Show SPORT LIGHT dodgers can steal yanks thunder by GRANTLAND RICE IN TN PAST YEARS the american league has supplied the runaway teams eams usually the yankees the yankees developed the quaint habit of winning a pennant race by 12 or 15 games the red sox adopted t this h I 1 s method in 1946 1940 but it was a different story in 1648 1048 and 1949 when the red sox box indians and yankees went to the wire under tinder a narrow blanket grantland Gran lland RI rice ce ini the meanwhile most national league races had been neck and neck or nose and nose photo finishes or extra inning flashes now there la Is a very good chance that branch rickels nic Ric keys brooklyn dodgers will slip into the old american aib it burt shotton Bh otton an able man ager has by all odds the best ball dab club in th the league for a long stretch he has tho the best ball club in either cither league now branch branc h rickey Is in adough a tough spot iri in spite odthe worst training trip in tho the two major leagues a training trip arranged for profit rather than ihan condition his hij out of shape dodgers moved in id and took cover over the national league raca in their first six games iames They have llAve the best catching staff in either cither league they have the soundest pitching staff in cither league the they have haje by all odds odda tho best I 1 P n field in the national and and 1 possibly th the ebest best lit in both leagues thea they have an iha Is rated slightly under unde r the cardinals the red sox and possibly the tl gers but they have a i very ve r good outfield that will hold its awni own 11 so the dodgers are equipped with sufficient man to win the national League race 1 e D r 15 games carnei they have anoro than their share of youth and speed legs and abid arms saz and power with the promise of even better days dayl f i they have two possible i stir star pitchers in barney and brinca and they dont doni aced either they can do very well with newcombe roe luie II nten rams dell and ana several more just about abort as good barney and braca are merely velvet in the ia wake k e 0 of i 9 branch i r anil i i Ric dickeys keys smart farm system the smartest baseball has yet known the dodgers erg tied f for the flag in waif it in 16 1047 idere nosed and bonit yon I 1 it in 1949 n aou beur r inki ing now this dodger bunch has aej the experience needed to make it a much more formidable array if the tha squad get careless and swell headed it can win this 1050 1950 flag by almost any margin it may pick at least in ball playing material it outclasses outclassed out classes the national league scarcity Ity of stars 1 I happen to ba be i a very keen baseball fan writes L H r 1 I am one of some 20 Imil million llon at least I 1 happen to lovo love the old game but I 1 emust must admit I 1 get my biggest thrill from the tha stars from such players as babe ruth dizzy dean carl hubbell joe dimaggio DiMagg lo stan and ted williams 1 I realized until I 1 read houi your column a few days ago that we were approaching what you might call a starless period I 1 realized that when joe dimaggio ted williams and stan leave the game there Is absolutely no one in sight to fill the gap there are no no other top st stars arsIn in the game today I 1 can see no others othera in sight I 1 wander why this s Is 7 I 1 put this query to 0 o a pair of able baseball men who also love lave the game their n ne names e are ford frick president of the league and toots shar who isi always bulging with the c correct answers both agreed there here were no out standing new stargin stars in sight eight there were were no ho Wag ners cobbs ruths maloles La joles collins Geh georigi rigi horns bys speakers jacksons fris chei etc j to replace dimaggio DiMagg lo llama and who are on their I 1 way over the hill I 1 A few daya ago was televising a argame game ife alo just Aust give afifie api five bases on balls in this ibis inning dizzy s said 14 T that a aln 08 sible you cant gl elye V e fl favo pases zt on balls in one 1 inning ing hardly 1 d ly ever ever la in one game af of course the excited Fo son n of several spots in arkansas ond and oklahoma was kidding he knew a modern pitcher could give up 10 bases on balls in succession aa A va yankee iee pitcher did last year years ifa fx in the first inning 9 ane one game t and four the next day in our research we turned again to the past and maybe found the answer or part of it in looking over old records we found that such pitchers as cy young ed walsh grover alexander walter bohnson and christy mathewson wc from to more innings reach each season they were working kingin mn from 35 to 60 50 ball ga g autha way most ot of the time |