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Show Player of Bull Terrier Type (' TT ITTLE has been said of Charlie Dressen, but nevertheless this lit- 5 j I tie man starred at third base for the Reds lust season. Critz, '' (v - ' the sensation of 102G, was not up to the infield play of the ob- (; j scure Dressen In 1927. The midget had quite some record. lie played ') in 14- games and batted .21)2, right on the rim of the coveted .HOO ( circie. lie made o) two-baggers and 1U triples and batted in 55 runs 'p and scored 7S himself. Not bad for a third baseman who batted at the A top of the lineup and who led his league in fielding with .907 and who had 40 more assists than the great Fie Traynor. (!) Yes, Dressen developed into considerable of a player last year, even if they did not print a lot about him in the papers. Great third Js fi) basemen are nearly always as scarce in the majors as liens' teeth. Last (g i) year Traynor, Lindstrom and Dressen alone stood out in the National J () league and neither Traynor nor Lindstrom were up to their l'.)2G play. Dugan used to star in the American but bis bad knee handicaps him (; now. They have no other outstanding third sucker in the younger cir- yi) cuit. At least ten of the major clubs would welcome a third baseman ( who could held smartly and .hit .300 or better. So it can be seen that G) good hot corner men, when they do come through, are worth their ( weight in gold. Dressen came to the Reds in the spring of K)25 from St. Paul with a sensational minor league record behind him. They looked to him to star that year in Redland But a sore arm made him practically use- less to Hendricks' team during that season. - .4 v- - it' 1 I V 1 v - i. Cm) Last year Dressen's fielding ranged I from steady to brilliant, and with his hat he knocked on the door of the .300 mark jsj that houses only the elect among the men of the majors. g But after all, the best thing about Dressen is his spirit. He is the bull ter- H rier type, and that is the pennant type of player when all is said and done. Five out of every seven minor leaguers who fail to make the major grade lack only this game and battlesome spirit in their struggle for stardom. Dressen has it, and if that arm m does not fail him he may well give the g one and only Fie Traynor a battle for his third base kingship in the big leagues this j coming season. SS& Charlie Dressen. S8SS |