Evening star., 1948-04-15
Long Hits Mark
.350Averageof
Late Starter
Contrasts Stickwork of
CuIberson, Mcbride;
PhiIs IL Winners
By Burton Howkins
stor Sfoff Correspondent


WINSTON-SALEM, N. c., April Is
With a belated but welcome squirt,
slender, blond Earl Wooten is
threatening to take over permanent
possession of the Mats center field
Job. If he captures the position it
will be a move which will find high
favor among Griffith Stadium Gus
toners, for Wooten is an outfielder
of tremendous talent.
Wooten has been afforded Scant
opportunity to display his talent in
spring training because Manager Joe
Kuhel UNDERSTANDABLE was COM
mitted to testing Leon Culberson
and Tom Mcbride in center field.
They possessed major league expe-
rience and in Wooten the Mats
bosses believed they owned one of
baseballs hashiest flelders and finest
throwers, but a woefully inept batter
in spite of his .295 average last
season with Chattanooga of the
Southern Association. which uses
dynamite for baseballs.
Earl, who answers to "Rootin-
Tootin" and Junior" had seen
little service until the Mats invaded
Greenville, S. c., a mashie shot from
Wooten's Pelzer, S. c., residence. on
Monday. Kuhel stuck him in the
game during the late innings and
the next day when the Mats and
Phillies shifted to Anderson, a biz
closer to Pelzer, Wooten was in the
starting lineup.
Wooten Has Field Day.
He blasted home run, two singles
walked, tossed a runner out at third
and, in general, enjoyed a fiotional
sort OF homecoming. He was the
favorite of the overall-clad crowd
and he responded nobly. He also
won a starting assignment yesterday
at Charlotte, N. c., where the Mats
dropped IL decision to the Phils
Earl slashed a lusty triple of
Schoolboy Rowe yesterday and while
Kuhel isn't deluding himself into
thinking Wooten is a slugger, he
has been impressed by his behavior
when contrasted with that of Nc.
Bride and Culberson.
Wooten has faced major league
pitching only 20 times this spring
but he has fashioned seven hits
three of them triples and another
q homer. That's $50 hitting even II
over short span and it rates at
tention at a time when Culbersor
is struggling along at .173 and Nc
Bride at 254.
Over Wooten's fielding the Mats
bosses have no concern, he'll give
the Mats better protection in center
field than the polished Stan Spence
presented 'em for years. He'll throw
with anybody In baseball-poWer-
fully and accurately. His shortcom-
ing has been hitting and there's
suspicion now that he'll outhit
either Culberson or Mcbride.
Earl Is Surefire Afield.
That failing, Wooten still would
be a defensive star between Gil
Coan and Sherry Robertson, neither
of whom is noted as sparkling
specimen in the outfield. A 23-
year-old, 63-pounder. Wooten could
grab it all in center field.
Washington was limited to nine
hits by Rowe and Walt Dubiel. while
the Phillies cuffed Walter Master
son, Forrest Thompson and Tom
Ferrick for IS hits. Coan, with a
brace of triples and a single, and
Sherry Robertson, with double
and single, led the Mats meager
attack.
The Mats produced their only
run in the eighth inning at Dubiel' S
expense when Jay Difani singled
and Coan bounced q double off the
right-feld fence, but meanwhile
the Phillies had smashed Masterson
for five runs in the five innings on
three singles, a double, hit bat
ter, a walk and Sam Meeks' error.
Ferrick pitched the ninth for the
Mats and was hammered for the
other two runs on successive singles
(See MATS, Page CD