TEAM W L Pct. GB
Tacoma ...... 18 7 .720 —
Salem ....... 17 8 .680 1
Wenatchee ... 14 12 .538 4½
Yakima ...... 14 12 .538 4½
Tri-City .... 13 14 .481 8
Spokane ..... 10 16 .385 8½
Vancouver .... 9 15 .375 9
Victoria ..... 7 18 .280 11
SPOKANE, Wash., May 16—Vancouver's chunky George Nicholas pitched a no-hit, no-run game tonight as Capilanos swamped Spokane Indians 7-0 to open a Western International Baseball League series.
Nicholas, a strong righthander, allowed only three men to reach base and all three died on first. He walked two, hit one. He fanned seven Spokane batters.
Only two of his offerings were hit solidly. Joe Rossi socked a line drive in the second inning that was pulled in by shortstop Mansell Travis. Right fielder Charlie Mead of the Caps made a fine catch of the other, a fly by Sol Israel.
It was the first no-hit game of the season in the W.I.L. and the first in history at Spokane's Ferris field. A crowd of about 1,200 was on hand to see it.
Nicholas' great pitching overshadowed the batting efforts of his team mates. They blasted Dick Bishop for 13 hits.
The victory lifted the Caps into a virtual tie with the vanquished Indians for sixth place.
- - -
VANCOUVER, May 17 [by Harry Furniss, Daily Province]—George Nicholas got his start pitching no-run, no-hit ball in Sing Sing—as a visiting fireball man.
But he never dreamed of duplicating the feat until Tuesday night in Spokane when he suddenly found himself leading the Vancouver Capilanos in a 7-0 whitewashing of the Indians.
“I just had a good night,” he began modestly over the phone to The Daily Province after the game. Brilliant was more the word for the first perfect game George can recall in WIL history and certainly the first ever at Spokane’s Ferris Field.
“STICK AROUND”
“But he let me tell you about ’42,” George insisted. “I was working in the clothing trade in New York and playing some ball with the clothing cutters’ team.
“We went out to Sing Sing for a game and those guys were really burned to a crisp.”
Inside the great pen, it was almost a six-alarm break. Veteran trusties couldn’t even steal a base. There wasn’t a rap in the carload and no one dared holler “murder de bum.”
“Tuesday night it was scientific,” George explained. “I heard Hunk Anderson and Charlie Mead talking about a new way of holding the fastball—along the seams.
“When I started warming up in the bullpen I gave it a try. My fast ball just sank out of sight.”
And so, with everything on the ball including the kitchen sink, George just laid back and fogged them in.
IN THE CLEAR
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. Then he coughed. “Cigars were three for a dollar tonight,” he apologized. “Cost a few bananas. Have to speak to Bob Brown about it when I get back.”
Ruby Robert will be pleased to see him. George allowed only three men to reach base and all died on first. He walked two, hit one. And he fanned seven Spokane batters.
His great pitching overshadowed the batting efforts of his teammates who blasted Dick Bishop for 13 hits.
The Caps play another game with the Indians tonight. George has his fingers crossed for that old sinking feeling.
Vancouver ....... 300 000 112—7 13 0
Spokane .......... 000 000 000—0 0 1
Nicholas and Heisner; Bishop and Rossi.
TACOMA, May 16—Raking Yakima's Dick Larner for 13 hits, including first-inning homers by Larry Lee and Glen Stetter, the front-running Tacoma Tigers hammered out an 8-5 victory over the Bears in a series opener here Tuesday night.
Tacoma's Gil Loust marked up his fifth win without setback with a seven-hit job against Yakima. Six walks put him in constant trouble, however, particularly in the fifth when Yakima tied the count with three runs. Two of them were forced in by Loust's wildness.
Yakima ....... 000 031 001—5 7 3
Tacoma ...... 210 040 01x—8 13 1
Larner and Tiesiera; Loust and Sheets.
KENNEWICK, May 16—The Tri-City Braves pushed their winning streak to four straight and evened the season's count with Victoria 2-2 Tuesday night at Sanders Field. It was "Bullet" Joe Orrell on the mound for the Braves to chalk up his third victory of the season as he set down the Athletics 13-6 on nine hits.
TWO HOME RUNS
The total of 21 base knocks collected included two home runs a triple, and five doubles. Jim Warner was the seige gun for the winners with a four-master with two aboard in the second, and two additional singles. Neil Bryant only collected one hit, but it was a base clearing triple in the sixth.
