W L Pct GB
Lewiston ...... 32 16 .667 —
Edmonton ...... 25 18 .581 4½
Yakima ........ 26 19 .578 4½
Vancouver ..... 24 19 .558 5½
Salem ......... 22 18 .550 6
Tri-City ...... 15 29 .341 14
Wenatchee ..... 15 32 .319 16½
LEWISTON [Vancouver Province, Aug. 18]—What hopes the Vancouver Capilanos had of winning the second half championship of the WIL were all but buried in Lewiston last night as the Broncs dumped the Caps twice, 7-6 and 8-3.
The double loss dropped Vancouver from second to fourth place in the leading standings, five and one half games behind the pace-setting Broncs. The series winds up with a single game at Lewiston tonight.
It could be said that the parent Seattle Rainiers had a hand in the Caps 7-6 lss in the seven inning opener.
BOWMAN ACQUIRED
Bob Roberts, with a 12-5 record, was to have started but he was recalled Tuesday by Seattle to replace another ex-Vancouver pitcher, Van Fletcher, injured in an automobile accident on the weekend.
However, the Caps acquired Keith Bowman, former Tacoma, Lewiston and Wenatchee pitcher, to take Roberts’ place. He gave up six runs in the four innings he worked in the opener before being relieved by John Cordell.
BARTON DID IT
Vancouver came roaring back with five big runs in the top of the seventh to tie up the game. But Lewiston manager Larry Barton took matters into his own hands and smashed out a game-winning home run in the bottom of the seventh off loser Dick Greco.
In the second game the league leaders pounded Bill Brenner for 17 hits as the Vancouver manager was unsuccessful in his bid to become the first hurler in the league to rack up 20 wins.
[WILfan notes: Bob Wellman and Marv Williams homered for Vancouver in the first game, both were solo shots in the top of the seventh … Harvey Storey doubled and singled and brought in four runs … Al Heist added a double, two singles and a stolen base in the opener … Dick Greco came in during the fourth inning and pitched the rest of the way. It was his first game for Vancouver since playing with the All-Stars for a week … Marv Williams accounted for all of Vancouver’s runs in the night game with a home run in the third inning which gave the Caps a 3-1 lead … Brenner allowed nine hits and seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, started by Ed Garay and Nick Cannuli with back to back singles. Two sacrifices and an error contributed ... Garay and Heist had three hits each for the Broncs … Bob Williams’ double was the only extra base hit in the 17 Brenner allowed … Barton turned unassisted double play at first base in the finale.]
First Game
Vancouver ...... 000 100 5—6 5 0
Lewiston ........ 002 400 1—7 10 2
Bowman, Cordell (4), Greco (4) and Duretto; Marshall and Cameron.
Second Game
Vancouver ...... 003 000 000—3 7 2
Lewiston ........ 100 700 00x—8 17 1
Brenner and Pesut; Yaylian and Garay.
EDMONTON, story unavailable.
Salem ........... 000 000 000—0 9 3
Edmonton ...... 002 000 40x—6 8 0
Nicholas, Roenspie (1), Johnson (8) and Ogden; McNulty and Partee.
YAKIMA, story unavailable
Wenatchee ...... 200 000 010—3 6 0
Yakima ........... 010 014 10x—7 11 0
Waters and Self; Edmunds and Summers.
WALLA WALLA [Tri-City Herald, Aug. 18]—Before the Tri-City Braves beat the Walla Walla Bears, 11-3, Tuesday night in ah exhibition game at Walla Walla, playing manager Edo Vanni, joshed the boys:
"You had better get in there and play. After the Willy league, that will be the next step down."
In some respects, Vanni's statement contained a grain of prophecy, because parties in Walla Walla are awaiting the outcome of the Western International league, frankly hoping it will fail next year, so similar semi-pro loops can be established here.
Tonight Tri-City baseball fans will be able to see the difference when the Bears journey to Sanders Field for a return exhibition.
And after Tuesday's game, here is what they will see:
For Walla Walla — a group of relatively young players, most of them college or just-out-of-high-school kids, with a sprinkling of older talent. Some are prospects for professional baseball but none are natural all-out prospects such as Tri-City's Dick Watson, determined to make it or else.
The pitchers are fast, usually lacking in control, but who frequently telegraph their upcoming pitches.
For Tri-City — A group of pros which can't for prestige purposes, afford to lose, but which can't use all the ballplayrng techniques commonly part of league play for fear of turning the exhibition into a farce.
In the game Tuesday night, the Braves jumped off to a 10-0 lead and cruised in from there. Facing them was Len Brooks, a young lefthander, who gave up 10 hits for the 10 runs, the last four coming as the result of poor fielding support.
Although the Braves' batters racked young Brooks, most of them conceded the pitcher may have been a little "tightened up" in facing pro opposition. The scoring also indicates such. Brooks walked five batters in the first four innings but settled down and gave but one free pass after that.
For Tri-Clty, Hal Flinn went out on the mound determined to cut them down. He pitched two-hit ball for five innings, but walked the bases-full in the fifth. Then little Del Klicker's single scored two.
Jess Dobernic pitched the final four frames. Dobernic put the ball over where the younger players could hit it and Bill McBride smacked the first one out of the park.
He later gave up a single for the other hit off him.
The game tonight will begin at 7:30 p.m. Regular admission price will be charged.
