- Cardinal Manager Branch Rickey Getting Rid of All Veteran Players
- Rickey Will Build with Youngsters
- Bill Doak and Lou North Latest to Pass on From St. Louis
- Doak to Brooklyn for Dickerman
From The Sporting News. Publication Date: June 19, 1924 Age 33 Career Record for St. Louis: 143-135
Thoroughly disgusted, “fed up” as it were, with the showing of the Cardinals whom he had expected to rear high in the National League race all the way, Branch Rickey has been weeding out the venerable members with determination and positiveness, perhaps in an effort to allay general rigor mortis. One veteran after another has been disposed of until the old heads can almost be counted on one hand.
Rickey’s well known composure and even ways certainly must be a trifle jumpy with the condition of things and one is almost constrained to believe that Branch has felt like kicking his “Judas Priest” out the back door with something with a little more fire in it.
The Cardinal leader has always wanted a team of youngsters and it is likely that he will see his cherished ambition materialized during the present housecleaning. In the past, though, he has always found it necessary to have a goodly group of veterans around for balancing effect. With the Cardinals wallowing around like a free breeches buoy in a hurricane, however, he has decided to gamble a little with his young players and build up for the future.
Branch Has the Nucleus
What’s more Rickey has the nucleus of a winning young team. Bottomley at first is a young man, who has many years of baseball before him. He has not been showing at his best this season and places much of the bale for his failure on bad tonsils which, it is said, have been diffusing poison through his system. He left the team in the East to come to St. Louis to have the tonsils removed. Jim hit .371 {?} last season in 124 {?} games.
At second, of course, there is the incomparable Hornsby, who bids fair to again lead the National League in hitting.
Jim Cooney, at short, whom Rickey obtained in the deal with Milwaukee, has not fully come up to expectations, but isshowing flashes of hitting form. His fielding has been all that could be asked. Rickey has strings on Lester Bell, who went to the Brewers in the Cooney deal.
At third Howard Freigau has come through wonderfully. He is just a kid who will continue to improve in hitting and fielding. The youngster has lots of fight inhime and goes after anything slapped his way fearlessly. In short, Howard is the type Rickey is trying to build up around.
Three Young Catchers
While Mike Gonzales is getting virtually all of the catching duty, the Cardinal boss has Vick, Neibergall and Holm, whom he some day expects to become a capable big-league catcher. Gonzales is a veteran who is working hard and no doubt his young back-stoppers will pick up a great deal on the art of handling pitchers from him.
Douthit has been getting his regular turn in the outfield along with the veterans. Heinie Mueller is still a young man but has not hit with his old degree of certainty and must overcome base running and throwing shortcoming. Rickey has him playing first at present with Bottomley away.
Pitching has been one of the weak spots on the team and Rickey must add a great deal of strength in that direction. Johnny Stuart, one of his youngsters, has been laid up, but will probably be ready before long. Dyer has had this and that kind of success but looks like a comer. He flips with the left hand and looks like he will become a dependable hurler. The Boston series saw Arthur Delaney come through with a well-pitched victory over the Braves. It was his first start although he had been used in relief roles. The youngster throws with his right. Then, too, there is Bell, whom Rickey is nursing along.
Those four kid flingers just about make up the recruits whom Rickey must develop into winners if he intends getting rid of all the veterans who are not cashing in.
Doak for Dickerman
Leo Dickerman, whom the Cardinals acquired for Bill Doak, the veteran spitball heaver, from Brooklyn, is a youngster. He started out in great shape for the Dodgers early in 1923, but after that had his troubles. This year he also failed to do much for Uncle Robby.
Doak came in with the Huggins regime in St. Louis in 1913, so this season would have been “Spittin’ Bill’s” eleventh with the Cardinals. He began to slip perceptibly in 1922 and continued on the downgrade. In his 11 years in the livery of the Cardinals the veteran won 141 and lost 133 games.
He soared to his greatest heights in 1914, when he won 19 and lost only six.
The week also saw the passing of Lou North, who in 1921 pitched in 49 games, but did not complete any of them. He was used almost exclusively on relief. North was sold to the Boston Braves for a cash consideration. He is 33 years old.
Johnny Lavan, Milton Stock, Joe Schultz and Vern Clemons are others who have passed out of the Cardinal picture in recent months.
Branch Rickey, Cardinals Manager – 1922-ish
