Lewiston .... 34 23 .596 —
Spokane ..... 36 25 .590 —
Salem ....... 32 24 .571 1½
Vancouver ... 32 30 .516 4½
Edmonton .... 28 27 .509 5
Yakima ...... 28 29 .491 6
Calgary ..... 27 28 .491 6
Wenatchee ... 25 33 .431 9½
Victoria .... 25 35 .417 10½
Tri-City .... 24 35 .407 11
AP has different standings for Vic
VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News-Herald, Aug. 26]—It was the consensus of opinion that the umpiring was so bad at Capilano Stadium Tuesday that the Capilanos were led like unwilling lambs to the slaughter and lost a doubleheader 2-0 and 6-0. However, as bad as the officiating admittedly was, how many ball games do you win in this day and age without the benefit of a run?
It was the fifth straight loss for Vancouver and the first time this season they had been disgraced by the whitewash brush in both ends of a doubleheader. It also left this WIL second-half championship strictly up to them—only a miracle such as the 1951 Miracle of Coogan’s Bluff can save the Capilanos now.
HITTING ATROCIOUS
The pitching was good enough for at least a split. The hitting was atrocious. In the first game, the Caps had three successive chances to win it in regulation innings, one of them in the fifth when Harvey Storey reached third base with nobody out. Nobody scored, however, and the game went one inning past regulation before the Tyees pushed across a pair in the eighth to win it 2-0. It was a tough loss for Pete Hernandez, his No. 9, but just as nice a win for young Bill Bottler, his No. 10.
The second game was as wild as they ever will come in organized ball.
BAD NIGHT
Mel Steiner, the umpire behind the plate, had the type of evening he would just as soon forget. He kicked K. Chorlton and Dick Barrett out of the game for prolonging a third strike call on Chorlton in the fifth inning. But he missed pitches and generally allowed the situation to get out of order so much the game developed into a farce.
When Chorlton left the game, Nick Castas came in to replace him. Steiner forgot to make the substitution announcement, a misdemeanor which carries an automatic $25 fine from league headquarter—if it is reported and carried out. Officially the Capilanos finished the game with only eight men because Mr. Castas never did get himself in there according to the rules in the book.
Bob Roberts was the loser in this one, although he was going along nicely until the seventh inning blow-up. Obviously angered by the Chorlton incident, Roberts got himself out of the game in a hurry by failing to control his temper.
MATTERED LITTLE
It was, perhaps, consolable because of the continued weird calls at the plate, but in the end it mattered little because the Caps couldn’t beat their way out of a paper bag with their bats.
Earl Dollins, who had previously tagged 11 losses as against five wins this year, managed to pitch a four-hitter for his first shutout. He isn’t the type of pitcher who usually does those things to you, but last night the Caps were as feeble as Aunt Martha with the wood and even a girl scout could have gotten them out.
DIAMOND DUST – Tonight, with the Caps vainly trying to put some kind of win streak together, Van Fletcher will be the guy who will be getting it going or not at all … It’s Economy Night at the ball park, incidentally, with no charge at the gate … You just pay whatever you think is fair … Hampers of food will be given away to some lucky customers … Seattle general manager Lee Miller is in town.
First Game
Victoria ............ 000 000 02—2 6 1
Vancouver ........ 000 000 00—0 5 1
Bottler and Martin; Hernandez and Duretto.
Second Game
Victoria ............ 000 101 400—6 8 1
Vancouver ........ 000 000 000—0 5 1
Dollins and Harford; Roberts, Marshall (7), Thomason (8) and Duretto.
KENNEWICK, Wash. — Calgary and Tri-City fought it out on even terms fnr nine innings Tuesday night before Don Bricker rapped out a three-run homer in the first over-time inning of the Western International League baseball game for a 10-1 Calgary win.
The round-tripper by the Calgary catcher came after two men got aboard on a walk and an error.
Tri-City got two in its half to threaten another tie but pinch hitter Ernie Hockaday struck out with the tying run on second base.
Four of Calgary's runs were unearned, with four Tri-City errors figuring in the loss charged against Ken Michelson, who came in the game in the 10th.
Calgary ............ 004 001 002 3—10 19 1
Tri-City ........... 100 011 112 2— 9 16 4
Levenson, Stites (10) and Bricker; Bloom, Dobernic (6), Michelson and Pesut, Warren (10).
WENATCHEE — Pitcher-manager Bill Brenner batted in the deciding runs and pitched 21st victory of the season as his Lewiston Broncos defeated the Wenatchee Chiefs in a Western International League baseball game Tuesday night.
