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Show SPORTUGH7 Big Three Bid for Batting Lead I By GRANTLAND RICE 1 A YEAR AGO a brace of outsiders out-siders broke in and scrambled up the batting leaderships. They were George Kell of the Tigers and Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers. ' You could have gotten any price you wanted against them last April. Ralph Kiner took over the home-run crop but Kiner really real-ly belonged. He's been the best home-run home-run hitter baseball has known in many Joe, like Ted and Stan, looks physically ready for a big year. This is also serving notice on Kell and Robinson that both have a battle on before taking over the lead again. A young fellow by the name of Country Slaughter might cut In. The Leading Slugger In the way of distance hitting, Ralph Kiner has left the others buried in a snowdrift. His last three seasons with the Pirates have been years that almost matched Babe Ruth. The 27-year-old outfielder hit 51 home runs in 1947, 40 home runs in 1948 and 54 in 1949. "I think Babe's mark of 60 is pretty safe," Kiner said in California, Cali-fornia, a few weeks ago. "You've just got to keep hitting home runs all the time. I hit 20 in the last 30 days and still fell six short last season. You have to get away good to have even a chance to reach 60." With Johnny Mize not playing too often and Joe DiMaggio getting no younger, the main American league job falls to Ted Williams. Ted blew himself to 43 homers last year, the best big-league mark of his career. Stan Musial had 36 and this Cardinal is another who may make his challenge. But the job of catching Kiner looks to be out of range now. They were rating Luke Easter, the new Indian slugger, as the one to watch. Easter is a long-distance hitter with tremendous power, but his spring hitting hasn't been any too spectacular. There are more than a few who -believe Doby, his teammate, will get more home runs. Easter Is a slugging giant, when he happens to connect. But swinging at big-league pitching for the first time isn't quite as simple as lighting a cigarette. For all-around power the Red Sox again should be the best hitting hit-ting team in either league. Gall of the Wild . If you want to pick up any real information about ballplayers and their varying ways, you should seek out veteran scouts. I stumbled over a nest, or covey, containing three of these invaluable assets, either located temporarily here or passing through. I had just one question to ask "Why is it that the modern game has so many wild pitchers who have a planet full of stuff but only a vague idea of where the plate is? GrantlandRice years. But the three who were supposed to lead the double pack barely missed. They were Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio DiMag-gio for the American league and Stan Musial for the National. DiMaggio Di-Maggio actually led his league but he wasn't in enough games to draw a count. All three look to be in shape now and this should mean that two of the three should take over the top spot again. Here are the 1949 records: DiMaggio, Di-Maggio, .346; Williams, .343; Musial, Mus-ial, .338. This is a good close finish. fin-ish. Their lifetime marks are Williams, Wil-liams, .353; Musial, .348; DiMaggio, DiMag-gio, .331. DiMaggio is 35 years old; Williams is 31 and Musial is 29. Ted Williams is still the top hitter in baseball for all-around value. But his margin isn't too far above DiMaggio or Musial. Unless some ragged breaks arrive all three should have big years years that rank close to their best. All three are in shape and all three have been hitting well in the Citrus Circuit, Cir-cuit, which doesn't mean too much. Musial got away badly in 1948 and 1949. He came from .240 last season to .338 but he admits ad-mits he needs a faster take off. "I wasn't too well in 1948, he says. "I just wasn't hitting in the early part of the 1949 season. Enos Slaughter had the same experience and it was some time before he got going again. I never felt better than I do now so there'll be no reason rea-son for another early slump." If Ted Williams worries about his hitting, he never shows it. He never shows that he has tightened up. Ted has the finest hand-and-wrist action, the best coordination between eyes and hands, I've ever seen. No one else in baseball can wait so long before starting his swing. "Right out of your glove," Bill Dickey says. DiMaggio's 1949 mark was remarkable, considering his late start and his other ills. But |