[Big Six]

Boston Herald, September 18, 1915

From the daily Red Sox column:

Recent games at Fenway Park have been enlivened by a group of rooters who have set up shop in the grandstand, along the first base line. They have selected as their particular favorite "Rough" Bill Carrigan, the veteran catcher. "Rough's Rooters," as they have been dubbed, sometimes appear at the game draped in the colors of the College of the Holy Cross, Bill's alma mater.

One of them, who gave his name as William, explained their support thusly: "A couple of the fellows know Carrigan from their Holy Cross days, and another was a boy in Worcester when Carrigan played for the Holy Cross nine. The rest of us just appreciate the way he plays the game, I guess."

Carrigan says he enjoys the support his "fans" give him. "What player wouldn't like to hear people cheering for him? It makes me feel like bearing down that much harder."

Carrigan has joined Bob Peterson to form a stellar backstop tandem for the past several seasons. He is actually hitting for a higher average than the regular man, Peterson, .316 to .304. Carrigan has driven in 17 runs, which gives the Bostons nearly 100 RBI from its catchers this season.

"Sure, we'd like to see him play more," 'William' said of Carrigan. "Perhaps he'd be an All-Star like Peterson if he played as often as Bob does."

********
Red Sox management has to be a bit concerned about the lack of progress shown by George "Babe" Ruth, the much-heralded young pitcher/outfielder. Playing mostly in the outfield, Ruth completed his season at Providence in the throes of a slump that lowered his batting average below the .200 mark. He also struck out at an alarming frequency, fanning 122 times in 460 at-bats.

"You have to remember Ruth was one of the youngest men in his league," Manager Jimmy Collins remarked. "He played with very fast company for a twenty-year-old."

Perhaps this is so, but one must also remember that in '07, Pat O'Farrell hit .331 at Providence, and made his debut in Boston before he bid goodbye to his "teens." And while Tris Speaker hit only .229 at the same age in '08, he did so while playing regularly in Boston, not in Providence.

The experts who believe Ruth will one day be as bright a star as Speaker or O'Farrell may turn out to be correct. I hope they do, but for now, the enthusiasm surrounding "Babe" must be tempered with a large dose of caution.