Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 203, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 September 1917 — VETERANS HOLDING THEIR OWN AT THE HOT CORNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

VETERANS HOLDING THEIR OWN AT THE HOT CORNER

Mike Mowrey Heads List of OldTimers Who. Have Had an Easy Time Defeating Youngsters. Does a third baseman improve with age, or is the hot corner so hard to play that the few real stars who make good in the nig show' have little trouble holding their jobs? The question is a hard one to answer, but the records show that the veteran third sackers in the big leagues today are distinctly In a class by themselves when it comes to allround playing, year in and year out. Take a slant over the hot corner guardians in the two major leagues and you will find that the best men holding down third base have served from five years upward and are still going big. In the National league Mike Mowrey of the Dodgers was serving his eleventh year under the big tent, when he—was- released recently. Heinie Zimmerman of the Giants is now in his tenth year as a major league performer, and Heinie Groh of the Reds has six years under his belt and is going like a house afire for Cincinnati in this, his seventh season, while J. Smith of the Braves is also in his seventh year. The remaining third basemen, among whom Milton Stock of the Phillies stands but by far

the most brilliantly, are newcomers compared to the veterans already named. Baird of the Cardinals, Deal of the Cubs and McCarthy of the Pirates complete the list. Larry Gardner and Jimmy Austin are the oldest third basemen in the American league, and both are in their ninth year. J. Franklin Baker, who was out of the big show one season, is serving his eighth year in the majors, and Oscar Vltt of the Digels aiitl Buck weaver df Sox will have completed six years of

major league service when the pennant race comes to a close this fall. Bates of the Mackmen, Leonard of Washington and Evans of Cleveland are the “junior” third basemen in Ban Johnson’s league. With nine of the sixteen regulars in the two majors well seasoned from years of service, there is little or no chance for the newcomers to cop the title as “the most valuable third baseman in the big show,” or in either league. Stock of the Phillies is a great ball player, but in Groh and Zimmerman he has two seasoned rivals for honors. In the American league, Frank Baker is making a strong bid this season to return to his own as the heaviest hitting third sacker in the game, and he is pressed for the honors by Larry Gardner and Buck Weaver, while the veteran Jimmy Austin has been giving Vitt his dust in the matter of hitting.

Mike Mowrey.