OCR Text |
Show HEiE ii LEADS TI0BHS LIST Stocky Red Is Fast Fielder and Great Hitter; Zim Second. !, NEW YORK. Fob. 23. Voc. Aii.lrexvp, i who used to he a third baseman in the minor leagues, said one time that it takes braverj- as well as skill to hold down the hot corner. j And Doc wasn 't kidding anyone, by ; a long shot. He knew what he was talking about. j i Chicago fans would acclaims Buck 0 "Weaver' king of third suckers wore; v they asked to name the king. But j 1 -when it comes to sifting down the hot ' c corner performers, we find the nan(e of ; Heinie Groh looming up with unusual 1 e brilliance as the best third baseman in ; e the country today; the most capable , man in the trenches. I Groh has plaved on both sides of i 'l the kevstone sack, but he apparently : 11 did not find the job he was cut out for ; tmtil he started plaving third for the Cincinnati Beds. He is a better ball ; plaver todav than he was when Mc- . ' Graw let him get away, and on his i , 1917 performance for Matty's team . alone he looks like the big man among j the plavers of his position. He is ranked "tip-top in the following list. ! :l He was the onlv third basemau to hit j 4 better than .300 and he led the field in scooping up the hot ones and field-" field-" ing his position. Despite his now famous bone play, 11 and his temperament, Heiuie Zimmer- man is still holding his own in this . department. Heinie is a cleau-un hit- I tcr. a nimble fielder and a great T thrower. He isn't as good on bunts " as some others, but he makes up for it " with the stick, at that. He is rated 11 second. J Third in the list comes Buck Weaver, the square-jawed pepperbox of the s White Sox.' Weaver is as fast as Zim- merman, but not quite the sticker. 1 Frank Baker, the erstwhile home-run 3 king, still a. good hitter and a deli de-li pendable fielder, despite his apparently 1 awkward movements around the hot t corner, is rated fourth. e Larry Gardner of the Red Sox, who is somewhat of an in-and-outer with I the stick, and always a fast and sure fielder, comes fifth, while Milton Stock 3 of the Phillies is classed sixth among the third bassoekers. Seventh, eighth . and ninth places have been awarded to ' Oscar Vitt of Detroit. Baird" of St. j Louis and Deal of the Cubs. The list, , with 1917 figures for nine leading third " basemen: I G. S.B. F.A. B.A. 1 Groh. Cinn., fN'.l . . .154 15 .304 2 Zim'man, X. Y. N".).149 IS .947 .297 5 Weaver, Chi. (A.i...Hj7 19 .49 .2x4 4 Baker, X. V. IA.1..146 IS .949 .22 Gardner. Bos. (A.)..14'i 16 .9",7 .2S-', 6 Stock. Phil. (X.) 133 25 .942 .24 7 Vitt. Det. (A.) 14'J IS .940 5 Baird. St. I (X.J..144 2 .? .--"'5 9 Deal, Chi. (X.) 13'J 10 .957 .254 |