Holler Guy

The runner was off with-the pitch; at the crack of the bat he was close to second base. Scampering now, he rounded second digging hard toward third, looking for the coaching signal. He got it: keep moving. He drove for the plate, scored the winning run, having high-tailed all the way home from first base on a single. By such precisely calculated hit & run tactics, the team voted least likely to succeed this year has been making the experts look with fresh respect on Manager Stanley ("Bucky") Harris and his Washington Senators.

The Senators' hit & run play last week (with Outfielder Ed Stewart scoring the run) broke a seventh-inning tie with the Boston Red Sox, who, on paper at least, should beat Washington by just appearing on the field. And once ahead, the Senators stayed ahead. In the ninth inning Boston got two men on base, and Sox Sluggers Ted Williams and Vern Stephens were due to hit. Bucky Harris picked up the dugout phone and summoned Relief Pitcher Mickey Harris (no kin) from the bullpen. Mickey subdued Williams and Stephens with harmless infield groundouts.

Kid Gloves. When Manager Harris demoted 1949 Starting Pitcher Harris to relief roles this spring, he did it in an oblique manner, using psychology to cushion the blow. Announced Bucky: "I'm going to make another Joe Page out of Mickey," and Mickey set out gladly to emulate the Yankees' famed relief pitcher.

With such kid-glove finesse, Bucky had a bunch of bushers looking like ballplayers, had them believing they were not as inept as past performance (in the cellar, 47 games out of first place last year) would indicate. At week's end Washington had won 19 of its first 39 games, and was in fifth place.

After 23 years as a manager with five major-league clubs (including the Tigers, Phillies, Red Sox and Yankees), bulb-nosed, sun-scarred Bucky Harris, 53, has mellowed. As the Senators' fiery, hardhitting second baseman and one of the best in the majors, he once deliberately stomped his spiked shoe on Lou Gehrig's foot to make him drop a throw. As a manager who has gone through some soul-searing troubles (e.g., he was fired from the Yankees after finishing third in 1948) he has developed into a fatherly, genial boss. But with untalented discards and untried rookies, Harris (rejoining Washington this year for his third term as manager) is in for what promises to be a tedious rehabilitation job.*

Grab a Bat. Sitting on the bench during a game, Harris is a holler guy a cheerleader full of the old college try. His enthusiasm is infectious, spreads to phlegmatic veterans as well as impressionable rookies. One second-stringer said last week: "Bucky tries so hard to win it seems a crime not to pitch in with a few yelps yourself." The same player, who makes his share of mistakes, added: "He never second-guesses a physical error, just never mentions them. But if you make a mental mistake he'll tell you about it privately, say 'Don't let it happen again ' and dismiss you with a smile. From, what I gather, though, it's best not to let it happen again."

When Bucky needs a pinch hitter, he is likely to point a finger at his man and bellow: "Grab a bat, kid, and hit one like you can." His "like you can" is the Harris way of saying, "Do your best." On the Washington team this year the players are falling all over themselves to do just that for Manager Harris. Though no one is seriously talking pennant these days in Washington, Harris is willing to make one prediction: "We won't finish last." He never has.

* Last week, in a $600,000 trade based on current-player values, the Senators sent three 1949 elderly regulars to the Chicago White Sox for three greener players of less fame but more potential. Pitcher Ray Scarborough, 31, slugging First Baseman Eddie Robinson, 29, and Second Baseman Al Kozar, 27, were deported in the shakeup. The Senators got in return agile heavy-hitting Second Baseman Cass Michaels, 24, Pitcher Bob Kuzava, 27, and Rookie Outfielder Johnny Ostrowski, 29. At first glance sportwriters thought that Chicago got the better of the deal, or that Washington got a little cash on the side. Explained Harris: "We've tightened our infield, balanced our batting order . . . and haven't taken the worst of it from a pitching standpoint."

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