The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1948-08-05
BEHIND
HOME PLATE
By DOUG STEWART

Lou Fauth, the highlander sent
to the Owls by Buffalo from their
brownsville, Ga, farm club, has
been recalled by Buffalo and has al
ready left. This is tough blow for
the Owls, for not only has Lou been
plenty of help on the mound, but
he has also been effective as a pinch
hitter. In Sundays game at Sun
bury he not only delivered as pin
CHI hitter in the seventh inning, but
when the Owls batted around, he
again came up in the inning and got
his second hit.
1t was sure good to see the Owls
wrack up that fve-game winning
streak, and it is my prediction that
this vastly improved ball club is not
going to finish the season in the eel
lar.
l have heard some fans criticize
Benny Culp, but for my money, he
has done a fine job with the boys
and deserves a lot of credit.
One of the most improved ball
players on the Owls roster is Claude
Christie, the young catcher sent in
here by Detroit.
l remember well when Claude
first started behind the plate the
early part of the season, and Oppos-
ing base runners soon learned that
ne was not very hard to steal on.
But now Just the opposite is the
case, and it's seldom if ever, that a
base runner steals base with Claude
behind the plate, which gives the
Owls perhaps two of the best throw
ing arms among catchers in the
league, for, of course, it is well
known that Gene Crumling has no
peer when it comes to whipping that
ball down to second base.
But it is not only in catching that
Claude has improved so much, for
his power at the plate is also some
thing to be reckoned with these days.
Alternating as a catcher and right
fielder, Claude has been one of the
sparks of the Owls improved play
ing, and if it were not for the fact
that he still suffers somewhat from
a knee injury suffered early in the
season, he would without question,
be one of the leading hitters and
felders on the squad,
Always willing and eager to play,
and learning more every day, you
can write it down that Claude
Christie is going to move up the lad
der.
Another real cog in the Owls
wheel is Bobby Martin, in my book
one of the best defensive second
basemen in the league,
While Bobby's hitting is not as
consistent as some of his teammates,
he is now getting hits when hits
mean runs, and is becoming real
threat at the plate when men are on
base.
Martin is not only one of the best
infelders in the league on double
plays, but he also covers a world of
territory on fly balls, and it is not
uncommon to see him snag flies in
both short center and short right
field, and he rarely, if ever misses
one that he goes after.
A quiet, dependable ball player,
Bobby Martin is a credit to both
his club and to baseball in general.
That Valuation" at Sunbury on
Sunday afternoon (you will find the
account of the game in my column,
Keeping Up With The Owls" on
page g. was really one for the book.
Here are a few statistics of the game:
A total of pitchers saw action;
81 batters got bases on balls, and
2 were hit by pitched balls; 8 runs
were walked across the plate; 103
batters stepped to the plate to take
their cuts; the Owls got their big
inning off the relief pitching of Mike
Rooms, when 8 runs crossed the plate
in the seventh inning to give the
Owls 1916 lead, yet Rooms got
credit for the win; Sunbury bat
tiers walked in the ninth inning and
of them scored; 6 of the Z runs Sun
bury scored in the fatal ninth
came after were out.