Lewiston ............. 004 013 010—9 13 0
Wenatchee ......... 013 020 010—7 10 1
Brenner and Garay, Beamon, Klein (6), De Carolis (9) and Bartolomei.
YAKIMA — Spokane made quick work of sewing up a Western International League baseball game with Yakima Tuesday night, scoring twice in the first inning and adding four more to win, 6-1.
Bill Franks, Spokane pitcher, allowed only seven scattered hits for his near shutout.
Indians got their opening pair when Wilbur Johnson singled, and Stan Palys boarded first on an error and Will Hafey doubled them home.
Spokane ............ 230 000 100—6 9 2
Yakima .............. 000 010 000—1 7 1
Franks and Sheets; Del Sarto, Edmunds (2) and Albini.
Edmonton at Salem doubleheader, postponed, rain.
Caps Seek Roof For Stadium
VANCOUVER, Aug. 25—A request for the allotment of $110,000 to roof Capilano Stadium was presented to a special committee of Vancouver City Council today by Dewey Soriano and John Hoyland as representative of the Capilano ball club.
Hoyland told the councillors that lack of a roof had been a factor in the decline of the Caps’ attendance from 119,000 in 1952 to an estimated 100,000 this season.
He also said construction of the roof over the concrete stands and the wooden bleachers would make it possible for Vancouver to bid for a franchise in the Pacific Coast League if a berth in the Open Classification circuit became available.
today’s fanfare
Storey and Soriano, Inc. Play The Field
By Eric Whitehead
[Vancouver Province, August 26, 1953]
Wherever the Capilanos finish in the WIL standings in this year of baseball 1953, we’ll have to give the brand new team of Soriano & Storey an A for effort.
With a surge, their ball club could still come through with a second-half pennant, but be that as it may, the Double S combo is about to conclude a very satisfactory freshman year out at Little Mountain.
Big Dewey ambled into his front office early last spring blithely humming “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” and he didn’t abandon that virile theme song. The ball club he brought back from sunny California needed some changes, all right, and he made them.
In actual player changes, we are personally limited to a recount of ten because at that juncture we run out of fingers and toes, but we do recall these attempts to revitalize the local lineup and the results therefrom:
First base: Long Jim Wert, whose competitive fire fizzled out like a damp squib with the season’s opening pitch, was released in favor of Gene Petralli, who was hurriedly drafted out of a spell of California retirement. When Wert left he was hitting (?) .212 (after prior seasons of .280 and .327). Petralli’s current mark, accompanied by a space of un-Wertlike hustle, is in the .270s. Which adds up to a prosperous switch.
The Unpredictable Davis
Second-base: Gordie Hernandez, brother of pitcher Pete, was a sad disappointment both around the keystone sack and back of home plate, was sent to Yakima and Jumping Jack Bukowatz was moved in (and out again, after various shuffles with Davis at short). Gordie was hitting .240 when he departed. Bukowatz is coming up fast past the .250 mark, is far more effective afield than was Hernandez, and is improving every game. Another good switch.
Shortstop: Davis, a Rizzuto one minute and a bum the next two or three, was never reliable afield, and his .245 at the plate was no redemption. The switch here of course was Davis to Victoria and Jim Clark to the Caps, and the bleacher jockeys have nothing but praise for that deal. Clark, topping .290 with the stick and sparking the infield from his shortstop post, was a major acquisition.
K Is Now Climbing
Left-field: Dick Briskey, another great disappointment, hit rock-bottom with his .202 average and was released outright to make way for Tyee gardener Gale Taylor. Taylor is clipping along at about 70 points over the Briskey batting average, fair enough recommendation for that switch.
Centre-field: Rookie Nick Castas, who started, was never figured as a permanent fixture and was a stop-gap, albeit a very handy and effective one, until the parent Rainiers kicked through with some excess talent. K Chorlton was the answer, and although he’s taken several weeks to get up steam, he’s now climbing fast with his current .275 mark. With the lad’s fielding and base running, he is now the club’s most valuable outfielder.
No change in right field, where Moose Msacaro is still patrolling with unspectacular but adequate efficiency. And, of course, no change at third, where Boss Storey holds fort, with occasional reinforcements from shortstop. But what Harv may lack in mobility, he makes up for with his war-club, still one of the most potent in the minors.
With Help From Schuster
Catcher: And there, come opening night, was real trouble, which persisted until Mr. William Schuster, garage proprietor of Hollywood, Cal., agreed to release his partner Robert Duretto to active service in baseball. It was a sad day when first-stringer Sam Hairston was shipped off to Colorado Springs after a contract mix-up, and it was a sad day also when Soriano kicked in a hefty wad to purchase Don Lundberg from Tulsa. Lundberg, a very likely looking receiver with a fast-improving record, flopped miserably as our great white hope.
