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McGraw's Big Sticker Has Batted Out Many Victories at Crucial Stages
PINCH-HITTER KORMICK A- VALUABLE fiIANT
By W. J. Mcßeth.
NEW YORK. Sept 30.—As a
big league poet our old
friend, John Milton, hit
about .500 or thereabout. He had a
great as'irtment —curves, speed
and a change of pace. But he nev
er slipped anything over the plate
more apt than his famous passage:
"They also serve who only stand
and wait.’’
The future must have opened
to give John a glimpse of
Harry McCormick as inspiration
for that line. "Mush the Moose"
stands forth as the epitome of that
sentiment. Big. congenial Mac has
done considerable standing and
considerable waiting this season,
but he has nevertheless served the
Giant cause as well as Mathew
son, Tesreau or Marc sard. That’s
putting it very strong
In many respects McCormick is
one of the most remarkable char
acters of the national pastime. He
defies every law of athletic fate.
He Is by far the most remarkable
come-back of the present genera
tion. Volumes have been written
about Jimmy Callahan and Mike
Donlin, yet more remarkable than
the story of either Is the return of
McGraw’s great pinch hitter.
McCormick Slow as a Snail.
Eithe Callahan or Donlin is a
Mercury compared to McCormick.
Speed is one of the first attributes
of modern baseball. Either of the
ntccpted "come-back twins" can
beat out a hit now and then by
slapping it slowly toward some in
ti* Ider- McCormick never He has
to swat it whet' they "ain’t.” His
unit virtues are uni" Ing eyesight
and thi ph.' l - < :il powers of execu
t ion.
When Hu r> McCormick knocked
off a: the < lose of the season of ,
19"',' he appn ' fitly knocked off fol
gi od I'e;- two years he didn't take
alt; I in h's fist, lb devoted his
"iitib : 1 mtion :>> commercial
'!ne-. He had evidently outlived
his use ulnc -s as i mojo league
asset. No one nnu nj fuss over
hi.- depastu 1 no. von McGraw.
Last spring Hit. McCormick
mad, application fm reinstatement
it t’c (minis of tile national com*
m --in. Th was necessary be
ts us : - had failed to observe the
\ clan-, of his contract with
the Gantt IL giV back into the
good graces of tip ,> ganization
without show or even fuss Even
FRANK CHANCE EXPECTS
TO PLAY AGAIN NEXT YEAR
CHICAGO. Sept. 30 Crank 1,,
chance, manager of the* Chicago Na
tional league' baseball team, said here
today he had’ received no official noti
fication that he hail been deposed
from that position by President Mur
phy of the club
Chance sale! the operation he re
cently underwent in New York was a
success and he expected to play ball
all next season.
Chance and Murphy did not meet
yesterday. Murphy was positive in his
assertion that there was no likelihood
of Chance being retained as manager.
CHICAGO ASKS WAIVERS
ON MORDECAI BROWN
CHICAGO. Sept 30 Waivers have been
asked on Mordeeal Brown by President
Murphy ,of the Chicago Cubs The pitch
er injured his knee tn winning a ten
inning game last July, and since that
mishap has been of no use tq the chit'
Manager Chance today confirmed the
news that Brown is to leave the team
winter he signed a three-year con
tract
KOLEHMAINEN IS BEATEN
BY QUAIL IN 12-MILE RACE
NEWARK. N I , Sept 30. In a 12-tnile
professional race at the Yallshuig sta
dium. in which five runnets competed,
Billy Quail, the American champion,
after alternating in the lead with Wil
liam Kohlmainen. of Finland. beat the
latter to the tape by inches In 1:0f> 1:'
John lohannsen. of Sweden, was third,
one-third of a mile back James Crowlev.
of this city, was fourth, and Car! Kim
Ipeun, of Sweden, last
McGraw didn’t take a tumble. Mac
figures that he would not stand in
the light of the big follow.
Hit Ball Hard at Marlin.
McGraw probably figured on
using McCormick In some sort of
trade. There did not seem to he
the ghost of a chance of the bat
tle scarred veteran catching on
against such an array of outfield
talent as the Little Napoleon mus
tered. Anyhow, McCormick was
ordered to report to Marlin. Hr
brought with him little more than
his batting eye. Rut he showed
that he had not forgotten how to
sting the ball, in batting skin the
"Id fellow started right in where
he had left off two years before
And he made such a fine impres
sion in the Southland that McGraw
forgot all about any. notions of
turning hint loose.
