THE HOME PLATE
By KEITH MATTHEWS
[Vancouver Sun, Sept. 13, 1947]
Just one more column for the year, the boss said. We must say goodbye to our readers (the boss must have meant friend Percy.)
Well, Percy, you should be happy that the Caps won that pennant for us. Yeah, it was a long struggle, but did you see those attendance figures? 117,000 for Cap Stadium. What a year we would have had in that new ball park, eh, Perc?
But I’ll tell you something, pal. Some guys are never happy. The boss received a letter from a fan the other day who was just overwhelmed about the Capilano triumph. He sarcastically wrote that we did it by .001 of a percentage point. Hard to please ‘em all I guess, huh, P.?
They gave us quite a build up in Victoria, too, Percy. Said we backed into the pennant. You know, everytime they come up with something like that I think they are aiming at me. They love me in Victoria you know, Perc.
They have a guy in Victoria named Pete Saltaway, or something. He’s a sports writer, I think. He’s been having fun kicking the Caps and me around all year. Wonder what he’s thinking now?
Then another gent from Victoria accuses us of belittling those Athletics over there. He says we must have been born in a telephone booth, Percy, and you know that’s not true.
Why, I could think of many nice things to say about Victoria. Remember, Perc, they won the pennant for us. Good fellows on that Island, but I hear they are going to fire their manager, Ted Norbert. They certainly don’t get along like you and I, eh, Percy?
Let me tell you something else, pal. There’s going to be a fair ball club representing this city next season. Len Tran and Buddy Hjelmaa will be back for another year, probably their last before they hit triple-A.
Bill Reese is destined for that first sack again and Bill Brenner will be No. 1 man behind the bat again. That’s the start of a pretty fair infield.
The outfield may be a little weak. Right now it’s just a guess. Paul Carpenter, at 31, figures he’s nearing the end of the line. But if he thinks he has a chance to become a manager someday he’ll fill that centre field spot for us.
We don’t know about Charley Mead. He had a terrific year, Percy, and we just don’t know. I’ll tell you this much, there [unreadable line].
Pitching may be a little weak, too. Jim Hedgecock will be sold to Seattle. That’s for sure, Percy. Bob Hall and Bob Snyder should catch on with the Rainiers and Carl Gunnarson may either be drafted or bought next spring.
But watch out for this Orrin Snyder, Perc. They say the kid is dynamite. He’s Bob’s younger brother, you know. But the kid is a first baseman, and he can play shortstop or the outfield, too. Down in the West Texas league the kid hit 25 homes and had a .317 batting average.
There will be deals, of course. The old master, Bob Brown, will look after that. And, say, Percy, that Bill Brenner proved himself quite a canny operator for such a young squirt, didn’t he?
The Rainiers wil1 send some help, too. Sometimes, I’ll admit they need a little jab to wake them up. But they usually get around to giving us a hand before the season ends.
Here’s another thing you can mark down, P. We’ll have a new league president next season. All the club owners have a little mad on at Bob Abel, the present boss.
They didn’t like Abel’s schedule of 154 games, which was crowded into a telephone booth (the same one I was born in.) His schedule should have been two weeks longer for the 154 games. His decisions always made someone sore, and after all it’s the club owners who will decide their leader this winter.
My guess, if you want it Percy, is that they’ll hire a full-duty gent and keep him on the job all season. They’ll have to pay the guy about $5000, but it’ll be worth it. Don’t be surprised, either, if the schedule goes back to the old 145 games.
One thing more, Percy. When New Year’s comes around, let’s make a resolution not to cast dirty adjectives at Victoria any more.
By KEITH MATTHEWS
[Vancouver Sun, Sept. 13, 1947]
Just one more column for the year, the boss said. We must say goodbye to our readers (the boss must have meant friend Percy.)
Well, Percy, you should be happy that the Caps won that pennant for us. Yeah, it was a long struggle, but did you see those attendance figures? 117,000 for Cap Stadium. What a year we would have had in that new ball park, eh, Perc?
But I’ll tell you something, pal. Some guys are never happy. The boss received a letter from a fan the other day who was just overwhelmed about the Capilano triumph. He sarcastically wrote that we did it by .001 of a percentage point. Hard to please ‘em all I guess, huh, P.?
They gave us quite a build up in Victoria, too, Percy. Said we backed into the pennant. You know, everytime they come up with something like that I think they are aiming at me. They love me in Victoria you know, Perc.
They have a guy in Victoria named Pete Saltaway, or something. He’s a sports writer, I think. He’s been having fun kicking the Caps and me around all year. Wonder what he’s thinking now?
Then another gent from Victoria accuses us of belittling those Athletics over there. He says we must have been born in a telephone booth, Percy, and you know that’s not true.
Why, I could think of many nice things to say about Victoria. Remember, Perc, they won the pennant for us. Good fellows on that Island, but I hear they are going to fire their manager, Ted Norbert. They certainly don’t get along like you and I, eh, Percy?
Let me tell you something else, pal. There’s going to be a fair ball club representing this city next season. Len Tran and Buddy Hjelmaa will be back for another year, probably their last before they hit triple-A.
Bill Reese is destined for that first sack again and Bill Brenner will be No. 1 man behind the bat again. That’s the start of a pretty fair infield.
The outfield may be a little weak. Right now it’s just a guess. Paul Carpenter, at 31, figures he’s nearing the end of the line. But if he thinks he has a chance to become a manager someday he’ll fill that centre field spot for us.
We don’t know about Charley Mead. He had a terrific year, Percy, and we just don’t know. I’ll tell you this much, there [unreadable line].
Pitching may be a little weak, too. Jim Hedgecock will be sold to Seattle. That’s for sure, Percy. Bob Hall and Bob Snyder should catch on with the Rainiers and Carl Gunnarson may either be drafted or bought next spring.
But watch out for this Orrin Snyder, Perc. They say the kid is dynamite. He’s Bob’s younger brother, you know. But the kid is a first baseman, and he can play shortstop or the outfield, too. Down in the West Texas league the kid hit 25 homes and had a .317 batting average.
There will be deals, of course. The old master, Bob Brown, will look after that. And, say, Percy, that Bill Brenner proved himself quite a canny operator for such a young squirt, didn’t he?
The Rainiers wil1 send some help, too. Sometimes, I’ll admit they need a little jab to wake them up. But they usually get around to giving us a hand before the season ends.
Here’s another thing you can mark down, P. We’ll have a new league president next season. All the club owners have a little mad on at Bob Abel, the present boss.
They didn’t like Abel’s schedule of 154 games, which was crowded into a telephone booth (the same one I was born in.) His schedule should have been two weeks longer for the 154 games. His decisions always made someone sore, and after all it’s the club owners who will decide their leader this winter.
My guess, if you want it Percy, is that they’ll hire a full-duty gent and keep him on the job all season. They’ll have to pay the guy about $5000, but it’ll be worth it. Don’t be surprised, either, if the schedule goes back to the old 145 games.
One thing more, Percy. When New Year’s comes around, let’s make a resolution not to cast dirty adjectives at Victoria any more.
