Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-06
Lane Approach Yanks Hat in Hand in Bid for Andy Carey
Groih Trade for Me|e
Makes Chuck Dierinq
Key Man 10 Orioles
BY the AssoeIoied Press

~ me ASSoet0foo ProSo
BALTIMORE, Feb. Gut
fielder Chuck Diering. who
couldn't make the grade with the
st. Louis Cardinals and the New
York Giants. appeared to be- a
key figure in the plans Of the
Baltimore Orioles for the new
baseball season.
Diering, who was listed as
Johnny Groth's No. / replace
ment in the Orioles centerfield
spot, now is expected to get first
crack at the Job.
Groth and Inflelder Johnny
Upon were traded to the Chicago
White Sox yesterday for Out
fielder Sam Mele and Infielder
Neil Berry.
The 31-year-old Diering, q
light hitter during his National
League tenure. must have picked
up some batting points at
Minneapolis last season, for he
bated 1922, cracked out IL home
runs and drove in "a runs.
Always Good Defensively.
Defensively, Chuck always has
been considered one of the best.
That's why we drafted him. /"
Jimmy Dykes. Orioles manager,
explained earlier this week.
We've got a big center field in
Baltimore and we know he can
go a long ways to get EN-"
In Mele. the American
Leagues newest entry came I'D
with another power hitter to 20
along with Outfielder Vic Wertz,
First Baseman Dick Kryhoski
and Third Baseman Junior
Stephens.
Mele was a .274 hitter last
year in his first full season with
the White Sox, who obtained
him IN a deal with Washington
during the 1852 season. That
also was his figure the two full
years he spent with the Sen
ators after joining them during
the 1949 campaign from Boston.
Sam started his major league
career as a 1902 hitter with the
Red Sox in 1947. but his three
.274 seasons have been his best
since. He got good distance
with some Of his blows last year,
with 46 Of his 122 hits going
for extra bases. including IL
homerS.
Groth in Batting Slump.
Groth, who came to the Amer
lean League from Buffalo with
quite a reputation a few seasons
back. slumped to .253 batting
average last year. That was the
reason Art Ehlers, Baltimore
general manager, considered him
dependable.
1.-THE record shows Groth has
been slipping a little each year, u
Ehlers said.
Before his .253 season at st.
Louis last summer, Groth flirted
with the 800 mark most of four
seasons with the Detroit Tigers,
who traded him to the Browns
after the 1852 season. He had
.306 in 1850 after doing .293 his
first full year up in 1949. He
dropped to .299 in 1851 and to
.284 in 1852.
Both Berry and Lipon are
rated as weak batters, although
Berry is considered the better
infleider.
1858 Average Berry's Best.
Berry'S .271 average in part
time duty with the White Sox
and Browns last season was his
best major league mark. The
White Sox got him late in the
year, and he played only five
games with them.
He came up with Detroit in
1948 and never did any power
hitting with successive aver
ages of .266, .237, .256, .229 and
.228. The Tigers sent him to
the Browns at the end of the
1852 campaign.
Lipon played with both the
Red Sox and Browns last season
as a fill-in and batted only .214,
a hair better than his previous
season when he worked for .211
with both the Tigers and Red
Sox. His first full year in the
majors he showed promise with
.290 with the Tigers in 1913,
but dropped to .251 in 1949. He
was up to .293 the next year,
and dropped again to .265 the
following season.
Redlegs Sign Three Players.
Elsewhere on the baseball front
the Cincinnati Redlegs signed
three players to bring the num-
Der under contract to 43, prob
ably the most Of any major
league team to date.
Pitchers George Zuverink and
Maurice Fisher and Catcher
Hobie Landrith agreed to I'M
disclosed terms. General Mana
ger Gabe Paul needs only five
more signatures to make his 1854
roster complete.
Zuverink, 27-year-old right
handler who once pitched for
Cleveland, won 10 and lost 8 last
season at Indianapolis under Biz
die Tebbetts, new Redlegs mana
ger.
Winning is and losing 7 for
Columbia in 1858, the 22-year-
old Fisher will be getting his Sec