McCormick, who would qualify
for a regular berth if his legs were
sound, is one of the slowest run
ners In the game. He cams every
lilt. And New York pays well for
the labor. He is a pinch hitter of
approved type, his record shows
that. So far this season McCor
mick has figured in 36 games. In
all that time he has been to bat
Just 35 times. He has scored four
rum. delivered twelve hits for a
total of sixteen bases and an aver
age of .345 and has stolen one base
-that on the soft end of a double
pilfer. Outside the luscious bat
ting average. McCormick's work
may not be very impressive. Rut
it typifies a season of work well
done.
Kept Only For His Hitting.
Self-sacrifice is the fundamental
creed which McCormick must fol
low toward his fellow associates
With his batting prowess ends Mc-
Graw's concern in him. McCor
mick is supposed to deliver the
pinch blow that starts a rally or
drives home the necessary runs;
then he steps out. He is not even
allowed to linger as a base runner
once his office Is performed. Til
lie Shafer or some other irrepressi
ble fleet athlete takes up the base
running burden from first and big
Mac is > hared off to the cool, se
questered shower
If baseball were conducted on the
union scale of wages,' McCormick’s
income would compare favorably
with the kings of finance. Possi
bly altogether this season he will
PRESIDENT MAY MISS
WORLD'S SERIES GAMES
BEVERLY. MASS.. Sept. 30. Cnless
some of President Taft’s friends in
Vermont and New Hampshire change
lite tentative program they have
mapped out for a presidential visit to
them sc ues. the most distinguished
baseball fan in the coun'ry will miss
the world series games in Boston fiext
week.
The president accepted an invita
tion to witness world series games In
Boston the day the Red Sox clinched
the American league pennant. Friend#
In the White mountains, however, re
cently asked him to make an automo
bile tour there.
VICE PRESIDENT’S CUP
FINAL EAST LAKE CLUB
The vice president’s golf trophy is the
’• ct and last trophy to be contested
for by the golfers of the Atlanta Ath
letic club at Hast Lake.
The qualifying round of this tourna
ment will played next Saturday , the
' player* qualifying with their net scores
The first and seconds rounds of match
pl»x must be played by October 11 The
semi-finals must be played by October 12
and the finals b\ October 1.3
MATT McGRATH hangs
UP NEW HAMMER THROW
\i:\\ YORK. Sept <0 ?'aU McGrath,
ihe world s <hunrpb»n hatiimer thrower,
added h new world's record t«» Ins siring
at Celtic i»ark He threw the 16-pound
hammer with unlimited run and follow
191 feet 5 inches, the former record be
Ing 180 tees 1 inch, mad* by ,t .1 Flana
gan, on the same ground, three years ago
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 30. 1912.
not have been actively engaged in
strife more than a couple of hours.
Yet he pulls down a big league sal
ary, and he will get a full share
of the .vorld's series spoils. He is
likely to figure in* the big classic,
too, if occasion crises for a pinch
hit.
All of which goes to prove the
wi.-com of old John Milton as a
baseball prophet.
Rube Marquard Compares Giants and Red Sox
•!-#v *!'•*!* •?•••»•
McGraw’s Men Have Benefit of Experience
IT is the fashion to make predic
tions as to the winner of the
world’s series. I am going to
vary the custom to some extent by
confining myself largely to com
parisons of the Giants and the Red
Sox as 1 see them from a study of
the "dope.” Now, I can't say 1 be
lieve much in the "dope” as ap
plied to a short series of seven
games, in which the‘element of luck
sometimes overshadows sheet abil
ity; still, it is always interesting
to me to study the possibilities.
McGraw is now pointing our
club toward the big series—our sec
ond consecutive chance at the
championship of the world. We
meet a club that the average fan
considers weaker than the Athlet
ics of last year, although Connie
Mack, who leads the Athletics, is
quoted as saying that the Stahl
aggregation Is a better club than
the one he had in 1911. Mack
should know.
Remember this: I haverft seen
the Red Sox play this season, and
haven't had a chance to study
them lam basing my observation
on th figures. I can't see where a
man w ho has nev r seen and stud
ied both teams in action has any
license to say, arbitrarily, that this
or that piuyei is better than an
other I think a "fan” who has
watched the clubs all season is bet
ter able to judge for himself than a
man who has seen but one team,
and is intensely partisan, anyway.
Confident Giants Will Win.
1 feel confident that the Giants
will defeat the Sox. and it is a con
fidence born of the honest belief
that we have the best ball club.
The wish, in my case, is father to
the thought.
1 think it will be conceded that
we have the greatest manager in
the game today, and therein lies a
tremendous advantage in out favor
at the outset. McGraw has proven
himself a wonderful baseball gen
eral. and will leave an Indelible im
press upon the game. I believe he
is the greatest single asset that
New York has in the coming series.
