OCR Text |
Show BASEBALL'S new season has opened. This will be the 47th April (barring only the April of 1918), that has found us in the look- n ?i 4 out, peering at the eager athletes below, be-low, on their way to gold, glory or the bushes. The flowers that bloom in the spring still look wilted in comparison to those who happen to follow fol-low the old game. It's a long look back to the rookie days of GrantlandRice Ty Cobb, Trii Speaker, Hal Chase, Mathewson and Alexander, but as the veterans move out, the gaps are always filled. They come and go but on their way New stars blow In with dash and thrust. Tomorrow is another day Where yesterday Is under dust. This new season, for some reason, is packed with high spots in the way of public interest, high spots that in many cases will quiver and sag before spring has moved into sum- " mer. The flrst high spot brings up the pursuit of the Cardinals and Red Sox. Will they be able to survive the 154-game chase and meet again in the next world series? This is the way it looks today. They were the two best teams in baseball last season sea-son and they look to be the two best in baseball this season. Both look to have the better ball players and this is a big part of the answer. Any rival team that beats either out will have to show about 40 per cent more than said team has shown so far. The Pennant Race Another high spot is fan interest. What about the Brooklyn Dodgers? Where will they finish? How many games will Pete Reiser play? Will the Yankees or the Tigers finish fin-ish closer to the Red Sox?, The Tigers have the better pitching possibly the best in baseball. The Yankees have good pitching. Both infields are uncertain. So are both outfields. They should run 2-3, with little to choose. What about Bob Feller? Feller put in 11 months of pitching through 1946. The Cleveland star, one of the game's greatest, has given his right arm a rougher beating than any right or left arm ever took before In one year. Feller will be a marvel if this strain doesn't affect his work. Who will be the most improved ball player of the year? My guess is Joe Gordon, who fell away in fielding and dropped to .210 in 1946. Working with Lou Boudreau, the Oregon acrobat is due for a big rebound. re-bound. Boudreau and Gordon at short and second should match Marion Ma-rion and Schoendienst of the Cardinals, Cardi-nals, plus Pesky and Doerr of the Red Sox. Or Reese and Stanky of the Dodgers. What will Ted Williams hit? In the course of his big league career, Williams' batting average is around .352. He is one of the game's greatest great-est natural hitters. He is packed with ambition. My guess for the tall swinger is In the close vicinity of .360, with an output of some 40 home runs. Who will be the season's leading pitcher Jn games won? You don't have to crawl too far out on a wavering waver-ing limb to name Hal Newhouser. With the Red Sox or Cardinals, this left-hander would be up above 30 winners. Who Will Be Last? What two teams will finish last? The Athletics seem to have the A. L. cellar leased for another season, with the rent paid in advance. The race in the National league for the bottom of the snake pit should be much more spectacular. Those mentioned for this unhallowed spot include the Reds, Pirates, Phillies and Giants. The Giants are the defending de-fending sub-champions. With Mize and Cooper back they are sure to be stronger. But their pitching is little better. The Pirates, with Greenberg, will be Improved. So will the Phillies. The Reds are nothing noth-ing to rave about. At the moment, the Reds seem to have the call. What team has the strongest Infield? In-field? We'll vote for the Cardinals, with Muslal, Schoendienst, Marion and Kurowskl, backed up by Cregar and Glavlano. Next best the Red Sox. Who will lead both leagues In hitting? hit-ting? Stan Muslal is as good a guess as you can make now, with Ted Williams close. Williams will have the call In the matter of extra bases. What team can be the pennant dark horse of the year? The Boston Braves, especially if Mort Cooper has an old-fashioned Cooper year. The Braves under Billy Southworth can be an upsetting outfit, replete with the cyanide touch. Cooper, in shape, is a great pitcher, not merely a good one. The best rookie of the year? Keep an eye on Yogi Berra, the Yankees' latest fence buster. He Is looked upon as one of the main Yankee hopes. Yogi came to the Yankees as a better than promising catcher. Then he was shitted to right field. |