Show 01 HERE seems to be a general T THERE opinion that the opening of a big league season is an interest ng item to only 10 cities in which the 16 clubs are parked nothing could be farther off the track of truth the 16 big league teams are large ly made up of ballplayers from the hamlets and the villages of the coun try who take a deep pride in the ex plaits of a native son the b g league cities are only the spectators they rarely contribute any of the talent needed to carry on the show here are a few examples ewell blackwell from san D mas calif phil cavaretta wilmette III bill nicholson chestertown Chester town md larry jansen forest grove ore harry walker leeds ala bob feller van meter iowa george kell swifton ark phil marcheson March edon Pene tang ont B 11 johnson montclair N J joe dimaggio dom dimaggio mar dinez calif and bobby doerr from illane ore after all ty cobb came from royston ga mathewson fro from m fac tor pa cajole from woon socket cy young and alexander erom from outposts in ohio and nebraska baseball is a small town game a village enterprise there Is little room for sandlots in the bis big cities the cities only supply the spec gators they haven t time to bother about abolt the kids who in the main can live or die unless they nap hap pen to be lucky enough to live under the rule of commissioner of new york who is vitally interested in their careers there are other commissioner wal landers now but not enough of them in the last few years baseball has taken on a tremendous lift it broke all attendance records in 1946 it broke these records again in 1947 it is my belief the old game will set a new cluster of marks in 1943 1948 this season if one can judge from the spring hullabaloo should be base ball balls s all time record year as far as attendance goes the two leagues should pass the 20 million mark with something to spare which finds us hailing the charley ebbets of 30 years ago as be he remarked baseball Is in its infancy pennant pi evictions edict ions AMERICAN LEAGUE no I 1 new york yankees no 2 boston red sox no 3 detroit tigers no 4 cleveland indians no S 5 philadelphia ladelphia athletics no 6 browns emte sox and senators neck and neck for last place under the sound leadership oi of bucky harris the yankees are picked to repeat for one solid reason they look to be the most solid all around team in m the race early buds and blossoms are a far cry from the yellow and crimson leaves of late september so in mak ing a selection one must gamble with fate and the fortunes of war the breaks of the game through the live five and a half months beyond the red sox are as good as the yankees perhaps a shade better up to the important matter of pitch ng rig and strong reserves with their excellent pitching the tigers might win through the right and left arms steve 0 neil can throw against the enemy but the tigers have neither an infield nor an out field to match e ether ther the yankees or the red sox cleveland a improved indians still belong in fourth place as conn e mack a athletics have a death grip on the top of the second division the white sox senators and browns are strictly minor league clubs who have no place in a big league they are out to live or make money on the four strong clubs where on their own they could rit t draw thousand people they are the league leagues s chiselers chiseler they should offer a spectacular battle for last place in the dizzy dip to the subway title so we can forget about them as busy broom men sweep away the debris NATIONAL LEAGUE no 1 st louis cardinals no 2 brooklyn dodgers no 3 boston braves no 4 new york giants no 5 cincinnati reds no 6 pittsburgh pirates no 7 chicago cubs no 8 philadelphia phillies this is a very different picture from the american league layout it will be a much better and much tighter race from top to bottom there certainly should be a much closer scramble among the card cardl nals dodgers and braves than the younger league can give you in picking the cardinals over the dodgers and braves one has to gamble with fate a kind of fate that will leave most of eddie dyer a veteran athletes intact the cardinals in their firstling first line strength have the best team in their league but their reserves are weak and thin they can afford few re verses their catching Is none too hot but they have a pitching staff that should be well ahead of all others dickson munger brecheen pollet hearn brazle and at least two others who can win a lot of games |