The Braves hated to see anyone left stranded. Joe Orroll, with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth, stepped into a pitch and unloaded the bags with a double against the confer field wall.
Dick Faber not only belted the ball at a .750 clip in the series opener but also came up with two of the most sensational catches of the season. In the seventh he picked Jim Moore's blooper off the grass top and in the ninth he leaped high into the air to stab Bill Dunn's line smash that was ticketed for extra bases.
BALK STUNT WORKS
Vic Buccola worked his balk stunt on Jim Hedgecock in the fourth and got a free pass to second. But with two away Hedgecock left Buccola stranded by striking out Warner.
Nick Pesut stifled an Athletic rally in the fifth by trapping K. Chorlton between third and home. Gene Thompson on first base for the Victoria club started toward second and when Pesut made a move to throw to the keystone sack. Chorlton moved too far away from third and was caught at the plate on Artie Wilson's fine relay.
Three double plays by the Braves didn't do anything toward helping the Victoria cause either. Twice shortstop Neil Bryant started a twin kill and with second baseman Al Spaeter and first baseman, Vic Buccola throttled potential scoring threats. The first one came in the second inning, and they followed with another in the third.
Spactor also figured in the third double play of the night when Clint Cameron took Hedgecock's fly ball close in right field and fired to Spaeter at second to force Victoria shortstop Bill Dunn, who had gone too far off the base.
PITCHER'S DUEL LOOMS
Wednesday night the two teams meet again at 7:30 standard time under the lights. For the Braves it will be Lou McCollum (4-3) serving up the slants while Athletic manager, Marty Krug, has named John Marshall to take a crack at halting the onrushing Braves.
Marshall's 1950 record is 2-1. Last season the big right hander while pitching for Bremerton hung up a 22-14 record with an earned run average of 3.27. This all means that the Braves will need their 'hitting clothes' to push their current streak of victories to five.
- - - - - -
KENNEWICK, May 16 (AP) — The Tri-City Braves erupted in three big innings Tuesday night to trounce the lowly Victoria Athletics 13 to 6 in a Western International league slugfest.
Victoria's Joe Marjoseph hit the first ball pitched over the left field fence for a home run to start the second inning but after that the Vics were through.
An error by Bill Dunn paved the way for Joe Mishasek's downfall in the second. The knuckle-balling righthander was getting by nicely until the boot have the Braves five unearned runs to wipe out the Victoria lead. The rally was climaxed by Jim Warner's bases-loaded home run.
Jim Hedgecock got by for two innings and the A's moved back into contention with Dunn's bases loaded double driving in two runs and a wild pitch scoring third. Success was too much for the veteran southpaw. Pitcher Joe Orrell drove home three more runs with a bases-loaded double off him in the fifth for Tri-City. The Braves loaded the bags again in the sixth and Neil Bryant tripled. Two more runs came across that inning for the winners.
Orrell spaced nine Victoria hits to gain his third win of the year.
Victoria .... 010 301 001— 6 9 1
Tri-City .... 050 035 00x—13 12 1
Mishasek, Hedgecock (3), Smith (7) and Ronning; Orrell and Pesut.
WENATCHEE, May 16 — The Salem Senators led by big Bob Cherry edged the Wenatchee Chiefs here Tuesday night 6 to 5.
Cherry knocked in two runs with a triple and a double and scored three times himself as the Senators took advantage of nine timely hits.
Manager Tommy Thompson put Wenatchee back in the running briefly in the sixth inning when he put himself in as a pinch-hitter and doubled in two runs. The Chiefs counted four times in that frame.
Salem ............. 000 202 011— 6 9 1
Wenatchee ...... 000 004 001— 5 11 2
Burak, Waibel (6) and McMillan; Treichel, Blankenship (9) and Len Neal.
Spokane Options Pair to Class C
SPOKANE, May 16—The Spokane Indians trimmed first baseman Art Worth and pitcher Wayne Brock from the roster, Tuesday.
The pair were shipped off on option to Globe-Miami of the class "C" Arizona-Texas league.
The cut leaves the Indians two players above the Western International league's limit of 17. All squads must be down to that figure by midnight Wednesday.
Local baseball talk had outfielder Joe Kronberg, pitcher Jim Holden and pitcher Harold Yerkes, recently bought from the Boise Pilots, as among those who might be released or sold.
