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Show GUIS n PROVE LOSES I1EIIII DETROIT, Nov. 1. Whore would the Giants finish In the American League?" This question was asked a dozen baseball base-ball critics during tho recent world's serle3. Seven of them said that New York could not finish in the first division and two of the others placed them fourth; two thought they might finish as well as third, and one had hopes that they would rank second. What light did the recent world's series shed on the dispute "Which league is tho better, American or National?" To all surface ovldonce the series proved conclusively that tho American is far and above the National league. But Tho Giants in tho world's serlos of 1013 played beneath their standard. They were far off form. On the other side tho Athletics played above their speed. Thoy hit bottar and fielded better than Is normal for them. In Giants and Athletics you had two widely different teams. The Giants play their worst ball when everything Is at stako and the Athletics aro at their best In such a crisis. So where do you got gonulne proof for the argument of rela-tlvo rela-tlvo strength of the two leagues? You may cot It somewhere, but surely not from this world's series. In recent post-season series the American leaguers have, as a rulo, mado tho National leaguers look like Joke ball clubs. Not so much In actual play as In result. Short series like these do not give conclusive evidence. Probably tho word of George T. Stall-lngs Stall-lngs does. Stalllngs , managed for several sev-eral years In the American league, He Is Intimately acquainted with tho limit of Its strongth, This year Stalllngs managed man-aged tllG Boston Nationals and he was the sensation of the old leaguo. bringing bring-ing a team that was considered the "laugh" of tho organization Into the running run-ning and making a strong bid for tho first division all the way. During tho world's scries George Stalllngs was discussing this rolatlve slrength subjoct with n friend. "How much faster Is tho American league than tho National. or what difference dif-ference Is there between the two leagues In strongth, taklnc everything Into consideration?" con-sideration?" asked the friend of Stalllngs. Stall-lngs. and tho former Dotrolt boss replied: re-plied: "Tho American is fully 30 per cent stronger." That is about as near as you can como to settling the dispute. Surely, you cannot can-not arrive at a conclusion by basing it on tho results of post-season series alone. |