Victoria .... 17 8 .680 —
Spokane ..... 18 9 .667 —
Vancouver ... 11 10 .524 4
Salem ....... 14 14 .500 4½
Wenatchee ... 13 13 .500 4½
Tri-City .... 11 17 .393 7½
Lewiston .... 10 16 .385 7½
Yakima ...... 10 17 .370 8
VICTORIA, May 19—The Victoria Tyees handed Salem a 5-3 dusting Monday night to renew their lease on first place in the Western International League.
It was the third straight win for the Tyees who were tied with Spokane's Indians for the league lead after weekend play.
Victoria's win, the seventh for the Tyees in nine home games, sent the Canadian club 13 slim percentage points out in front of the Indians. Southpaw Ben Lorino went the distance for the winners to record his fifth victory of the new season.
Salem ....... 000 000 300—3 8 1
Victoria .... 002 012 00x—5 12 1
DeGeorge, Mann (7) and Nelson; Lorino and Martin.
SPOKANE, May 19 — Behind the four-hit pitching of Jack Phillips, the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League defeated the Western International League-leading Spokane Indians 5-1 before 1,813 fans in a rain-abbreviated baseball game Monday night.
The contest, halted after seven innings because of rain, was featured by the stellar base running of Hollywood's Carlos Bernier.
Bernier stole two bases and loped home from first on a lazy double by Phillips in the sixth.
Phillips drove in two runs on a double and single in three trips to the plate.
Hollywd(pcl) .... 012 101 0—5 8 1
Spokane(Wil) .... 000 010 0—1 4 0
Phillips, Lynn and Malone; Chase, Roberts (7) and Sheets.
Tri-City at Vancouver, postponed, rain.
NO OTHER GAMES SCHEDULED
ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [May 20, 1952]
Harold Younker who gave up calling out grocery lists to sing out on balls and strikes may not know how lucky he is to break into the umpiring business in Class A league. The former Pasco groceryman really got a big break when League President Bob Abel plucked him to work the WIL circuit. Most umpires, like ball players, have to come up the hard way by starting out in the low minors and then proving their ability.
Younker got his big chance when George Behringer quit. Right, now he will be on probation for perhaps a month or so until he has proved his ability. That will depend on the reports from the umpires working with him and to some extent what the club managers have to say, providing Abel asks them.
It’s quite a process this getting to be an umpire. The most single important thing about umpiring, at least in our opinion, is a thick skin. They have to take some pretty rough treatment from managers and players when a disagreement arises and you can't just thumb them out of the game. At least not in this class of baseball where a team only carries 17 players. Boot out a couple of key players and you might just as well hand the other team the ball game. Consequently the umps, must of necessity, allow a much wider latitude than they would, say in the Coast or Major Leagues.
YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE IT
Younker’s case history is a good example of how umpires happen and is probably applicable to most in the business. First of all it was his hobby. . .he liked calling games. So after beating ground a few semi-pro games he decided to take a few lessons and attended the school in Portland operated by “Doc” Regele, a former WIL umpire. But Younker found that wasn't enough so this past winter he enrolled in Bill McGowan’s two-month course at Daytona Beach, Fla. And here's how that looked.
RIGHT POSITION IS IMPORTANT
“There were about 130 of us I guess,” said Younker, “who were taking the course. The first in the morning we had calisthenics, then breakfast. After the morning meal we'd take a long workout practicing calling balls and strikes, safes and outs. For that we'd form up in a long line, then one at a time go forward beatable and call “safe,” “out” or whatever it was. And when you made the call you had to be in the proper position with your legs well spread and the gesture well-defined. The rest of the morning we’d choose up teams and take turns in calling the game.”
If you noticed Younker working behind the plate Saturday night or Sunday it was quite apparent that even not knowing who McGowan was, that he was from the American League. Younker was calling the game directly over the catcher’s head as contrasted with the National League style in which the umpire calls the pitches from inside the catcher, that is he looks over the shoulder of the catcher nearest the batter.
CAN SEE SIX GAMES AT ONCE
The Cleveland Indians’ farm clubs hold their spring training sessions at Daytona Beach also and McGowan’s candidates work all those games.
“Cleveland has about 450 players in that camp,” continued Younker “and they have six fields that fan out like spokes from a hub. So if you stand in the middle, right where the hubcap would be you can see six games going on at the same time.”
Younker now makes his home in Vancouver, Wash., and had been working the college Coast conference semi-pro ball Barnes around Vancouver until he was called by Abel. Our press box view was that he called an exceptionally good game behind the plate Saturday night, but didn't do nearly as well Sunday afternoon. However, he was undoubtedly tense. The important thing is that he has shown he can handle the job and handle it well.
Younker got his big chance when George Behringer quit. Right, now he will be on probation for perhaps a month or so until he has proved his ability. That will depend on the reports from the umpires working with him and to some extent what the club managers have to say, providing Abel asks them.
It’s quite a process this getting to be an umpire. The most single important thing about umpiring, at least in our opinion, is a thick skin. They have to take some pretty rough treatment from managers and players when a disagreement arises and you can't just thumb them out of the game. At least not in this class of baseball where a team only carries 17 players. Boot out a couple of key players and you might just as well hand the other team the ball game. Consequently the umps, must of necessity, allow a much wider latitude than they would, say in the Coast or Major Leagues.
YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE IT
Younker’s case history is a good example of how umpires happen and is probably applicable to most in the business. First of all it was his hobby. . .he liked calling games. So after beating ground a few semi-pro games he decided to take a few lessons and attended the school in Portland operated by “Doc” Regele, a former WIL umpire. But Younker found that wasn't enough so this past winter he enrolled in Bill McGowan’s two-month course at Daytona Beach, Fla. And here's how that looked.
RIGHT POSITION IS IMPORTANT
“There were about 130 of us I guess,” said Younker, “who were taking the course. The first in the morning we had calisthenics, then breakfast. After the morning meal we'd take a long workout practicing calling balls and strikes, safes and outs. For that we'd form up in a long line, then one at a time go forward beatable and call “safe,” “out” or whatever it was. And when you made the call you had to be in the proper position with your legs well spread and the gesture well-defined. The rest of the morning we’d choose up teams and take turns in calling the game.”
If you noticed Younker working behind the plate Saturday night or Sunday it was quite apparent that even not knowing who McGowan was, that he was from the American League. Younker was calling the game directly over the catcher’s head as contrasted with the National League style in which the umpire calls the pitches from inside the catcher, that is he looks over the shoulder of the catcher nearest the batter.
CAN SEE SIX GAMES AT ONCE
The Cleveland Indians’ farm clubs hold their spring training sessions at Daytona Beach also and McGowan’s candidates work all those games.
“Cleveland has about 450 players in that camp,” continued Younker “and they have six fields that fan out like spokes from a hub. So if you stand in the middle, right where the hubcap would be you can see six games going on at the same time.”
Younker now makes his home in Vancouver, Wash., and had been working the college Coast conference semi-pro ball Barnes around Vancouver until he was called by Abel. Our press box view was that he called an exceptionally good game behind the plate Saturday night, but didn't do nearly as well Sunday afternoon. However, he was undoubtedly tense. The important thing is that he has shown he can handle the job and handle it well.
Official Scorer Suffers as No Hitter Gets Near Finish
By WHITNEY MARTIN
NEW YORK, May 19 (AP) — The tension on a pitcher with a no-hit game in sight must be positively agonizing, but there is another guy in the ball park who is undergoing a similar strain and can't do a thing about it.
He's the official scorer sitting up there in the press coop stewing in his own juice, praying fervently that if a hit does come it will be a robust clout which will leave no question as to its legitimacy.
The pitcher's tension is relieved somewhat by his own activity. That is, he can do something about it. The poor guy in the press coop must just sit there drumming his fingers, wiping the cold sweat from his brow and joining in the inane conspiracy of science which makes the mention of a no-hitter nothing short of a felony.
Be Certain
Every game is a potential no-hitter, and for that reason one of the cardinal rules of scoring is to be certain the first hit off either pitcher in a game should leave no question as to its authenticity.
Nothing could be tougher on a pitcher or cause a scorer greater regret than to have an early blow called a hit when it could have been called either way and to have that hit the only hit of the game off the pitcher.
We had personal experience with a near no-hitter. It was many years ago when we were official scorer for Western League games in Omaha.
The game in question only went seven innings for some forgotten reason, and the only hit off a pitcher, whose name also is forgotten, should not have been a hit at all.
It was a towering fly directly in front of the mound. The pitcher, and the catcher, and third baseman, and the first baseman gathered in a huddle and while they were bowing to each other with a "you take it" the ball dropped untouched among them.
That evening two or three players came up to the office each begging that he be given an error on the play.
Any no-hitter has its thrills, although some are more spectacular than others. When Bill Bevens had a no-hitter going for the Yankee against the Dodgers with only one out to go in the 1947 World Series much of the edge was taken off the performance because he was so wild the bases always were cluttered up with Brooklyns and probably many in the crowd didn't realize they were watching a potential no-hitter.
Tension Plus
Allie Reynolds' second no-hitter last year probably packed as much tension as any no-hitter could pack, be certain the first hit off either, inasmuch as the final man to face him was the best hitter in baseball, unless you want to argue a little about Stan Musial's claim to that honor.
With two outs in the ninth Ted Williams came to the plate, and Reynolds must have had to rebuff the strong temptation to throw four straight balls over his head and take a chance on the next hitter.
But Allie pitched to him, and what's more, really had to get Ted out twice. A high foul directly behind the plate found Yogi Berra circling around under the ban like
he intended, to surround it. He finally lunged, and missed.
Allie had it to do all over again, and he forced Teddy boy to pop up another foul which this time Yogi mitted for keeps. A guy trying for a no-hitter doesn't usually have to give a hitter such as Williams two chances to spoil it.
Anyway, the next time a no-hitter is pitched give a thought to the official scorer. He's the guy who really sweats it out.
WILfan note: OK, the only WIL connection in this story is Bevens pitched in the League, but as someone who has scored a no-hitter, I have a bit of empathy. The game, incidentally, was July 12, 2002. It wasn't controversial other than the Vancouver Canadians manager .. his team had won the no-hitter, by the way .. called the press box afterward to complain his team should have had an additional hit instead of an E5 I called.
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