Show 1 1 Dodgers Can Steal Yanks' Thunder 1 By GRANTLAND RICE TN PAST YEARS the American League has supplied the runaway usually the The Yankees developed the quaint habit of winning a pennant race by 12 or 15 The Red Sox adopted this method in But it was a different story in 1948 and 1949 when the Red Indians and Yankees went to the wire under a narrow Rice i the most National League races had been neck-and-neck or photo finishes or extra-inning Now there Is a very good chance that Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers will slip into the old American League Burt an able has by all odds the best ball club In the For a long stretch he has the best ball club In either Now Branch Rickey is in a tough In spite of the worst training trip in the two major a training trip arranged for profit rather than his out-of-shape Dodgers moved in and took over the National League race in their first six They have the best catching staff In either They have the soundest pitching staff in either They by all the best infield In the National and possibly the best in both They have an outfield that is rated slightly under the the Red Sox and possibly the But they have a very good outfield that will hold its So the Dodgers are equipped with sufficient man power to win the National League race by 12 or 15 They have more than their share of youth and legs and skill and power with the promise of even better They have two possible star pitchers in Barney and Branca and they need They can do very well with and several more Just about as Barney and Branca are merely In the wake of Branch Rickey's smart farm the smartest baseball has yet the Dodgers tied for the flag in 1946 won it in 1947 were nosed out in 1948 and won it in This is a brilliant four-year Now this Dodger bunch has the experience needed to make it a much more formidable If the squad doesn't get careless and it can win this 1950 Dag by almost any margin it may At least in material it outclasses the National Scarcity of Stars happen to be a very keen baseball writes L. H. F. am one of some 20 nt I happen to love the old But I must admit I get my biggest thrill from the stars from such players as Babe Dizzy Carl Joe Stan and Ted hadn't realized until I read your column a few days ago that we were approaching what you might call a starless I hadn't realized that when Joe Ted Williams and Stan leave the there is absolutely no one in sight to fill the There are no other top stars in the game I can see no others in I wonder why this I put this query to a pair of able baseball who also love the Their names are Ford president of the National and Toots who Is always bulging with the correct Both agreed there were no outstanding new stars in There were no to replace Williams and who are on their way over the A few days Dizzy Dean was televising a Just give up five bases on balls In this Dizzy You can't give five bases on balls in one Hardly ever in one Of course the excited son of several spots in Arkansas and Oklahoma was He knew a modern pitcher could give up 10 bases on balls in A Yankee pitcher did last year six in the first inning of one game and four the next In our rest we turned again to the and maybe found the Or part of In looking over old records we found that such pitchers as Cy Ed Grover Walter and Christy Mathewson were pitching from to more innings each They were working in from 35 to 50 ball going all the way most of the |