Locals Try Out For Capilanos

AND OL’ CARL, TOO
Five B.C. Players Head for Cap Spring Training
By CLANCY LORANGER
[Vancouver Province, March 13, 1953]
Five young British Columbia baseball players will get a chance to strut their stuff when the professional Caps open spring training at Healdsburg, Calif., late this month.
“There’ll be six B.C. fellows on hand, actually,” said general manager Dewey Soriano today in making the announcement. The sixth is Carl Gunnarson, the veteran lefthander, who’ll be “relief pitcher, trainer, father and mother” with the club.
The five youngsters include Rod MacKay, veteran of four years pro experience at 22, who signed last January. The other four are: Ken Mitchell of Vancouver; Dick Letourneau, Prince Rupert; Lyall Cornett, Cowichan Bay, and Vic Jones, Mission.
HENRY PROTÉGÉ
Best known of this quartet is Ken Mitchell, 18-year-old Negro star with South Burnaby of the Lower Mainland League last summer.
A protégé of old senior leaguer Ed Henry, Mitchell is a first baseman and a respected hitter. A product of Vancouver Technical, Ken had a tryout with Portland last spring.
Soriano has a soft spot in his heart for Prince Ruper’s Letourneau, a pitcher, for the Caps’ g.m. was born in the up-coast city, too, and he pitched a little himself.
Cornett, Soriano describes as a shortstop and second baseman and a good runner and hitter. He’s 18.
Jones is a first baseman in the left-handed, traditional style, although he bats right.
LEAVES ON WEEKEND
Soriano is cleaning up a few loose ends this week, preparatory to leaving on the weekend for Healdsburg to get things in order at camp.
He says he’ll talk contract with a number of players there, including Jim Hedgecock, the left-handed pitcher who didn’t play last summer. Among those who won’t be on hand when camp opens March 28 is Dick Larner, another “inactive” player in 1952. Larner was talking about coming back this year, but personal problems changed his mind.