Salem Pitcher Tops WI Loop
TACOMA, May 17,—Two conquests last week, a 3-2 win over Yakima and a 7-3 decision over Spokane, gave John Tierney of Salem the undisputed pitching leadership of the Western International League, figures released Wednesday revealed.
Gil Loust, Tacoma right-hander is the champ "fireman" with three of his four victories having been acquired in relief.
Tom Breisinger of Wenatchee clung to the strikeout leadership with 48, having fanned an even dozen in a 10-inning, 1-0 win over Yakima, while a teammate, Don Ferrarese, had walked 47 to top the circuit in that department.
Kerrigan had allowed the fewest passes among the regular hurlers, having walked only eight men in 49 2/3 innings.
Al Treichel of Wenatchee had been guilty of eight balks, five in one game, for the "lead" in that phase of mound endeavor.
The 14 leaders (including games of May 14).
TEAM W L SO PCT
Tierney, Sal .... 6 0 23 1.000
Kerrigan, Tac ... 5 0 17 1.000
Loust, Tac. ..... 4 0 9 1.000
Lazor, Tac ...... 2 0 13 1.000
Waibel, Sal ..... 2 0 10 1.000
Knezovich, Tac .. 2 0 12 1.000
Brock, Spok ..... 1 0 6 1.000
Petersen, T-C ... 1 0 3 1.000
Powell, Yak ..... 1 0 4 1.000
Olsen, T-C ...... 1 0 1 1.000
Soriano, Yak .... 1 0 4 1.000
Ragni, Wen ...... 4 1 39 .900
Savarese, Yak ... 3 1 21 .750
Bradford, Yak ... 3 1 23 .750
ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor{May 17, 1950}
The third base coach reaches over, picks up a pebble, juggles it back and forth for a moment, then wipes his hands off on his trousers. Reaching up he adjusts the fit of his rap and then turns and walks to the other end of the coaching box. Maybe he'll scruff the dirt as he goes and then again maybe he won't. All of that to give the batter a signal you say. Yes, all of that to give the batter one of three possible signals. That's all there are . . . just three of them.
All that maneuvering on the part of the coach is just to throw the opposition off the scent of which action gives the batter the sign, or bunt the pitch, or which movement is telling the base-runner to try and steal a base.
There is no hit sign. If the 'take' sign isn't on, then the batter knows he is supposed to hit away. The signal for the hit and run is usually flashed by the battcr, though in some cases the coach may give it. It all depends on manager, but it can be worked either way. Usually too the entire team will not use the same signal used by the next three men back of you in the batting lineup. It never pays to miss a signal. Miss a couple, particularly an important one, and you might be missing something in your check when payday rolls around.
NOT SIMPLE ONES
Signals used by professional baseball teams are not a simple thing. As we started out by saying in today's opus, you'll notice the third base coach going through some fancy gyrations clown there now and then. What makes them complicated is that it isn't always a single sign that lells the batter what to do.
For instance the 'take' signal might be the third of a series of motions, while the bunt sign could also be the third, with the first two motions the same for both signs. That's why the batters have to be especially keen, and that's also why it's pretty difficult to pick up the signs that a team is using. And if there's the slightest indication they have been pilfered the signs will be switched right in the middle of a game. Then the next day the manager will figure out a completely new set. Even if ft appears that the signs aren't being picked up a club will change them at periodic intervals.
TYPE OF PLAY DIFFERS
Another item of more than passing interest concerning baseball teams is the style of play. By that we mean the difference between playing at home and on the road. Away from home a team plays for a “big” inning. One in which they can really unload their lumber and get a lot of runs. But at home while no team will pass up a big inning usually they're working for that one run. Reason for the difference is that at home they get the last lick if they're behind, while on the road it's the other way around.
CORRECTING A MISTAKE
While we dislike putting a fellow sportswriter on the griddle, still John Richardson of the Wenatchee World has made several unfounded charges against the Tri-City Baseball club. In a recent issue of the World, Richardson, according to the Associated Press wrote as follows, “Vern Johnson. . .reports that the Braves drew 9,005 in their opening series of the season. League president Bob Abel was burned up over exaggerated attendance reports on the Tri-City opening game and the payoff check to the visiting Vancouver Capilanos has been reported at lower figures than the Braves have announced publicly.”
Apparently Richardson failed to check anywhere at all when he pounded out that statement, on his typewriter. There was never any official report issued that the Braves drew 9,005 fans for the fist series. . .but a report carried on these pages April 26 said that 9,005 fans were in attendance for the first TWO series. End of item one.
