Wenatchee, Vancouver 1947 Previews

Chiefs' Team Mostly New
WENATCHEE, April 14—When Manager Buddy Ryan sends the Wenatchee Chiefs out in defense of their Western International league baseball pennant in the season's opener against Victoria here April 18, there will be only two players in the bunch who worked with the champions last year.
But home town fans aren't as worried as you might think. They remember that Ryan took a flock of rookies last year and built a pennant winner. Many of his aces have won berths with teams in higher classification baseball, including a flock who have stuck with Sacramento in the Pacific Coast loop. Glenn Stetter, top batsman of the W.I.L. in 1946, was sold outright to Tacoma.
One of the current crop of rookies, just out of Folsom, Calif., high school, is Hal Rhyne Jr., son of the former Tacoma manager. He'll be at first base.
Team Is Young
Ryan describes his team as "young, promising, but lacking in experience," and says his biggest need is for a couple of experienced pitchers. Club President Joe Brownlow is looking to the parent Sacramento club for some aid in the mound department.
Teddy Grenhalgh, here from Sacramento on option, and Eddie Barr from the 1946 squad are the Chiefs experienced outfielders. Clyde Haskell, shortstop who nearly made the grade with Sacramento this year, is the other holdover. One catcher, Gabe Sady, played a few games with the Chiefs at the end of last season.
Out of High School
Tommy Warner and husky Dave Soracco, 19 years old and just out of Sacramento high, round out the outfield. Other catchers are rookies Leroy Winter and George Bandy. Another highschooler, Hal Hutchinson, 18, and from Alameda, Calif., will be at second base.
The youthful complexion holds from top to bottom in the pitching staff. Les Logg was briefly with the club last season before going to the Pioneer loop and Bob Condon joined the team in the last week of action, winning one game. Bill Osborne, who won 23 straight for Hartline high school, is out of the navy and reasy for action. Another G.I., Bill Monahan, has shown promise. Tom Rose, Bob Capps and Bob Frost complete the roster of righthanders and the southpaws are Dean Hamilton, Bob Adam and Jim Mann.

VANCOUVER, B. C., — The kid brother of Rudy York—one of the tall timbermen of the Boston Red Sox, as you very well know— is following in the first base footsteps of Rudy and this year he’ll stamp on the initial sack for Vancouver's Capilanos in the Western International baseball league.
And Lavis York hopes all Vancouver, will be a carbon copy of Rudy and knock down all the fences—a thing he has given promise of doing in training camp contests. Lavis, for instance, hit one 387-foot round tripper out of the Yakima park.
Manager Bill Brenner, who took over the reins in the middle of last season and will handle the catching, has a veteran club with a sprinkling of newcomers. Pitching appears especially strong and the outfield is potent, on training camp performance. Young Bob Stumpf will understudy Brenner behind the plate.
Veterans Back
Back this year are four pitching veterans—Ron Bryant, Hunk Anderson, Jim Hedgecock and Bob Snyder. Bryant, bothered last year with arm trouble, has shown plenty of power and ability in pre-season workouts. Snyder was unimpressive through much of last season but caught fire near the close of the schedule to win a return engagement. Hedgecock is the only "wronghander" of the quartet.
Among the rookie flingers, Jack Meister of Seattle has plucked a starting berth and Sandy Robertson, a Vancouver boy, will work in home games. He is studying to be a mechanical draftsman and the Red Sox, who held his contract, optioned him to Vancouver so he
could remain here and continue his studies. Other new tossers are slim Burke, Bill Reynolds and Bill Emerson, the latter a southpaw.
The Caps are hopeful that Leon Mohr. currently with the Seattle Rainiers, will be in camp soon to handle second base. Business Manager Bob Brown says the little Californian
is so fast "he can bunt .300 in this league." Jimmy Estrada returns to his shortstop position, but is getting competition for the job from young Buddy Hjelmaa. At third base the struggle is between Len Tran and Herb Pashowski, with Tran likely to get the call and Pashowski to be held as a utility outfielder.
Those outer gardens will be patrolled by Bill Wright, who hit .412 while playing the latter part of the season with the Caps last year; Frank Mullens, a star in the middle field defensively and a good hitter, and Charles Mead, formerly of the New York Giants, who also played part of last year with the Caps.
“We'll have,” says Brenner, “Plenty of hustle and will give all the teams a run for their money.”
The Capilanos tee off against Salem Friday on the Oregon City's home field and play their first home tilt against the same club Monday.
- Thursday, April 17, 1947