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Show PITCHERS MUST GET BREAKS TO SUCCEED Winner of 25 Games in One Year Is Very Lucky. The showing of Ed Rommel in winning win-ning 27 games for a club that finished seventh In the American league Is one of the greatest pitching feats ever recorded. Any time a major league pitcher wins 25 games or more, he must not only pitch good ball but he must also be favored by the breaks. It seems the good pitchers usually get the breaks. Good pitchers are often called on by their manager in a. pinch. When there is a chance of winning a game for holding a lead, the star pitcher Invariably In-variably is called upon. That was the case with Rommel last year. With the score tied and the pitcher wavering, or having been removed for a pinch hitter, Rommel was the man Mack always called upon. In perhaps 9 of the 27 victories scored by Rommel, he was returned the victor in games In which he pitched only from one to three innings. If the Athletics tied the score In the eighth or ninth, Rommel would be the choice for relief work, and on many occasions the Athletics would go right out and get the winning run for Ed in the very next inning, which, of course, would give him credit for the victory. Of course, when a pitcher takes up a tie game he has the same chance to lose or win, and Is deserving of the credit for the game, considering It is a 50-50 proposition. However, one gets a big break when time after time the margin falls on their side. Rommel Rom-mel was blessed with that good fortune for-tune last year; otherwise he never would have been able to win 27 games with a seventh-place club. |