So up came Duretto of Schuster & Duretto, like Petralli starting “cold” in mid-season. Bob’s current .280, his hustle and his handyman proportions throughout the length and breadth of the lineup leave no doubt about the value of that switch that sent Lundberg into retirement.
Pitchers: Only switch here was the voluntary retirement of problem-boy Bud Guldborg, who beetled off home to California, but the two-man “replacement” squad of Bob Roberts, Clarence Marshall is somewhat better than an even break. Particularly in light of Bob’s 9-3 record.
In all the new deals, there’s been not a dud in the carload. You can’t get a much better try than that.
With a surge, their ball club could still come through with a second-half pennant, but be that as it may, the Double S combo is about to conclude a very satisfactory freshman year out at Little Mountain.
Big Dewey ambled into his front office early last spring blithely humming “There’ll Be Some Changes Made,” and he didn’t abandon that virile theme song. The ball club he brought back from sunny California needed some changes, all right, and he made them.
In actual player changes, we are personally limited to a recount of ten because at that juncture we run out of fingers and toes, but we do recall these attempts to revitalize the local lineup and the results therefrom:
First base: Long Jim Wert, whose competitive fire fizzled out like a damp squib with the season’s opening pitch, was released in favor of Gene Petralli, who was hurriedly drafted out of a spell of California retirement. When Wert left he was hitting (?) .212 (after prior seasons of .280 and .327). Petralli’s current mark, accompanied by a space of un-Wertlike hustle, is in the .270s. Which adds up to a prosperous switch.
The Unpredictable Davis
Second-base: Gordie Hernandez, brother of pitcher Pete, was a sad disappointment both around the keystone sack and back of home plate, was sent to Yakima and Jumping Jack Bukowatz was moved in (and out again, after various shuffles with Davis at short). Gordie was hitting .240 when he departed. Bukowatz is coming up fast past the .250 mark, is far more effective afield than was Hernandez, and is improving every game. Another good switch.
Shortstop: Davis, a Rizzuto one minute and a bum the next two or three, was never reliable afield, and his .245 at the plate was no redemption. The switch here of course was Davis to Victoria and Jim Clark to the Caps, and the bleacher jockeys have nothing but praise for that deal. Clark, topping .290 with the stick and sparking the infield from his shortstop post, was a major acquisition.
K Is Now Climbing
Left-field: Dick Briskey, another great disappointment, hit rock-bottom with his .202 average and was released outright to make way for Tyee gardener Gale Taylor. Taylor is clipping along at about 70 points over the Briskey batting average, fair enough recommendation for that switch.
Centre-field: Rookie Nick Castas, who started, was never figured as a permanent fixture and was a stop-gap, albeit a very handy and effective one, until the parent Rainiers kicked through with some excess talent. K Chorlton was the answer, and although he’s taken several weeks to get up steam, he’s now climbing fast with his current .275 mark. With the lad’s fielding and base running, he is now the club’s most valuable outfielder.
No change in right field, where Moose Msacaro is still patrolling with unspectacular but adequate efficiency. And, of course, no change at third, where Boss Storey holds fort, with occasional reinforcements from shortstop. But what Harv may lack in mobility, he makes up for with his war-club, still one of the most potent in the minors.
With Help From Schuster
Catcher: And there, come opening night, was real trouble, which persisted until Mr. William Schuster, garage proprietor of Hollywood, Cal., agreed to release his partner Robert Duretto to active service in baseball. It was a sad day when first-stringer Sam Hairston was shipped off to Colorado Springs after a contract mix-up, and it was a sad day also when Soriano kicked in a hefty wad to purchase Don Lundberg from Tulsa. Lundberg, a very likely looking receiver with a fast-improving record, flopped miserably as our great white hope.
So up came Duretto of Schuster & Duretto, like Petralli starting “cold” in mid-season. Bob’s current .280, his hustle and his handyman proportions throughout the length and breadth of the lineup leave no doubt about the value of that switch that sent Lundberg into retirement.
Pitchers: Only switch here was the voluntary retirement of problem-boy Bud Guldborg, who beetled off home to California, but the two-man “replacement” squad of Bob Roberts, Clarence Marshall is somewhat better than an even break. Particularly in light of Bob’s 9-3 record.
In all the new deals, there’s been not a dud in the carload. You can’t get a much better try than that.
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