W L PCT GB
Tacoma ..... 78 48 .619 —
Yakima ..... 80 50 .615 —
Tri-City ... 69 59 .539 10
Wenatchee .. 69 57 .535 10½
Victoria ... 58 71 .450 21½
Vancouver .. 53 71 .427 24
Salem ...... 52 75 .409 26½
Spokane .... 51 76 .402 27½
SPOKANE. Aug. 24 — A pair of one-run victories last night pulled Spokane within seven percentage points of climbing out of the cellar and knocked the Tri-City Braves out of a mathematical chance of winning the Western International League pennant. Spokane won the seven inning opener 6-5 and copped the nightcap 8-7.Two high fly balls that got lost in the sun helped the Indians scalp the Braves in the first game. Both were hit into right field where Clint Cameron of the Braves met the sun and lost the balls, Glen Stetter and Joe Rossi were credited with the triples as the hits rolled to the fence. The two blows came inthe first inning and accounted for three runs, enough of a margin to insure the victory.
Lou McCollum went all the way for the Braves. It was his 12th loss of the season against 17 victories.
The Braves pulled ahead 5-4 and held that lead until the bottom of the seventh. Then Spokane put together four singles to hand John Conant his 14th win of the season. The Spokane hurler lost 16.
Dick Faber's single in the fourth drove in Clint Cameron and Buddy Peterson and Neil Bryant scored from third when McCollum grounded out.
The Braves went ahead in the fifth when Clint Cameron's double scored Jim Warner and Buddy Peterson's single sent Cameron the rest of the way from second.
LOSE THE SECOND
One inning accounted for all the Indian runs in the owl game. The barrage of base hits drove starter Gene Rocnspie and reliefer Jim Olsen from the mound.
Merle Frick came on to put out the fire. Frick came through in a big way for the losers holding Spokane well in check the rest of the route. The Braves had a strong going into the final inning but it was choked off when Nick Pesut grounded out. Pesut, a left-handed hitter, had come in as a pinch hitter for Jim McKeegan. However, Alan Strange, manager of the Indians kept pace with the strategy of Charlie Peterson, the Braves pilot, and sent Dick Yerkes, a portsider, to the mound. The switch paid off for Spokane when Yerkes forced Pesut to hit a ground ball to the second baseman for the final out of the game.
Dick Faber lifted the Braves to seven runs when his triple in the ninth scored Cameron and Peterson who had drawn walks. Then came the rapid switch of hitters and pitchers and the end of them.
First Game
Tri-City ..... 000 320 0—5 10 1
Spokane .... 310 002 x—6 12 3
Maitland and Weatherwax; McCollum and Pesut.
Second Game
Tri-City ...... 000 023 002—7 12 0
Spokane ..... 000 800 00x—8 10 1
Roenspie, Olsen (4), Frick (4) and McKeegan; Bishop, Aubertin (6), Yerkes (9) and Weatherwax.
WENATCHEE, Aug. 23—Clubbing out two onp-sided victories over the fourth place Wenatchee Chiefs, Yakima moved within four percentage points of the rained-out Tacoma Tigers atop the Western International league heap on Wednesday night. The Bears' twin wins, by scores of 5-0 and 7-2, left them all even with Tacoma's pacesetters in the won and lost column.
Spokane's cellar dwellers eked out a pair of one-run margins over third place Tri-City 6-5 and 8-7.
Yakima got effective hurling in both victories. Southpaw Lloyd Dickey gave up only six blows in administering his seven-inning whitewash and veteran Larry Powell, although touched for 14 baseknocks, kept them well-spaced. Bill Andrinff gathered six hits in 10 trips to the plate to pace the victors although it was Bill McCawley's three-run homer in the fourth inning which clinched the opener.
First Game
Yakima ......... 101 300 0—5 13 1
Wenatchee ... 000 000 0—0 6 1
Dickey and Tiesiera; Blankenship and Neal.
Second Game
Yakima ......... 120 040 000—7 8 1
Wenatchee ... 010 000 001—2 14 1
Powell and Tornay; Treichel, Breisinger (5) and Neal.
Victoria at Tacoma, postponed, rain.
Vancouver at Salem, postponed, rain.
IT BEATS ME
By Jim Tang [Victoria Colonist, Aug. 24, 1950}
Although all but the most unreasonable will admit that the A’s couldn’t have won the pennant this season with Eddie Sawyer as manager, a surprising number of baseball fans believe the club would have been a lot closer under different management. Marty Krug, right or wrong, has failed to sell himself to the paying customers.
Probably much of the complaint over Victoria managing stems from what proved to be over-optimistic Spring-training reports—and I admit my share of the guilt right here—on the A’s and Marty, who was pictures as sort of a veteran miracle man who could take mediocre material and lead it to the top. When he was confronted with just that task and failed, the ensuing criticism was to be expected.
Most of the criticism levelled at Marty has been based on nothing more than unjustified personal dislike by some fans for a man they have never met. He has made his share of mistakes but he has also taken the blame because his players failed to make his strategy good by their inabiliyity to successfully carry out his orders. It shouldn’t be forgotten that strategy is not necessarily good because it worked or bad because it failed.
However, those who claim that Marty has been unable to get the most out of his players are at least partially correct. Although reports of dissention have been exaggerated, it is no secret that the A’s this season have never had proper management-player relationship. The question is whether any manager could have reached that state with the varied group which make up the 1950 A’s.
Too sparing with his praise and sometimes deprecating, Marty can be faulted for not making more of an effort to get the most out of some of his players, but he will never understand any player who has to be coaxed or threatened to give his best. He has no desire to cater to the player who needs “handling” and there will always be a few of them on every class “B” club. Unfortunately for Marty’s managerial return and the club fortunes, there have been too many A’s in that category this season.
It is understandable that fans believe that the A’s could have been higher. The club has enough potential ability to be among the contenders and, at times, shows flashes of that ability. But it has been held back by some players whose only interest in baseball is their pay cheque and the opportunity it affords a good time. Perhaps another manager might have done better but few would be so ready to blame the manager if it were possible for them to know the whole story.
Random Harvest
Business Manager Reg Patterson is determined to get Dick Greco for the A’s next season and would even give up Gene Thompson for the Tacoma slugger, who should find Royal Athletic Park tailored to measure for his long clouts . . . Gil McDougald, second baseman of the 1949 A’s and now hitting .329 with Beaumont in the Texas League, was given a feature spot in last week’s Sporting News . . . Reg Clarkson won’t be permitted to play football for U.B.C. next season, having been declared ineligible by the National Collegiate ruling which makes any athlete competing as a pro in one sport ineligible to play in another . . . Hub Kittle, one-time W.I.L. favorite and now playing manager at Klamath Falls, has a 7-0 pitching record in the latest available Far West League statistics.
NON WIL MINOR LEAGUE NEWS59-Year Old Rookie
LANETT, Ala., Aug. 24 — It took Charley Milner of Riverdale, Ala., a long time to break into professional baseball. Milner signed his first professional contract yesterday with the Valley Rebels of the class D Georgia—Alabama league at the spry age of 59. It was his birthday.
Once in pro ball he went quickly to work. He opened the Opelika, Ala.-Valley game last night and lasted for four innings when a pinch hitter replaced him. During his stint he gave four singles and allowed one run. The Rebels lost the game 5-2, but the 59-year-old rookie wasn't the losing pitcher.
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