[Big Six]

Boston Herald, June 1, 1918

RED SOX START BETTER THIS SEASON THAN LAST
Key Players Performing Well So Far

BOSTON--Two months is usually an adequate length of time for a base ball team to display its true character. The peaks and valleys of short surges and slumps have had time to balance each other out. Men who have developed new skills have had opportunity to display them. Others who have begun to fade, due to age or infirmity, have shown signs of their decline.

At the end of May last year, it was already clear that the Red Sox were not likely to be a strong enough team to win the pennant. Their torrid streak in July, in which they won thirteen straight contests, masked the fact that they were, for the most part, a team that would lose as often as it would win.

This season, fortunately, the squad has demonstrated quite a different character over two months of competition. The batting, pitching, and fielding are all sharper, and the men peform with much more pep.

A cast of younger players who are, in most cases, receiving their first extended opportunity to show their stuff at the major league level has injected a much-needed dose of ginger into the Red Sox.

First baseman Joe Judge, who gave a fine preview of his talents when he hit .319 as a reserve last season, is playing first base regularly. Long-time regular Ed Konetchy now appears mainly when a tough left-handed pitcher faces the Red Sox. While Judge has not hit .319 again, he has been productive, with an average near .280 and good power. He has also demonstrated an adeptness afield that he had not shown in his previous tenure.

Across the diamond, third sacker Mike McNally spells Del Paddock when a left-hander pitches for the other team. McNally, like Judge, is a spectacular fielder, with a howitzer for an arm, and the offensive aspect of his game is coming along nicely as well. If he can sharpen his eye at the plate, Mike should develop into a fine hitter.

Right field is now the province of Babe Ruth, whose impressive performances in spring training in Arkansas earned him the right to begin the season as the regular. Ruth has made Manager Collins look like a genius so far. The powerfully built Ruth has hit in the middle of the order for the Red Sox all season, joining Pat O'Farrell and Tris Speaker in a formidable trio. Ruth has hit twelve doubles, tying him with O'Farrell for the league's lead, and with three home runs, he has a share of the league's top mark in that category as well.

O'Farrell, as usual, is among the league's best players, and has been at least as productive as he was in 1917, when he was recognized as the league's Outstanding Batter. With Speaker and Ruth hitting so well behind him, Pat has not attempted to steal as many bases as he did last year, but in all other respects he has, at least, equalled his 1917 performance. His batting mark stands at .330 as of today, and with forty-one walks, five triples, and two home runs, it seems as if O'Farrell is constantly doing something right with the bat in his hands.

The pitching staff has a much more stable look this year than last. Manager Collins has sent the same four men to the hill in a regular rotation for most of the season: Joe Wood, George Dauss, Ray Collins, and Art Nehf.

Wood has returned completely to his old form, and has already won ten ball games with the season almost exactly a third over. While he does not strike out as many batters as he did in the past, this seems to reflect a trend in base ball the past two or three seasons, rather than a diminution of Wood's skills. He still fires his fast one with as much velocity as ever.

Dauss' record is even at seven wins and seven losses, and opposing batters have managed better than a hit an inning against him, but he pitched for two weeks with a tightness in his calf muscle that left him, at his estimation, with ninety percent of his effectiveness.

Collins has had rough luck, as he has lost twice by 1-0 scores already this season.

As with the batsmen, a young star has emerged to provide the Bostons with some additional fire power. Art Nehf has built on his fine 1917 campaign and has emerged as one of the American League's most fearsome twirlers. Art, a tall, powerfully build left-hander, leads the league with an ERA of 1.90, and his nine wins are one behind the leaders.

With a record of 30 wins and 23 losses, the Red Sox are in third place, only three games behind the league leaders, the Philadelphia Athletics. The surprising Washington Nationals occupy second, a game ahead of Boston. This Red Sox team appears to have all the necessary components it will need to remain in contention for the pennant all season long, and a return trip to the World Series, which the fans of Boston have waited for longer than they have in a decade, could be in order once again.