Evening star., 1948-02-29
Accent Is on Youth
At Orlando Camp
By Burton Hawkins
Star Staff Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla, Feb. 2S.-A
Washington baseball club with
sputtering motor on Monday will
tune up for THE, American League
race-an event In which sleek, pow
erful, polished models threaten to
run away from the wheeling Mats.
President Clark Griffith, deter
mined to overhaul his shoddy sew
birthplace entry of last season, will
rely ON untested youngsters this
year and for Washington fans the
process of reconstruction may be
boring. There isn't catcher, in
fielder or outf1elder on the Mats
roster who batted better than .269
in major league company last sea-
son.
Outfielders Buddy Lewis and
George Case and Infielder Cecil
Travis have retired Catcher Rick
Ferrell has abandoned his mask for
coaching job. Catcher Frank Man
cuso has been traded to Toledo, In
fielder Jerry Priddy was dispatched
to the st. Louis Browns, Outfielder
Joe Grace was sold to Pittsburgh
and Outfielder Stan Spence was
swapped to the Boston Red Sox.
So, partly by design and partly
by circumstance, the Mats are forced
to rebuild. Griffith isn't kidding
himself that Washington will be in
the battle. ..-..
Tough Task for Kuhel.
"It's a situation we just have to
face" declares Griffith. We're 60
ing along with our youngsters.
They'll make mistakes, but if they
show enough promise they'll stay
in the lineup. There will be times
when we suffer due to lack of ex-
perience, but 1 think we'll have<a
scrappy, interesting team. We
couldn't get anywhere with the older
fellows we had, so we'll build on
youth
Joe Kuhel, former Washington
and Chicago White Sox first base
man who will manage the Mats for
the first time, is confronted with
tremendous task. His only recog-
niZed regulars are Mickey Vernon,
first baseman who slumped to .265
at bat last season after leading the
league with 1853 in 1916, and Catcher
AL Evans, who batted 241 last year.
At second base, Kuhel's leading
candidate will be 25-year-old AL
Kozar, highly regarded graduate
Of the New Orleans club who batted
.339 in 1947. He came to the Mats
with Outfielder Leon Culberson, who
hit. 238 for Boston, in the Spence
deal. ->-
Sullivan to Start at Short.
First crack at shortstop will be
granted to Johnny Sullivan, 28, who
has achieved no distinction as a
hitter. Grifith's insistence on CIV
ing Sullivan the inside track has re-
suited in a salary squabble with
Mark Christman, the Mats only
holdout. Christman desires con-
tract which would pay him more
money in the event he plays regu-
larly.
At third base, the Mats will rely
on 21-year -old Eddie Yost, who was
.238 hitter last year after sup
planting the lame-legged Travis.
Other infielders are Clarence Di-
FAM, .315 batter with Augusta;
Cal Ermer, who hit .279 with Char
lotte; Eddie Lyons, who batted .295
with Chattanooga. and Christman,
who skidded to .223 as the Mats
regular shortstop last season.
Certain of an outfield post Is a.
year-old Gil Coan. $40 hitter with
Chattanooga who failed to click in
a 1946 major league trial Brought
ups for IL games last fall, Coan
clipped American League pitching
for a fancy 500 average.
Earl Wooten, slender blond who
has been a fielding sensation OF the
Southern Association for three
years, will be groomed for center
field. Wooten. %, batted .293 with
Chattanooga, but the Mats bosses
are convinced his batting stroke is
faulty and will attempt to alter 1t
in training.
Larry Drake and Dean Stafford,
$40 and .378 hitters in Texas Big
(See MATS, Page Bad