Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-03-08 | Page 57 | How Various Teams Aided the Pitchers

HOW 1I0US TEAMS AIDED THEPITGHERS Walter Johnson's Mates Rendered Ren-dered Lowest Percentage of Assistance. It Is a matter of comment during tho on and on" seasons of haseball that certain cer-tain teams bat harder and field hotter behind certain pitchers than they do behind others, and It would naturally be assumed that the major lenguo hurlor who emerges from a season with the greatest total of victories to Ws credit would ho the man who had obtained tho ilnest hacking both on the offense and the defense. Inspection of tho records, therefore, should reveal the fact that Walter Johnson John-son of tho Nationals, the man whom the jury of newspaper experts voted the player play-er most valuable to his team, had a great number of runs procured for him by his associates, who ought to bo reasonably supposed to have given him nearly air- tight support, so that ho could have led the field. The Senators neither hit heavily nor fielded very accurately when their star artillerist was laboring at least they did not in the twenty-nine games ho pitched, twenty-three of which wore victories and six of which were defeats. In these games the Washington obtained eighty-one runs to their opponent.-!' fortv-two, 224 hits to their opponents' 179, thirty-four errors to their opponents' ilfty-elght, and twenty-two doublo pluya to their opponents' oppo-nents' sixteen. One-run Margin. Thirteen of Sir Wnlter's wins (complete games pitched only considered) wcro by a one-run margin, two by a two-run margin, mar-gin, three by a three-run margin, one by a four-run margin, two by a five-run margin and two by a six-run margin, blr Walter had no reason to complain ot tho nervo displayed by his assoclaton in rusping finishes, for they won live games for him in tho ninth Inning- and one overtime battle. b Christy rVTathftwson, whom many funs would like, to seo oppose Johnson In the world s series, was furnished with an average of four runs per game by tho Giants, or 1.21 moro than Johnson received re-ceived from thu Nationals. An odd thing about "Big Six's" showing in tho complete games he pitched wan that tho opposition mado eight more hits than did tho Giants, but forty-four fower runs. Russell Has Kick. An artillerist who bad just chuso for complaint about the weak hitting behind be-hind him was "iteb" Ruesell of the White So' Ho w-as furnished with an average ot 3.1o billies per conflict, and frequently had to deny his adversaries a run In order or-der to pull through a wlnuer, Tiio Phil-rrild Phil-rrild rlPL lt ?y behind their star. Grover Cleveland Alexander, cettinK for him in each combat only a trVfllng moro nnf. (xmln8 $an the fSox supplied to Russell. When Nap Rucker twirled, tho Mrb.i8 w?ro not ln 010 fnce-breuklng hUH3'heSmdehhir thy m ,mlt0 twont Vcan Gregg got an average of 4.30 runs per game ?rom 1 the Naps; AI DomSrSS I an average of 5.0'J from tho GlantB: .Too al-a vInr$ZXot 6,50 from tho' Red box, Eddie p anic an average or 5 01 SSnVH"1 llt0 Brants, and Bert CUbSr avoraso of 0.40 from the As to Support. j ?C.tl,ft ton twlr'ers named, Alexandov got the best aupport and Gregg tho worst, while Rucker had the moBt doublo plays mado- behind him and Wood the fowest ZnV&Tct?0 fUrlhur 'Nation ti ,!;.. A,Tft Ave- Av- Ave. Eolilna. . h jj r n Cub.y Jiumpbrleo ... 10.03 1.5 0,63 Athletics... Plank , l.ci 8 S3 1 i nrJl orc( 4,jo 1.3;, Ji2 8uiMirbQJi..,nIClor S.82 fi,7 i i" a Rr Phllllud.... Alexftnrtor ... ?n lua 073 047 Wblto 80X.KUM01I 3.IS 7.Dt! 1.13 0 81 1 Ucnatora... Jolinson 2.73 7.73 iti7 0'7q