Show i Speaking of 0 Sports Sports- It Check eck Yanks League Must Hold Players By ROBERT McSHANE l B BASEBALL experts officials and tans fans are almost unanimous In their belie belief that something must be bedone bedone bedone done about bout the New York Yankees before they eliminate all aU thought of competition In the American league The Yanks won the 1936 1930 American Amen Ameri C can ln le league pennant by 19 games In En 1937 they won by 13 l games and andIn andin In 1 1938 by 9 games The belief bellef th that lt their superiority was growing less pronounced pronounced-a a belief belie fostered by the diminishing margin of victory vie vic tory tory has has ls untrue In the American league circuit It ItIs ItIs ItIs Is being said that the Yanks will be from Cram 8 to 12 games ahead by July 4 This means they might as well call ol off the thc rest of the therace therace 4 race that Joe McCarthy's McCarthys Mc Mc- Carthy's aggregation aggregation tion Is too good for forthe forthe forthe the rest of or the teams In baseball i Whether or not you g subscribe to the theory the t ory and ory-and and we do not Joe joc that that the Yankees McCarthy should be broken up for the good of baseball baseball base base- b ball you will agree that some steps must be taken to revive an interest alre already dy fi flagging When Lou Lon benched himself him I IscU self they lost one o of or the greatest players of all time When Joe Di Di- Alaggio sprained an ankle they lost temporarily today's outstanding player But what happened with those two t great performers out of the lineup The Yanks with Babe Dahlgren on first base won 17 out of their next 20 games Keep Talent at HO Home Not long ago Oscar Vitt Cleveland CleveLand Cleve Cleve- land manager hinted that New York was ruining ruining the American le league by snatching ng all the pennants and md by shipping talent fresh from the minors mi ml nors and good enough for other clubs In n the S same circuit to the National league To be bear lr him out a hasty survey shows that in the last three years the Yanks have sold Bob Seeds outfielder out out- fielder and Johnny McC McCarthy first baseman to the Giants Outfielder Jim Gleeson to the Cubs Shortstop Nolen Richardson and Catcher WilLard Willard Wil- Wil l lard Hershberger to the Reds and Shortstop Eddie Miller to the Bees The last n named is being hailed as one of the best infielders to enter the National league in years rears Almost Al AI most any club in the Yanks' Yanks borne home circuit would have been gl glad ld to to get him bim During the coming year officials of the league are certain to discuss methods of equalizing the strength ot 01 its teams They cannot of course take e forcible measures and distribute ute ule Ute the Yanks' Yanks star performers among the weaker n-eaker clubs Nor is it the team will wUl be voluntarily broken up by player sales One ne course is open to American league officials They C can ln do all in their power to urge the Yanks to toke ke keep p all excess m material in their home circuit This would be in direct di r ct contrast to the Yanks' Yanks present policy of selling players only to those teams wl which ch cant can't possibly t threaten their supremacy Over a along along along long period the Yanks' Yanks present actions actions ac ac- ac will build up the National league at ut the expense of the American Amer ican a costly process in in the end Cards Build Own League The TIle St. St Louis Cardinals for Instance In st stance dispose of their excess players players play play- ers lS l'S to clubs within their own j league e a g u e which t p c 1 1 m maintains lintai s the j 1 strength of the x entire 7 tion Though they nicy were developed devel opec one on ou Cardinal Cardi I Inal nal oal farms there va wac no rio place for forD 1 D Bill ll Lee and I Johnny Rizzo on the St. St Louis team But they were sold to Bill Lee clubs in the same league The argument that other clubs sl st build up to meet the Yanks l is h not Dot as logical as it sounds The TheY Y have a potential audience of people Some of the theo 0 o her ier ter clubs arc are located in territories not more than people peo pee pe live It is only natural that New NewYork's NewYork's I Yorks York's gate receipts would be greater great great- er er allowing more money for organ Iz and anti investment in players pla Tom Yawkey of Boston Is one man attempting to fight the Yanks on their home grounds and even for forth th that lt moneyed gentleman its it's going to be a tough uphill struggle To date dale the American Americ ln league Is not the drawing ving power it W was lS In the past Weather cather conditions have been blamed by Edward G. G Barrow president pres ident of the Yankees for unfilled grandstands However one writer pointed out that Jersey City near New Nw York and having the same weather conditions has dr drawn larger tang largo er en crowds crow to minor league games than the world world champions have attracted at in their thuir mutilation of American Amer ican league competition It cant cani be blamed on the er At least not altogether Fans hav r wn tired of or seeing the Van Yan k kees es win with such little effort |