Evening star., 1948-03-16
But Earl Can Earn Job
As Defense Insurance
Despite Weak Batting
By Burton Hawkins
Stor Stoff Correspondent

TAMPA, Fla, Mar. l6.-One OF
the tragedies of baseball is unfold
ing in the midst of the Mats spring
training, where once more the bat
ting deficiencies of slender, blond
Earl Wooten are being revealed. It's
sad spectacle, for Wooten is
classy major league outfelder but
minor league hitter.
Two years ago, when Wooten re-
ported for his first spring trial with
the Mats he admitted frankly, "I
can't hit" despite a .312 batting
average he had compiled in the
Southern Association. He was be-
ing completely honest; as future
events demonstrated.
It's a shame, for in the outfield
Wooten can hold his own with the
Di Maggios-Joe and Dom-and
other center fielders whose pursuit
Iof fly balls and deadly accurate
throwing comes under the head of
sheer artistry.
A Real Marvel Afield.
Wooten is a fielding marvel, so
far superior to anything on the Mats
roster that comparison is ludicrous.
If he could hit .280 in major league
company he would be an asset to
virtually any club, but there's a pos
Isibility his average would hover
closer to $50.
Gil Coan, Sherry Robertson, Tom
Mcbride, Lee Culberson, Larry
Drake and Dean Stafford are stum-
blebums a1eld in comparison with
the slim South Carolinian, but the
Mats are searching for hitting to
inject in a rather power-paralyzed
outfit and so Wooten doesn't figure
prominently in the Mats plans.
In the Southern Association
Wooten's fielding feats are legen-
Diary and Washington fans caught
a glimpse of his brilliant behavior
aheld late last season. On that oc-
casion he contributed one of the
all-time great catches at Griffith
Stadium when he hauled in a deep
drive at full speed while tumbling
over temporary wooden fence in
center field.
What the customers also saw,
however, was a speedy little fellow
who batted a miserable .083 in "a
trips to the plate after swatting .293
with Chattanooga. He has what
amounts to no power despite that
wind-blessed triple he belted against
the Athletics the other day.
Wooten may stick with the Mats,
though, strictly on his fielding abil-
ity. In the late innings, with Wash
ington in command, he would be
an ideal man to Insert in center
field for defensive purposes. He also
is capable first baseman and
would be handy to have around in
event of injury to Mickey Vernon.
There was some chatter during
the winter of altering Wootens bat
ting style-to polish his bunting and
capitalize on his speed-but thus
far the results have been negligible.
He hasn't the muscles to trlghten
the opposition, which can play him
close and have few fears.
Play Cincinnati Reds Today.
Here for battle today with the
Cincinnati Reds, the Mats will at
tempt to lift their exhibition game
mark to 500 after dropping two of
three engagements to the Athletics
at West Palm Beach. Early Wynn
and Mickey Haefner were slated to
pitch for Washington.
The Mats will split into two
squads tomorrow, with one club
playing the Philadelphia Phillies at
Orlando and the other invading
Sanford to clash with Minneapolis.
Sid Hudson, who launched his climb
to the majors from Sanford, will
hurl against the Millers.
The Mats currently are minus the
services of Pitcher Ray Garcia, who
returned to Cuba ostensibly to have
his teeth repaired. Garcias aver
sion to dentists in the United States
remains unexplained, but he said he
ucll1J ,,otI1rt,