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Show What Coasters Are Gossiping About in Off-Season Portland's newest pitching: prospect Is a big fallow named Leake, whom Mc-Credie Mc-Credie is about to close agreements on with the Rocky Mount club of die Virginia Vir-ginia h-ague Leake is said to be one of the most promising pit. hers ever turned out of 1 be Virgin; 1 league, and in 1015 led the pi 1 1 -hers with fourteen vie tones a 1 id five det eats, batted in twenty -seven games and !!ded .0S3. He continued the good work tins year arid was purchased by the ki-hmond team of the International Interna-tional league on an option laie in the sum m r. j For Richmond he pitched 165 innings, 'and an average of L'.Hi' runs a game were 'made, on him. He fanned seven ty-t wo , In 1 he 1 went;.'-three games, fielded .04 and batted .2'itS. Richmond had a bad financial season lu st yea r and was unable un-able to go through witli the purchase this winter. He was turned back lo Rocky Mount and MCredle is ready to take htm as soon a a Cue papers can he made out. Leake is a big young fellow of the style McCredie likes, and capable nf quick development, de-velopment, according to the best reports McCredif has on him. Richman 1 used the hi- fellow quite frequently as a pinch hitter, and lie is said to he able to drive the hall hard and far, He got twenty-one hits In thirty-eight tonnes with Richmond, and they totaled' thirty-four extra bases, showing he must nave some power lu the war club. Portland Telegram. Tub Spencer will be the first string catcher for Detroit next season. Hughey Jennings is strong for the former Vernon Ver-non backstop, hikI savs there Is no chance of the fat boy being sent back to the minors. Tub did some fine receiving for tiie Tigers the latter part of last season, and also "murdered" the ball. Jennings thinks he is one of the best catchers in the game today, and he will give the big fellow every chance to shine next year. A Last fall Walter McCredie made the statement that he was going to trade 1 Gus Fisher. McCredie realizes that Fisher is one of the hest hitters in the Coast league, in addition to being a good receiver, and he Is going to take him to spring training camp. If Fisher shows the pepper he displayed a few seasons hack he will get a chance to remain with the Beavers. "Step right this way,, gentlemen, Money, marbles or chalk for Pitcher Herb Kelly. Do I hear an offer? Who'll start the hidding? Guaranteed not to rip, ravel or run down at the heels. Crowd right in gents, an' gimme a bid on this bird." While Pitcher Herbie Kelly is one of the players the fans pulled for last year, about the only damage he did to the other cluhs in the league was the shattering shat-tering of Frank Chance's sang froid one week in Portland. Kel was credited with three victories over the Los Angeles" tea.ni. and that, coupled with the rain, caused the P. L. to put the question mark on this town. It is understood that Manager Walter McCredie is casting around for a trade for Kelly. He, like a lot of close critics crit-ics of the game, doesn't believe that the little southpaw, who is around 24 years of age, will get any stronger. Kelly has no fast ball to fool the batters with and his piece de resistance is a slow curve. McCredie thinks that a man to get by in the Pacific Coast league must not be dependent upon one kind of ball, as is young Mr. Kelly of Notre Dame. If Kelly is shipped away and McCredie McCre-die persists in his declaration of sending send-ing Rip Hagerman to Spokane, the Pitching Pitch-ing staff will present almost a new collection col-lection of noses. In view of the fact that Win Noyes is going to the Athletes b' draft, Reuther to the Chicago Cubs, via draft from Spokane, and Al Sothoron to St. Loids by optional exercise, there will be left only Byron Houck and Lyle Big-bee. Big-bee. In view of WcCredie's oft-repeated assertion as-sertion that he wants only youthful arms on the pitching staff, southern scribes are poking a lot of fun at him in his assertion- that he wnay get Fred Bee'oe for the pitching staff for next spring. Beebe. they point out. is about as young, agile and handsome as Long Tom Hughes. Portland Journal. SAN FRANCTSCO. Dec. 26. Harold ("'Rowdy") Elliott, Chicago Cub catcher, has been offered the job of baseball coach and adviser to the Santa Clara university univer-sity team during the coming year. He Is undecided whether to accept. Al Baum, Coast League president, gave Louis Guisto a good boost at Chicago on his recent trip. Prexy Al's statement is reprinted from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Deal-er, a"s follows: "Guisto, said Baum, is really a nigh-class nigh-class ball player. If he had reported to the Indians as soon as he was sold there would have been nothing to it. He would have established himself In popular favor fa-vor without delny. The trouble with Louis was that he balked too long over the terms and remained out of the game for three weeks. Then, it was more than a week after he left Portland before he got into a uniform. From what I hear he was many pounds overweight and could not do himself justice, and sustained a lame back just as be was rounding into form. But lie will hit for Cleveland and he will wake 'em up with his work around lirst base. The Phillies were disappointed last September when they failed to get In-fielder In-fielder McGaffigan from Vernon in the draft. McGaffigan fell to the lot of the 1 Athletics. After Roy Grover, the second baseman of the Butte club, reported to Cornelius MeGltlicuddy he was so well satisfied with the youngster that he canceled can-celed the draft of McGaffigan and three other infielders. That action resulted in the Phillies getting busy and McGaffigan has been landed. Moran does not intend to use this lad In a regular position next season, but he believes a year on the bench will help him to develop a star. Fans In Philadelphia Philadel-phia are likely to take particular interest in McGaffigan, as a player turned down hv one Quaker City manager only to be nicked up by another. Bobby Muesel. brother of "Irish" Mue-sel, Mue-sel, former Angel outfielder, has been offered of-fered a contract to play with the Oakland ciub in 1017. Muesel was recommended to Manager Howard by Buster Callan. Oak catcher. Manager McCredie of Portland has been after Bobby for some time, but never succeeded In landing him. |