If there were any exaggerated attendance reports we failed to see them. On April 19, the day following the opening game of the season, we carried that attendance figure as 3,684. A check with the official club records indicates that there has been no change.
OVERLY OPTIMISTIC
True some newspapers were rather generous in their estimates of the total number present at the opening game. However, had Richardson run a check on those figures he would have found them considerably over the actual number. There was never any announcement by the Braves front office as to the amount contained in the check handed to the Capilanos. And if league president, Bob Abel is burned up about all this, it's little short of amazing. Mr. Abel's office is well conversant with the facts that we've set forth here, including the attendance mark.
The reason we have gone to such a detailed explanation concerning the report carried in the Wenatchee World is that the paragraph was carried by the Associated Press yesterday in a weekly roundup of Pacific Northwest sportswriters. Inasmuch as that paragraph may be earned by member AP newspapers we wanted to take this opportunity of correcting what is a false impression.
All that maneuvering on the part of the coach is just to throw the opposition off the scent of which action gives the batter the sign, or bunt the pitch, or which movement is telling the base-runner to try and steal a base.
There is no hit sign. If the 'take' sign isn't on, then the batter knows he is supposed to hit away. The signal for the hit and run is usually flashed by the battcr, though in some cases the coach may give it. It all depends on manager, but it can be worked either way. Usually too the entire team will not use the same signal used by the next three men back of you in the batting lineup. It never pays to miss a signal. Miss a couple, particularly an important one, and you might be missing something in your check when payday rolls around.
NOT SIMPLE ONES
Signals used by professional baseball teams are not a simple thing. As we started out by saying in today's opus, you'll notice the third base coach going through some fancy gyrations clown there now and then. What makes them complicated is that it isn't always a single sign that lells the batter what to do.
For instance the 'take' signal might be the third of a series of motions, while the bunt sign could also be the third, with the first two motions the same for both signs. That's why the batters have to be especially keen, and that's also why it's pretty difficult to pick up the signs that a team is using. And if there's the slightest indication they have been pilfered the signs will be switched right in the middle of a game. Then the next day the manager will figure out a completely new set. Even if ft appears that the signs aren't being picked up a club will change them at periodic intervals.
TYPE OF PLAY DIFFERS
Another item of more than passing interest concerning baseball teams is the style of play. By that we mean the difference between playing at home and on the road. Away from home a team plays for a “big” inning. One in which they can really unload their lumber and get a lot of runs. But at home while no team will pass up a big inning usually they're working for that one run. Reason for the difference is that at home they get the last lick if they're behind, while on the road it's the other way around.
CORRECTING A MISTAKE
While we dislike putting a fellow sportswriter on the griddle, still John Richardson of the Wenatchee World has made several unfounded charges against the Tri-City Baseball club. In a recent issue of the World, Richardson, according to the Associated Press wrote as follows, “Vern Johnson. . .reports that the Braves drew 9,005 in their opening series of the season. League president Bob Abel was burned up over exaggerated attendance reports on the Tri-City opening game and the payoff check to the visiting Vancouver Capilanos has been reported at lower figures than the Braves have announced publicly.”
Apparently Richardson failed to check anywhere at all when he pounded out that statement, on his typewriter. There was never any official report issued that the Braves drew 9,005 fans for the fist series. . .but a report carried on these pages April 26 said that 9,005 fans were in attendance for the first TWO series. End of item one.
If there were any exaggerated attendance reports we failed to see them. On April 19, the day following the opening game of the season, we carried that attendance figure as 3,684. A check with the official club records indicates that there has been no change.
OVERLY OPTIMISTIC
True some newspapers were rather generous in their estimates of the total number present at the opening game. However, had Richardson run a check on those figures he would have found them considerably over the actual number. There was never any announcement by the Braves front office as to the amount contained in the check handed to the Capilanos. And if league president, Bob Abel is burned up about all this, it's little short of amazing. Mr. Abel's office is well conversant with the facts that we've set forth here, including the attendance mark.
The reason we have gone to such a detailed explanation concerning the report carried in the Wenatchee World is that the paragraph was carried by the Associated Press yesterday in a weekly roundup of Pacific Northwest sportswriters. Inasmuch as that paragraph may be earned by member AP newspapers we wanted to take this opportunity of correcting what is a false impression.
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