nik v it tlJ j . V, fiCEv '. -J On to Next Year N THE wake of the world series. a collection ol managers, old timers and other experts were talking talk-ing about next year. Last fall at this time the same discussion weni on. The question then was who can head off Boston and St. Louis, Red Sox and Cardinals? At that time, no one could quite see any challenger in sight. The Ked Sox had won in a canter. The Cardinals had overcome over-come a seven-game deficit down the stretch. These were the two teams the world series crowds had to watch. V " It didn't quite B Southworth work out that way. The Yankees wrecked the Red Sox, and the Dodgers left the Cardinals well behind. What about next year, again? The majority of the experts once more are picking the two winners to repeat. re-peat. "For one thing," a veteran said, "both Yankees and Dodgers have too much reserve strength. This season, neither the Red Sox nor the Cardinals had any reserves to call on especially in pitching, where they took the big flop. "Next spring, the Dodgers can report with a young but well-seasoned well-seasoned club, once again fully protected by substitute material. mate-rial. The Dodgers have two or three veterans against a swarm of younger players. Their pitching pitch-ing staff will be, or should be, much more consistent." "What about the Yankees?" someone some-one asked. "The same thing goes for them," he said. "They are not as young as the Dodgers are, but they are not too old. Joe DiMaggio still has some time to go. Johnson, Rizz-uto Rizz-uto and Stirnweiss are all under 30. Lindell and Henrich are not much over. Berra is only a kid. Shea and Raschi are both young. Newsom and McQuinn are close to the end of the road. "Once again, the Yankees have a strong reserve inflelder in Brown. They will need more help than the Dodgers will need. Both Tigers and Red Sox must strengthen a number of spots to get back in the running. They won't do it with the players they have now. Neither will Cleveland." Cleve-land." What About the Giants? "What about the Giants?" was a natural question. "Two more high-grade high-grade pitchers are their first need," the veteran came back. "Walker Cooper and John Mize have time left. Cooper is only 32 while Mize is 34. They are not too young, but they still can hit with anybody. Lockman should be a big help next spring to an already strong outfield. out-field. The Giants need pitching more than anything else. They have a star in Jansen, who proved what a good pitcher could do with all that run-making power to help him along. "Boston will be even tougher next year as Billy Southworth gradually is working his way to another pennant. Two pitchers such as Sain and Spabn can't be overlooked. Neither can Southworth. He still needs another an-other top-ranking pitcher. "The Reds will be better, but they have a long way to go. I can't see much hope for the other clubs. Most of them will have to be rebuilt around the three or four good ball players they have. "Pittsburgh has shown how tough it is to get good ball players today. They are willing to pay any reasonable reason-able or even unreasonable price for someone who can help. But where can they find players, except from farms? With attendance what it is, no one is going to sell a good ball player today. 'The Cardinals have a lot of re-uuildmg re-uuildmg to dc. The regulars are getting get-ting older. Moore will be 36 and Slaughter will be 32 next spring. Marion is only 31. They still can be dangerous challengers, with one or two additions." Last fall, it was the Red Sox and ;he Cardinals. Both took a hard beating. It may happen again, but ior the moment at least, the Yankees Yank-ees and the Dodgers get the call. Crouds and Stands Only two teams can crash into a world series. This year it was the Yankees and Dodgers. In 134ti it happened to be the Red Sox and Cardinals. In neither case was there any possibility of accommodating the crowds that wanted to see these two events. There are now only three sizable major league parks in baseball. They are Yankee stadium. Briggs stadium and the Polo grounds. They range from 72,000 to 55,000 and 54,0u0. Of the 16 major league clubs, at least 12 can pack in only something some-thing Like 35.000. Ihe main point is that baseball base-ball interest has far outgrown the old-fashioned stands of past years. The main crime happens to be in Brooklyn. Here e have a 35,000 park, that day after day could play to some 45,000 to "0,000 customers.