Show r INSIDE I BASEBALL t By Ted Williams i iThe r. r The American league race this year has run fairly close to form My preseason estimate that four clubs New clubs New York Boston Detroit and Cleveland had Cleveland had a chance to win the pennant and would battle down to the wire has held up It has been a different story inthe Inthe in inthe the National league When the season season season sea sea- son started I figured that either cither Brooklyn or St. St Louis would win the flag with Philadelphia having no more than outside chance More Consistent The Phillies have been more consistent consistent consistent con con- winners than I expected On the other hand nei neither the Dodgers nor the Cardinals have lived up to expectations The biggest surprise has been the complete collapse or the Car Car- This team has fallen apart during the second half of the cam cam- Injuries to l key ey players have been a contributing factor but not the whole story Time has apparently caught up I with such exceptional players as 1 Marty Marion farion and Enos Slaughter I They haven't been able to play close to their customary game It Hurts When such outstanding players suddenly slip any team is bound i to feel the effects of or the decline in their efficiency i The Cardinals have been one of Ithe i ithe the top teams in the National league for some time ime because they've theve been blessed with three thice or four exceptional ballplayers ballplayer's Guys who know how to play ball in tight competition Without them they have been no stronger than the other teams in the league So its it's not surprising that the Cards couldn't keep up with the pacemakers when their star performers started to slip Giant Drive Next to the collapse of the Cardinals Cardinals Car Car- the late season drive of the New York Giants has featured the National league race This team looked like a place fifth-place club at best at the start of the season And it played second division baseball during the first half of the campaign cam cam- But during the past two months s. the Giants have been the only team keeping pace with the Phillies Had they not suffered such a bad start they might have ha become the surprise surprise sur sur- prise winn winner r of the National league flag |