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Show TlffANY querie have been thrown oiir way concerning the pennant race tliat is Just starting. The two quostions that come up most frequently fre-quently are: NO. 1.: Who are the outstanding stars you have seen? NO. 2.: Who are the leading rookies rook-ies who might make a difference in a pennant race? (Note this refers only in the Florida sector.) Here are listed the outstanding pitchers we have seen Ewt-Jl lUackwrll, the six-foot five-inch anaconda or python with the Cincinnati Cin-cinnati Red who will throttle many a hittrr this season. Black-well, Black-well, with any sort of tram support, sup-port, will win 25 games even with the Reds. He is baseball's star im hit. Hal Newhouser of the Tigers Is another 25-game winner with a second-grade infield end only a fair outfield behind him. Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain of the Braves, Mur-ry Mur-ry Dickson of the Cardinals and Joe Dobson of the Red Sox also are near the top. We would like to see Blackwell and Newhouser with the Red Sox or the Yankees. Both could pass the 30-game mark. BEST INFIELDERS Few real standouts. No top first basemen, barring Musial; Kcll of Tigers, the best at third. Many good shortstops. BEST OUTFIELDERS Joe Dl- Magglo, Ted Williams and Country Slaughter, the game's. tops. Cliff Ma pes of the Yankees and Sam Mele of the Red Sox are high grade, but they are not of the reigning trio's calibre. BEST ROOKIES Curt Simmons of the Phillies, Leland Brlssle of the Athletics (two sure start an 18-year-old kid and a badly wounded war veteran) ; Stallcup, Reds' short-, stop; Alvin Dark, Braves' shortstop; Al Papal, Cardinal pitcher, and Hank Sauer, Reds' outfielder. You'll hear more about these later on. They are ballplayers. These are the ones that Bucky Harris of the Yankees and Eddie Dyer of the Cardinals recommend. Harris Is game enough to state openly that his Yankees and Eddie Dyer's Cardinals will be In the next world series. "I think it will be that way." Harris Har-ris tells you. "Why not say so? Certainly Cer-tainly we can run second or third. So can the Cardinals. I Just don't think we will. I think both teams will have too much pitching. Between us, we have from 18 to 20 good starting pitchers. That should be enough." Attendance Figures There is always an added Interest In the number of people who have time and interest enough and cash enough to attend ball games. The 1947 season broke all past records rec-ords for total attendance. The teams at home that passed the million mark were these: American league: New York, 2,178,937; Detroit, 1,398,093; Cleveland, Cleve-land, 1,521,978, and Boston 1,427,-315. 1,427,-315. National league: Brooklyn, 1,-807,596; 1,-807,596; New York, 1,599,781, and Chicago, 1,3(4,039. Boston, Pittsburgh Pitts-burgh and St. Louis were all over the million mark. Only the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies failed to reach or crack the one million mark m the National league. Maybe Red rooters were dreaming of the hour. That many should have gone out to see Blackwell. He was worth it. But about 1948? Attendance in the Citrus circuit has been well above any past year. St. Petersburg has cracked all past records. Lang field should slide by the 85,000 mark. Tampa has known a big spring. These are the top spots. Surplus Weight It will be only a short while before Joe Louis is back home again, all set to start his training for the June show with Jersey Joe Walcott. Despite what you hear, Louis must take off at least 30 pounds to be in first-class condition again and, at the age of 34, you don't shed SO pounds in any rush. The flesh hangs on with rare persistence and doesn't care to be shaken loose. Back in December, Louis had lost all semblance of speed. He had lost all speed of foot and speed of hands. At one time he had as fast a pair of hands as anyone would care to see. He was a rattlesnake In bronze. Against Walcott, he could set nothing noth-ing In motion but his dreams of yesterday. yes-terday. Louis left for England much fatter than he was against Walcott. In a recently-posed picture, he even made Tommy Farr look slender. He Is going to crowd it all in a few weeks the preparation needed need-ed to get keen and sharp again, something approaching the Louis that nsed to be. He eould never even come close to that. Time and the passing years have taken care of this problem that, plus surplus weight. The factor that worked so roughly against Louis is that for five years after the war came along, he had only two unimportant fights against Conn and Mauriello. The first was no contest and the second was a one-round flare-up. |