the Cubs appear to
have decided edge. Detroit's left
handed Hal Newhouser boasts the
best record of any of the series
hurlers with Is wins against 8
losses, but at that the Cubs have
the right-handed Hank Wyse with
% wins and 10 defeats. Back of
Newhouser the Tigers have little
more to offer than Virgil Trucks,
it seems. But the Cubs are plenty
deep in the pitching department.
Cubs Have Half Dozen.
Claude lPasSeau, Hank Borowy,
the aging, but still crafty, Paul
Derringer, and after these Ray Prim,
who once wore a Washington uni
form, and Hy Vandenberg along
with Wyse give the Cubs an eff
cient pitching front.
In support of Newhouser and
Trucks, the Tigers show Dizzy Trout,
Stubby Overmire, Tommy Bridges,
George Caster and Zeb Eaton.
There are others, but these are the
ones on whom O'Neill mainly must
rely.
Trout, troubled by an ailing back,
has had an Indifferent season and
though he managed finally to beat
the Mats in Washington in the
crucial September series, Trout GER
tainly did not look the pitcher he
was during his streng 1914 cam
paign. OF the others named, Cast
er. picked up late in the season from
the st. Louis Browns, perhaps IS the
best.
None of these comes anywhere
near to Newhouser or Trucks, how
ever. And, after all, Trucks, Just
out OF the armed service, goes into
the series with only one big league
start under his belt.
Season records indicate no favor
able comparison of the Tiger slab
staff with the Cubs hill corps.
Bruins Pack Heavier WALTON.
AS to the punch, well the Cubs
have q season batting average of
,276 against one of .260 for the
Tigers. Hank Greenberg, with .306,
Is the lone Tiger regular in the 800
class. The Cubs have Phil CAVIAR
eta at first base, Don johnson at
second and Stan Hack at third in
the 800 class and a couple OF out
flelders and catchers not far out of
that class.
For punch, the Cubs have been
superior to the Tigers all year. Their
defense has been keener and those
who have seen both clubs in action
this season assert the Cubs in gen.
eral have the better throwing arms
Both clubs are rather weak al
shortstop, but the Tigers through
out the American League race
showed glaring defensive weaknesses
at other spots, while the Cubs went
along smoothly In the National
League. Only In catching do the
Tigers appear superior. Detroit's
Paul Richards and Bob Swift per-
haps are better than any of the
Cubs four catchers, although Mickey
Livingston, who once had q try
out with the Mats at their Orlando
training camp, has become a pretty
good receiver.
Any way one considers the series
the Cubs, on facts and figures, look
the winners. But In brief set of
games, anything could happen. And
there were plenty today who could
not see anything other than the
| Tigers.
Both Clubs Confident.
Each club is confident Of winning,
but neither is making any preten-
tious claims of superiority. There
is nothing of the cockiness of the
New York's stupendous Yankees Of
the Higgins and early Mccarthy
regimes about either. But the play
ers are looking to big bundle OF
dough when the tussling is over.
! This world series could be the
richest in the history OF the classic
The record for receipts. 1892 ,32831
was set in 1910 when the Tigers
beat Cincinnati's Reds in a seven
game set. The Tigers Briggs Sta.
dunn has the same seating capacity
it had that year and the Cubs
Wrigley Field in Chicago seats
about 10000 more than Crosley
. Field in Cincinnati.
So the players could get a. juicy
slice of the melon this time with
the Cubs getting much more thar
the Tigers.
Sports Prourum