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Show Bentley Versus Babe Ruth O O O O O O O o o o 00 o o o o Player Type Is Compared j! 4 " LEFT T RIGHT: BABE H TH, 3 K BENTL v i BY BILXil EVANS. Is slugging batsman who can hit home runs more valuable than a star pitcher who can win a majority of his games? In a measure that question was answered flvo or six years ago by EJ Barrows, who was then managing the Boston team of the American league. At that time Babe Ruth was generally gen-erally considered tne best left hand r In the Johnsonian organization He could be depended upon to win at least 20 games a season. All of a sudden Ruth began to show an Inclination to hit homo runs The inclination grew until Ruth became tho most feared bits-man bits-man in the American league Ills ability to hit home runs began to overshadow his pitching. LANs Bl VIlL IN HOSIERS. The fans enthused much more when i Ruth broke up a ball game by hitting I a home run with :i codple on than I when he scored a shutout That feeling on the part of fandom 'caused Manager Barrows to do some l tall thinking Would it bo advisable 'to use Ruth every day as an out- fielder and add his home-run punch to the strength of the team or use j him every fourth day as a pitcher? i Barrows decided that Ruth, the best I left hander in the American league. should forget his pitching and become Ruth the slugging outfielder. I A great many people ridiculed the Idea They thought Barrows was making a huge mistake in spoiling a great pitcher for an uncertainty iis 'an nil t fielder .ml hitter Bl I 11 Il LI I Rl l .l! In the flnsc of Ruth Barrows was , richt. Babe soon became tho batting sensation of the country. In 1919 he made 29 home runs, breaking the i record of 27 that had stood since jl8S4. In 1920 lie made 54 home runs ami In 1H21 .9. Just as Ruth, wonder batsman of j tho New York Yankees, begins to fade John McCraw of the New York Ciants purchases Jack Bentley, the "Babe Ruth" of the minors. I Bentley Is a crack left-handed j pitcher, best known for his ability j to hit home runs. His case is exactly j similar to that of Ruth when he was with Boston. I Where will McGraw use Bentley, I as a pitcher or flrv.t baseman ' IBB PI I t II FOR Bl V.M S McGraw has already gone on 1 90- ord as saying that Bentley would be a member of the GlanLs' pitching I staff. If such is the case it is a cer-( cer-( tainty that he will also play the role ! of pinch hitter when not on the rubber. rub-ber. Juck Dunn, owner and manager of the Baltimore team, who sold Ben:-ISy Ben:-ISy to the Giants, never could reach I a decision in Bentley's case. As a result he had Bentley playing first ; when not pitching Iast season Bentley took part in 153 games. He made 206 hits for' an average of .349. Twenty-two of! the hits were home runs. As a pitcher he worked in 14 games, winning 13. The only defeat j he suffered was at the hands of tho Rochester club. Years ago Bentley received a trial j ; with the Washington club but was . let out In 1917 the Boston Red Sox j drafted him but he entered the mill- : tary service and was never taken ' on by the Sox. |