I want to say. In passing, that
everything which has' been printed
about the ability of "Smoky" Joe
Wood is true. He is a great pitch
er. I know, because 1 used to pitch
against him down in the American
association w hen he was with Kan
sas City, and I was a member of
the Indianapolis club Whenever
our teams came together Joe and 1
were always matched for a battle.
I don't recall that Wood ever
gained a decision over me. and we
used to average ten and twelve
strikeouts to a game Since those
days we have both probably mate
ially changed our methods of
pitching. I know 1 did, ami Joe
must have done the same, because
he would never got away In the
big league with nothing but bis old
smoke Make no mistake about
Wood he is very, very good
However. I want to dismiss the
other play m s in their order, amt
we will drop ttie pitchers with the
statement that 1 believe McGraw is
as well, if not a littls better, forti
fied with Mathewson, Tesreau,
The Big Race
Here is the up-to-the-minute dope on
how the ‘'Big Five” batters of the Amer
ican league are hitting:
PLAYERS— A.B. H. AV.
COBB 545 222 .408
JACKSON 556 218 . 392
SPEAKER 565 216 .382
LAJOIE 425 149 .351
COLLINS 516 173 .335
Cobb. Collins and Speakffr did not play
yesterday. Jackson kept up his terrific
slugging by securing two hits in four
times up. La|oie failed to connect for a
safe swat in four attempts.'
By RUBE MARQUARD.
Ames, C’.andall, Wiltse ann your
humble servant, as Stahl is with
Wood. Bedient, O’Brien, Collinsand
Hall.
Merkle Great First Sacker.
Cred Merkle is now conceded to
be one of the greatest first base
men in the country. He would be
ranked by any unbiased expert
among the first three. His work as
“doorkeeper” for the Giants has
been a big feature during the two
championship years of the team.
This season he has been hitting
about .300 right along, sometimes
rising above that mark, and occa
sionally falling a few points below.
As against Merkle s .300 batting
average—it was really .301 the last
time I saw the figures—Stahl also
hits about .300. so there is not much
batting advantage at that particu
lar point in the line-tip. Merkle is
much faster than the Sox leader
on the bases and otnerwise. He
has stolen 30 bases, against Jake’s
11 He has scored 77 runs against
Stahl’s 37 —I'm basing my figures
on the table issued last Friday,
September 27. Merkle had played
123 games against Stahl’s 89 up to
that time.
I believe we have it all over the
Sox at first base.
Doyle Best at Second.
Between Larry Doyle and Steve
Yerkes I believe there is no argu
ment. Doyle is today the greatest
second baseman in the National
league. Doyle bats .328 against
Yerkes’ .24 7. He has stolen 34
bases, while Steve had stolen less
than half a dozen on Moreland's
figures last week. Doyle has scored
97 runs against Yerkes' 69.
At shortstop. Wagner, of the Sox.
lias nothing on our Arthur Fletch
er in the figures. Wagner lifts .266.
while Fletcher is hanging the ball
for .266 Wagner has scored 71
runs to Fletcher's no and Arthur
played in fewer games than the
Sox short fielder. Wagner has
stolen 20 bases against Fletcher's
12.
Wagner is a veteran who has
been playing ball quite a long time,
while Fletcher is comparatively’ a
youngster, but Fletcher has had the
advantage of experience in one
world's series. I know that Wag
ner is considered one of the strong
est men on the Sox club, and have
heard much about his fielding, but
let me tell you now that Arthur
Fletcher has been working around
the short field recently in a man
ner which has never been excelled
by any man
Horzoq Better Than Gardner.
I was going to give you an ar
gument at third base, tofi, but 1
guess that is unnecessary now in
view of the work of Charley Her
zog lately. I sec where the ex
perts who had been giving the Sox
• a wide shade on Larry Gardner at
third over the "Canteloupe King"
have comment e'd to reneg after
seeing Charley The Marylandei
has been saving games for the
Giants by his grand work at the
hot corner, and has picked up in
his hittine, unless it is generally ad
mitted that the Sox will ha' e noth-
Giants and Red Sox Can Not Rely Entirely on Pitchers and Hitters
MISTAKES WILL DECIDE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
By Monty.
THE wortd's series of 1912 will
not be fought out entirely
nor even principally between
batter and pitcher, as has been
the written comment of more than
half the scribes who have devoted
pencil and paper to the subject.
If the series is played true to
the “dope," if every man batter
ing- on us there, even with Gardner
at his best.
The figures show that tarry hits
.317 against Herzog's .265. Gardner
has stolen 24 bases to Charley’s 33,
and has scored 87 runs to the
Maryland man’s 72.
