He Throws Hard

The man most likely to become baseball's rookie of the year is a huge (6 ft. 4 in.) pitcher named Don Newcombe. He weighs 235 lbs. and throws baseballs so hard that to batters they look like aspirin tablets coming toward the plate. Around the National League, players agree that the hulking giant in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform is the best right-hander in the business.

Last week, with Brooklyn trying desperately to overhaul the front-running St. Louis Cardinals, Newcombe was wheel horse of the Dodger staff. At 23, instead of pacing himself, he worked as if he were in a hurry to catch a train--motioning impatiently for the ball no matter whether he had just thrown a third strike or had one belted out of the park.

"He's Smarter Now." With his curve snapping and his control excellent, Newcombe shut out the St. Louis Cardinals (6-0), the Pittsburgh Pirates (9-0), then the New York Giants (8-0). He went one more inning against the Boston Braves--for 31 scoreless innings in all--before he let a run cross the plate. At week's end, the New York Giants managed to shell him out of the box, but it was the first time in his last seven starts. His record: w. 15, l. 6. Although everybody has tremendous respect for his curve and control, the secret of Newcombe's success is summed up simply in three words: he throws hard.

The newest of three Negro regulars now on the Dodger roster, Newcombe is also the hardest of the three to handle. On the road, Catcher Roy Campanella and Second-Baseman Jackie Robinson take turns sharing the big, moody rookie as a roomie. When he is his normal, placid, taciturn self, they needle him up to ballfield pitch. They soothe him when he gets upset and threatens to get out of line.

While playing with Montreal last summer, Newcombe got mad one day and went home to Elizabeth, N.J. to brood. Before the week was out, he telephoned Business Manager Buzzy Bavasi and asked humbly: "Will you take a damn fool back?" Last spring, at Vero Beach, Fla. Newcombe took a punch at Catcher Fermin Guerra of the Philadelphia A's, with whom he had trouble in the Cuban League last winter. Says Teammate Robinson, referring both to Newcombe's pitching and behavior: "He's smarter now."

"The Price, Gentlemen." With the pressure on, there was talk of working Newcombe every third day. In next week's vital three-game series with the Cardinals, he is scheduled for two of them. Says he: "I'll throw as much as they want me to."

As long ago as last fall, Dodger Boss Branch Rickey realized what he had in Newcombe. When the dollar-splurging Pittsburgh Pirates asked the Montrealer's price, Rickey put a half-serious $1,000,000 tag on him; that drew a short answer from Pirate General Manager H. Roy Hamey: "You keep Newcombe; I'll keep my million." Later, before the 1949 season opened, Rickey solemnly announced that Newcombe was for sale: "The price, gentlemen, is a half-million dollars, and when I say a half million I don't mean $499,000."

He is not for sale any more.

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