Tri-City .......... 240 400 010—11 13 0
Walla Walla ..... 000 021 000— 3 4 4
Flinn, Dobernic (6) and Johnson. Brooks, Hudson (9) and Hamper.
Wenatchee Operates Door-to-Door Plan
WENATCHEE, Aug. 18—Wenatchee baseball fans started a door-to-door campaign Tuesday to help raise funds to keep the community-owned Western International League club in operation here.
President Bob Tyler says the Wenatchee club is now $6800 in the red and will be $11,600 behind by the end of the season.
Treasurer Fred Burnett expressed hope the door-to-door drive would meet this goal.
Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[from Tri-City Herald, Aug. 18, 1954]
Like some 95 per cent of the civilized population, I have no affection for snakes, having been taught, psychiatrists can prove, a fear of them sometime in my childhood. I am not in the class with Edo Vanni, who will jump sky-high at the sight of a rubber dime-store snake and who has kept the knot-hole in his dressing room floor carefully covered ever since Ernie Hockaday joined me in spreading the rumor that a couple of rattlers wintered under under the clubhouse last year.
* * *
Vanni Caught A Home Run
In a discussion on fooling-the-ump techniques, Vanni comes up with this story:
“One time when I was with Vancouver, we were playing Salem. One of their players hit one out of the park just over my head. I happened to have had a new ball in my pocket at the time so I pulled it out, kicked the wall with my foot like that, and threw the ball in.
“They guy who hit it thought he had a homerun and was loafing into second. The ball came in and the ump called him out.”
Jack Hemphill, also party of the same discussion, was playing with Salem at the time and remembers the incident well.
“I knew at the time that ball was out of the park,” Jack said. “I saw it going over. Then pretty soon here comes your throw back into the infield.”
* * *
Charouhas Stirred Row
Des Charouhas, now with Yakima, pulled something similar while playing with Tri-City against Spokane. The Spokane batter hit one of those long ones and Des took off. He couldn’t get there in time and the ball took one bounce before popping into his glove.
Des threw the ball in and the umpire called the batter out.
Don Osborn, the Spokane manager, wasn’t taken in by the piece of subterfuge though. He came snorting and shouting from the dugout, and after a long argument, pointed to Charouhas and told the ump, “Go ahead and ask him if he caught the ball. Ask him.”
Fortunately, the ump didn't ask Charouhas because Des, caught between his natural honesty and the ballplayer outlook that if the ump misses, that’s the other teams tough luck, was facing a dilemma. He solved it by taking the middle course and saying nothing.
(I’ll guarantee you Vanni wouldn’t have said nothing. Fact is, he probably would have given Osborn a dressing down for even suspecting he was dishonest.)
* * *
Richardson Missed Chance
Once in a while, you will see a young player miss a chance to pull some hokum on the ump. Such a situation came up awhile back when Larry Richardson was playing leftfield for Wenatchee.
There were two away, and Tri-City had a runner on first. The batter rapped one of those low fly balls to leftfield and Richardson came in and made a shoe-string catch.
He actually trapped the ball but gave himself away by throwing to second with hopes of forcing the runner there.
Had Larry just trotted into the infield as if he had made the third out, I’ll bet anything the ump would have ruled it a caught fly.
* * *
Vanni Caught A Home Run
In a discussion on fooling-the-ump techniques, Vanni comes up with this story:
“One time when I was with Vancouver, we were playing Salem. One of their players hit one out of the park just over my head. I happened to have had a new ball in my pocket at the time so I pulled it out, kicked the wall with my foot like that, and threw the ball in.
“They guy who hit it thought he had a homerun and was loafing into second. The ball came in and the ump called him out.”
Jack Hemphill, also party of the same discussion, was playing with Salem at the time and remembers the incident well.
“I knew at the time that ball was out of the park,” Jack said. “I saw it going over. Then pretty soon here comes your throw back into the infield.”
* * *
Charouhas Stirred Row
Des Charouhas, now with Yakima, pulled something similar while playing with Tri-City against Spokane. The Spokane batter hit one of those long ones and Des took off. He couldn’t get there in time and the ball took one bounce before popping into his glove.
Des threw the ball in and the umpire called the batter out.
Don Osborn, the Spokane manager, wasn’t taken in by the piece of subterfuge though. He came snorting and shouting from the dugout, and after a long argument, pointed to Charouhas and told the ump, “Go ahead and ask him if he caught the ball. Ask him.”
Fortunately, the ump didn't ask Charouhas because Des, caught between his natural honesty and the ballplayer outlook that if the ump misses, that’s the other teams tough luck, was facing a dilemma. He solved it by taking the middle course and saying nothing.
(I’ll guarantee you Vanni wouldn’t have said nothing. Fact is, he probably would have given Osborn a dressing down for even suspecting he was dishonest.)
* * *
Richardson Missed Chance
Once in a while, you will see a young player miss a chance to pull some hokum on the ump. Such a situation came up awhile back when Larry Richardson was playing leftfield for Wenatchee.
There were two away, and Tri-City had a runner on first. The batter rapped one of those low fly balls to leftfield and Richardson came in and made a shoe-string catch.
He actually trapped the ball but gave himself away by throwing to second with hopes of forcing the runner there.
Had Larry just trotted into the infield as if he had made the third out, I’ll bet anything the ump would have ruled it a caught fly.
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