There is no discounting Gard
ner’s ability. Like Herzog, he was
not originally a third baseman, but
he has been made over into a great
player at that corner. His hitting
puts him in the class of Frank Ba
ker, the man who made such a
wonderful showing in the worlds
series last year. 1 would consider
Gardner the most dangerous man
among the Sox at bat. next to Tris
Speaker.
The latter, of course, is in a class
by himself among the outfielders
w’ho will take part in the big se
ries. It may be his misfortune to
fall down, as Ty Cobb did in the
world’s championship games in
which he figured, but you’ve got to
always regard a man of Speaker's
great ability as a factor until the
last man in the last game is out.
As for Duffy Lewis and Harry
Hooper, the figures do not show
that they outclass our outfielders
to any great extent. Lewis hits
.273, while we have Josh Devore and
Murray hitting .266 and .267, re
spectively, with Snodgrass whaling
the ball at .258. Hooper taps a
light .248.
In base running, as shown by’ base
stealing, our men completely out
class both Lewis and Hooper. De
vore has stolen 25 bases, Murray
32, Snodgrass 38, while Lewis is
credited with but 8 and Hooper
with 26.
Then, too, we have Beals Beck
er. who hits .264. and has stolen 28
bases.
Outfielders Even on Defense.
In the fielding line. 1 doubt if
the Bostonians will show our gar-""
deners anything in a short series.
The Sox outfielders are noted for
their throwing, but that is also the
Giants' long suit. No man in the
world can shoot the ball better than
John Murray, and no man in the
world can do any more spectacular
fielding than that same "Red."
It is admitted that we have the
Sox outclassed behind the bat. Bill
Carrigan certainly can not be com
pared to Meyers in any single de
partment on their figures. The chief
hits .347 against Carrigan’s .259.
Meyers is a better thrower; he has
even stolen more bases than his
lighter opponent, although neither
can be classed as much of a base
runner. Remembet Meyers' work
in the last world's series. He was
generally considered the star of the
Giants, whereas the prophets fig
ured he would go to pieces under
the drive.
Taking the second line, as you
might call it. 1 believe McGraw has
Stahl outclassed with Artie Shafer,
Grover Hartley. George Burns.
Henry Groh and Harry McCormick,
against Clyde Engl«* Henriksen.
Kgug. Thomas, or any of the other
Sox substitutes. Shafer. Groh and
Burns can till in at any time with
out the team losing strength, save
from the standpoint of experience,
w hile Hartley is ready for regular
service as a catcher right non.
bats and every pitcher pitches as
past performances would forecast,
it would be just about a tossup be
tween the Giants and the Red Sox
in respect to twirling and stick
work. This being the case, the
trail of the logic leads to the oth
er departments of play—base run
ning, fielding, general team play
and fighting spirit. And, when it
simmers down to a contest of su
periority in these departments, it
is a matter not so much of grand
achievements as of mistakes that
will decide the issue. Thus, we
shput:
The world's series will be de
cided on a basis of MISTAKES
made, the team with the least
lapses chalked up against it, of
course, taking the honors.
There always is the possibility
in a battle of teams that have
never met before that batters may
take kindly to the offerings of a
pitcher who logically figures as a
hard one for them to reach. This
may be the case this year, the same
as it may be in any event similar
to a world’s series, where the con
tenders are strangers to each other.
Tesreau may prove a morsel for
the Red Sox hitsmen and Wood
may turn out to be the same for
the Giant slugsmiths, but the evi
dence at hand does not point in
that direction. Nor does it indi
cate that Ray Collins and Mathew
son will be batted over the lot.
Matty Will Hurl Opener.
The power ratio of the rival Jiurl
ing corps seems remarkably bal
anced. Mathewson, who by prece
dent probably’ will pitch the first
game for New York, seems well
fitted to cope with Wood, whose
christened handle, by the way, is
not Joe, but Howard Emerson.
They call him Joe for short, for
the same reason that President
Taft might be called George or
Timothy.
Matty’s steadiness would prove
an asset in the getaway game as
it did when he beat the Athletics
* in last year's opener. Wood will
be pitching against a club that spe
cializes on right-handed pitchers,
which would detract from his
charm. These two factors ought to
even up the edge that Wood pos
sesses over the veteran in speed
and "smoke,” in which Christy has
GLOVER LOST TO TECH:
FAILSTOPASS “EXAMS”
Glover, the man from Wisconsin, who
has been playing such good football
for Tech at left end, is ineligible on ac
count of falling in an examination and
not having the required units for a
freshman, and he will not be able to
play any more this season.
