Show R CE A A MONG HONG the arg arguments that broke out a few days ago between managers scouts a arid alid d ballplayers there was a rather heated debate over right and left- left handed val values u e s. s Who among the J r hit hitters t e r sand an and d the ilie pitchers make the better ballplayers This turned out to tobe tobe be an interesting subject It began with the hitters and here T. T Williams was the up line-up Left-handed Left hitters hitters hitters hit hit- Ty Cobb Babe Ruth Ted I Williams Tris Speaker George Sister Sis- Sis ler ter Mel Ott OU Joe Jackson Lou Gehrig these were the tops Right-handed Right hitters Rogers Hornsby Joe DiMaggio Harry Heilmann Heilmann Heil- Heil mann Hans Wagner Vagner Nap Lajoie Hank Greenberg and Jimmy Foxx Foxes From these two lists the left- left handed hitters have the majority and the power although Hornsby Wagner Delehanty and Lajoie were among the greatest And Harry Heilmann could hit his share But I you cant can't do much about Cobb Ruth Speaker and Jackson not overlooking Williams They knew what the old ash furniture was for Right-Handed Right Hurlers Then they got around t to the pitch pitch- ers It was a trifle different here Left Left-handers Left handers Lefty Grove Rube Waddell Carl Hubbell Eddie Plank Babe Ruth and Hal Right-handers Right Walter Valter Johnson Cy Young Grover Alexander Christy Mathewson Ed Walsh Dia- Dia zy Dean Smokey Joe Wood Chief Bender and Bob Feller Here the ilie right-handers right had the call can Young Johnson Alexander and Mathewson are far in front of any four left-handers left you can name when it comes to a matter of total victories gathered through the years In hitting the left-hander left is at least a stride and a half closer to first base You know how many base runners are thrown out by a stride But despite Ruth Jackson Ott and Williams I doubt the left-handers left had any greater power than Delehanty Delehanty Delehanty Dele Dele- hanty Hornsby Foxx Greenberg Lajoie and Hack Wilson in Ln one year Few still living remember Dele- Dele hanft He and Hornsby were about on a par Lajoie was up with both They were terrific Most Graceful Players It is all part of an old story a Twice Told Tale but a few of us who can dip a number of years back into the past were talking again about the most graceful ballplayers the ones you loved to see More than a few timers old-timers cut in with suggestions such as Billy Evans Wish Vish Egan Bucky Harris Jack Onslow and several others Here was our grace all-grace up line-up Catcher Johnny Catcher Johnny Kling Pitchers Walter Johnson Bugs Raymond Addie Joss Dizzy Dean and Kid Nichols First base Hal Chase George Second base Nap Napoleon Lajoie Eddie Collins Shortstop Herman Long Dave Bancroft Third base Jimmy base Jimmy Collins Buck Weaver Pie Traynor Outfield Tris Speaker Joe DIMaggio DiMaggio Di- Di Maggio and Terry Moore l These men in the main made all plays look easy I cant can't recall ever seeing Lajoie make a play look tough The same goes for DiMaggio DiMaggio DiMaggio gio who always seems to be drifting drifting drifting drift drift- ing not running John McGraw once said that Raymond Raymond Raymond Ray Ray- mond had the greatest motion he ever saw My vote along this line goes to Johnson a pitcher McGraw rarely saw until his later years Eddie Collins was next to Lajoie at second while Bradley and Weaver er were close to Jimmy Collins at third Traynor also belongs in this list Traynor was about on a par with Weaver Awkward but Great Grace doesn't always mean great great- ness Hans Wagner the greatest shortstop that ever lived one of the greatest of all players reminded you of a giant crab Hans was awkward Christy Mathewson Mathew Mathew- son was no picture of grace in the box Neither is Bob Feller who uses almost every muscle in his body On the other hand Dizzy Dean had an almost flawless pitching mo mo- mo- mo tion Dizzy finished on the toes of his left foot as far forward as one could get without toppling over on his face For the few short years he had before his right shoulder went lame he was as good as any pitcher I ever saw Ty Cobb always has rated Ed Walsh as the best year five-year pitcher in baseball history Any pitcher who can win 40 games and save 12 others in one year is good enough for me Ty said some time tune back Especially pitching for a light- light hitting club Babe Ruth also belongs in this graceful all list There was nothing nothing nothing noth noth- ing awkward about the Babe either at bat or playing the outfield He was a smooth swinger at the plate and a smooth-looking smooth workman on his outfield job t |