Jack Gordon Opines on Baseball in his April 13, 1943, Swabbin' the Deck Column for The Sky-Writer, NAS Pasco

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THE SKY-WRITER, PASCO, WASHINGTON, Tuesday, April 13, 1943

with Jack Gordon

That pitching is about sixty per cent of baseball defense is a fact accepted by every baseball authority. For upon the pitcher rests the fate of many a game and an entire ball club, for that matter.

There is much more to pitching than just throwing a ball to a batter—for the pitcher must be capable of acting as a "utility infielder" . . . backing up the catcher on outfield flies when a runner is on third ... or standing ready to assist a third baseman when a batter singles with a runner on first ... or when a batter smacks a high fly to the outfield and a man's on second ... all that to fielding slow infield grounders . . . are prime requisites of a good pitcher.

You wonder why the Pasco Flyers team was able to hang up a 43 out of 47 win ticket last season?

You'll find the answer if you'll look over the mound staff of the sailor nine, for not only did the Flyer chuckers control the situation from the hill, but they covered the infield like a blanket, were in on every play, and with the new twirlers this year, shortage of starting pitchers will be the last thing that will worry Coach Peters or manager Vanni.

Pitchers like Hunk Anderson—he won 21 games for the Flyers last year—and Johnny Bittner, the ex-HolIywood tosser, who reported late but won 8 games and topped off his season effort by going the route and winning that 13-inning tussle with the Seattle Rainiers, don't grow on trees.

And right behind Bittner and Anderson come speedball artists like Fred Gay and Edson Bahr. And don't forget newcomers like Mike Budnick and Rube Sandstrom. Six Pitchers who realize that their job only begins when they release that ball plateward.

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Midship Meandering-.....

James M. Phelan, aviation cadet, who recently boarded the NAS from St. Mary's Pre-Flight school, can probably tell you quite a bit about the correspondence of one of the athletic Coaches at the Moraga College ... it seems Cadet Phelan was continually receiving mail addressed to "James M. Phelan," which wasn't meant for him but James Merlin—yeah, "Jimmy" Phelan of U. W. grid coaching fame .... Jackie Armstrong the former Portland "Wrassler", who's now a seaman aboard the NAS, just received his draft papers the other day ... he had previously been notified that the Draft Board was "seriously considering changing his status from 3-B to 1-A " .... 'now they tell me", mutters Jackie . . . with the swimming pool becoming a reality late this fall, Seaman John Kinney, the former Ice Follies star, is wondering whether or not there's a possibility they'll freeze the new pool over in the winter and give the flashy silver blades star a chance to show his talents to the local citizenry .... oh, well, wishful thinking never hurt anyone, and maybe come winter, we'll have an Ice Hockey team, too .... this corner hears tell that the coming Championship bowling tourney will be the most hotly contested battle since Waterloo .... judging from the past performances the three top teams of the station should be from Supply, Link Trainer and Administration Building . . .

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A salute from baseball enthusiasts all over the nation goes to the American Legion which is launching its 18th annual junior baseball program this week.

Backed by Legion and major league funds the program has started many a youngster out on a baseball career that eventually landed him in the major action.

The Legion's plan has to be commended too, for the opportunity it offers every 17-and-under boy to participate in physical training, the importance of which is so apparent today. Checking over the roster of the all-ex-pro Pasco Flyers baseball team—almost every player was found to have played "legion ball" at some time early in his career— and then went on from the sandlot action to enter semi-pro and professional diamond circles. The Legion's really got a salute coming!

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We See by the Papers.......

The top public opinion pollers of the Nation, the Gallup Institute, has released its result of the "vox-pop" on wartime pro-baseball . . . it seems that in the forty-eight state survey, 59% of the people favored continuation of the game but 28% . . . those people who bite dogs, play saxophones at 2 a.m., always take the last seat on a bus, wait until it's crowded then want "to get off at the next stop", yep, that 28%, thought the game should be abolished for the duration .... and then of course there's the inevitable minority . . .the folks who still think Coolidge is the president, that the auto is a fad and Marconi is something to eat . . . .who were undecided ....