This is a hard blow to the team, as
Glover is a good man and would have
been a valuable asset toward making
Tech a winning team this fall. Who
will be shifted to fill his place has not
yet been decided.
CUBS TO BUILD $700,000
STAND; TO SEAT 60.000
CHICAGO. Sept. 30.—The Chicago Na
tionals will start next season with a new
steel and concrete grandstand, to cost
?700,000. and with a capacity of 60,000, it
was announced by President Murphy.
Twelve thousand fans will have to stand
when a Rapacity crowd is present, and
arrangements to prevent those standing
from interfering with the vision of those
seated are novel.
A subway about 18 inches deep is to
be excavated in front of the "bleachers’
and stands, and on days when all accom
modations are required the last comers
will have to stand in the "dugout.”
WOODRUFF WILL RTFEREE.
COLUMBUS GA.. Sept. 30.—Kid
Woodruff, the well known University of
Georgia star, will referee the football
game between Auburn and Mercer in
this citv next Saturday. .Announce
ment of the names of the other otft.ial.-
has not been made.
NEW RECORD FOR BURMAN.
ST l.ttl’lS. Sept. 30. —Bob Bmman
established a new world's i>sold lor one
mile ovei a circular track at the Uni
versal exposition grounds yesterday
when he drove his 300-horse power
Blitzen-Benz <>nc< around in 17 3-;. «...
ends.
fallen off somewhat during the last
few annutns.
Wood and Mathewson come first
In order of discussion because they
almost certainly will be the initial
appearers. But, according to our
way of thinking, they will not hold
as much mastery over hostile stick
wielders as Jeff Tesreau and Ray
Collins. After Tesreau has seen his
mates battle the Red Sox in one
game he will be at least partially
used to the scene and the tension,
and should be able to dish up his
best assortment of Missouri spit
balls. Collins, with his southpaw
delivery, ought to be a harder nut
for the Giants to crack than his
teammate, Wood, because the Na
tional league champions display
weakness against starboard-siders.
The game or games in which these
two meet (if they do meet) should
produce less scoring by both teams
than when Matty and Wood clash,
but there will not be very many
runs in any case if results bear out
advance appearances.
Batters Wise to Marquard.
It is within the range of possi
bility that no other twirlers will
be called upon than the quartet
named. If there is any other to
break into the series, it likely will
be Rube Marquard, the human co
coa tree. Because of his remark
able string of nineteen straight,
Marquard would seem entitled to a
chance for sentimental reasons
alone. But Marquard is not the
winning pitcher that he was early
in the race. Why? This question
puzzles the baseball universe. Mar
quard has all his "stuff" and speed,
despite any statement to the con
trary. Also the much-made-of
mental strain that has had little
or nothing to do with his loss of
puzzling ability. What is it, then?
The secret at last is out. It is
this:
Marquard holds the ball in such
away that a batter can watch
him. know what kind of a curve
he is serving up and meet it ac
cordingly. The Chicago Cubs got
next to this back in July and
stopped his sequence of wins, later
tipping off every other club in the
league. From that moment Mar
quard has been a mediocre twirl
er, and, try as he did, he could not
rid himself of the fault. The Red
Sox, knowing this failing of the
Rube, would possess a great edge
over him.
BASEBALL
Diamond News and Gossip
». >
Kirkpatrick, the former Cracker, seems
to have lost his ability to hit since he
was shifted from Newark to Brooklyn.
Enos never was one who rose to his op
portunities.
* * *
Brooklyn experts believe that Charley
Stengle has cinched a regular job with
the Brooklyn team.
• * *
George. Stovall, of the Browns, has
come out strong for beer and says he
does not want any "anti-booze” clause
in any of his Brown contracts.
• • r
in a double-header the other day at
St. Louis, Derrili Pratt hit three singles,
a triple and a homer.
• * •
The Harvard baseball candidates, fifty
strong, are engaged in fall practice at
Cambridge.
Cobb will undoubtedly lead the batters
of the American league, but he will fall
down in two departments in which he
usually leads, base stealing and run get
ting Milan leads him in the pilfering
and Collins in scoring.
Considering that Johny Evers was re
garde as a physical wreck at the start
of the season, it is causing some amaze
ment that he continues to bat right
around .337. which is tolerably husky hit
ting for an invalid.
berrill Pratt has managed to work his
wav intu the .300 division of hitters,
and with a little luck will finish within
the charmed circle his first year out.
* ♦ •
I'liis quarrel between Charley Murphy,
and Frank Chance as to whether Murphy,
is to tire Chance or Chance is to be al
lowed 'o resign, a purely academic ques
tion. apparently is being dragged to in
tolerable lengths. Somebody pleas# do
something