OCR Text |
Show J Speaking of Sports. 3Count,Em--3 DiMags Join in Basehall Wars By ROBERT McSIIANE (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) CONTRARY to rumor, there is no ruling to the effect that every major league baseball club must include at least one DiMaggio on its roster. The public unconsciously has been misled by the frequency with which the name appears in the public prints. The ball-playing members of the clan are not numbered by the dozen. In fact, there are only three of the former fisher lads now In big time baseball. Joe DiMaggio, veteran of the tribe, is not unknown to baseball addicts. He commanded a considerable consid-erable degree of attention when he made a runaway of the race for individual batting championship of the American league last season, hitting at a distinctly passable clip of .381. The Yankee star led his closest competitor by the comfortable comfort-able margin of 21 points, establishing establish-ing himself as one of the truly great batsmen of all time. Win Duplicate Honors j Brother Dominic DiMaggio, a be- spectacled, expensive young man, Is getting a tryout with the Boston Red Sox. In 1939 he was voted the most valuable player of the Pacific Coast league. (Joe received the same award In the American league.) Though Dominic still has to wear glasses with thick lenses, he hits the ball hard had the second high- ft 4th ft r "J THE DI MAGGIOS: Joe and Vince est batting average on the West coast, .301, led in total hits and runs scored, and was among the leading home run hitters. Dom started playing ball with the Monterey Presidio team. From there he jumped to the San Francisco Fran-cisco Seals, where he hung on in spite of a couple of bad starts. He batted just above .300 in his first two seasons. Like the rest of the family, he is an outfielder. Brother Vince DiMaggio, now the property of the Cincinnati Reds, is the oldest but least known of the illustrious trio. It was Vince who first went to the baseball wars. While a junior high school student he was picked as a member of a San Francisco all-star team. Before Be-fore he went to high school he was picked up by the Seals. Father Giuseppe DiMaggio wasn't at all enthusiastic. en-thusiastic. He argued. AU the DiMaggios had been fishermen. Vince's liking for the game won out. Joe's Introduction It was Vince who brought Brother Joe into the game. Late one season, sea-son, when Vince was with the Seals and when all contests for place in the Pacific Coast league had been decided, Augie Galan, the shortstop, asked to be excused from a game to go on a barnstorming tour. The manager said he could go if he would find somebody to play shortstop. short-stop. Vince DiMaggio dug up his brother Joe. That was the start of the greatest DiMaggio career. Largely on the strength of Joe's reputation, Vince went to the Boston Bees. He couldn't hit major league pitching, and in 1938 led the National Nation-al circuit in strikeouts. He was sent to Kansas City. There he began to hit home runs, gained confidence and removed a bothersome hitch in his swing. Then he was brought back to the big time with Cincinnati. Despite the fact that Vince struck out 12 times in 14 times at bat during dur-ing last year's pennant fight. Manager Man-ager Bill McKechnle still has faith in him. Now the oldest of the DiMaggios is getting probably his last chance to make good. There you have the DiMaggio family Joe, king-pin slugger of the world champion New York Yankees; Dom, highly touted minor league star getting his golden opportunity with the Red Sox; and Vince, whose big and undoubtedly last-chance is with the Reds. Unquestionably they are the most widely publicized family in baseball history. Many authorities hold that Joe is a handicap to both Vince and Dom. They have too big a name to live up to. They Just can't get Joe off their minds. The number num-ber of DiMaggios left in big league baseball will be determined In the next few weeks. Manager McKechnle wouldn t mind a bit if Vince's last name was Smith. Jones or Johnson-anything but DiMaggio. Then the spotlight of publicity wouldn't be focused so sharply upon him. |